Home&Real Estate Home Front
ART LOVER IN AN EICHLER? ... Eichler Network is seeking midcentury modern homeowners who love art — whether it’s ceramics, performance-based, “Old Master” prints or paintings by up-and-coming artists — to be profiled in the spring 2013 issue of CA-Modern magazine. Information: Contact feature editor Dave Weinstein, davidsweinstein@yahoo.com, and CC publisher Marty Arbunich, marty@ eichlernetwork.com before Jan. 5, 2013.
Eco-friendly Ken Arends
furnishings PALO ALTO STORES CONNECT WITH LOCAL CRAFTSPEOPLE
by Pierre Bienaimé ost have heard of the 100-mile Thanksgiving, shopping at a farmers market or other “buy local” trends. A newly opened furniture store in downtown Palo Alto wants to take that to the next level: by selling furniture mostly made locally, by hand and with repurposed materials. At Inhabiture, across from City Hall, much of store manager Matt Maddox’s job consists of seeking out independent designers. “A lot of furniture makers who are making unique pieces don’t promote themselves very well. They’re focused on the artistic aspect. It’s hard to find those people,” Maddox said. Hanging in a small hallway is a cage-like light fixture, “made from the track of an old assembly line. It was done in Carpinteria (not far from Santa Barbara) by a little group of three: a mother and her two sons. We fitted it out with LED lightings and brought it
M Courtesy of West Elm
Send notices of news and events related to real estate, interior design, home improvement and gardening to Home Front, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302, or email cblitzer@paweekly. com. Deadline is one week before publication.
Clockwise from top: The Mood Rocking Bed by Shiner is one of Inhabiture’s more popular pieces; side-by-side Jarboe bookcases by Noir are made of salvaged timbers more than 7.5 feet tall; West Elm’s design team brought back these handmade birds from trips to Cape Town and Johannesburg; Inhabiture’s light fixture was made in Carpinteria from the track of an old assembly line.
Ken Arends
IKEBANA IN NEW YEAR ... Thanh Kosen Nguyen will teach “Floral Design with Ikebana” from 1 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Jan. 8 to March 12, at Greendell P2, 4120 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Certified in both Wafu and Sogetsu styles, Nguyen will focus on both traditional and contemporary ikebana. Students should bring sturdy garden scissors, a Pyrex bowl and a large pin frog for practice, along with a $100 flower materials fee payable to the instructor (or bring own flowers). Cost is $70. Information: 650-329-3752 or www. paadultschool.org RESTORE HABITAT ... On the second and fourth Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers work with Acterra to restore habitat at the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve (1530 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto) and local creeks. Gloves, tools, snacks and training are provided. Tasks include removing invasive plants, collecting seeds, spreading mulch and planting native grasses. Wear long sleeves and long pants and bring a hat and reusable water bottle. Information: www.acterra. org/stewardship. N
Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com
Ken Arends
MILLION-PLUS-DOLLAR HOMES ... Palo Alto topped November sales of “luxury homes” — those that sold for more than $1.5 million, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage — compared to a year ago. Palo Alto sold 35, with Los Altos closely trailing at 33. Homes sold faster (on average 45 days, compared to 57 days a year ago), and sales averaged 101 percent of the asking price, up from 98 percent last year, according to the Silicon Valley Luxury Housing Market Report. The most expensive home sold in Santa Clara County in November was a five-bedroom, seven-bath home in Saratoga that went for $4.65 million. Information: 925-275-3085
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here, just 250 miles away. It’s a custom piece,” said Inhabiture CEO Forrest Linebarger. In another corner of the store stands a narrow workbench, complete with a monkey-wrench mechanic to bear down on wood for the cutting. It was made in France in the 1940s. Beyond these independent designers, Maddox counts four designer/owner/builder companies among its clients, all based in California. Cisco Brothers in Southern California provides the store’s line of upholstery goods, made without fire retardants or toxic chemicals. Noir provides larger pieces of furniture: Jarboe ($3,500) is a bookcase that doubles as a room divider. It is made from timbers and flooring salvaged from industrial buildings torn down in Los Angeles. Much of Inhabiture’s furniture pieces seem to carry one-of-a-kind stories of origin rather than a shared construction process. Linebarger shared part of the company’s philosophy: “Most of our products are made here in California; we’re looking at keeping jobs local. We offer reclaimed materials. Most of our things (continued on next page)
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