Pasadena Showcase House of Design
By Jake Townsend
The annual Pasadena Showcase House of Design draws tens of thousands of people, this year to a 1917 Italian Renaissance Revival by G. Lawrence Stimson, the architect of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses headquarters. Admission is $30 to $40 per person, but we have a free preview of what designers have done inside. Here, the dining room by Interior Devine. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
This year the show is at a 1917 Italian Renaissance Revival by G. Lawrence Stimson, the architect of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses headquarters.
The formal dining room has upholstered velvet walls and matching upholstered velvet picture frames. The framed prints are said to be Rubens sketches on which many of his paintings in the Louvre were based. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
The playful Spirograph-inspired patterns on the ceiling lighten an otherwise formal room (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Westlake Village interior designer Wendy Weiner created this intimate Ladys Office in one of the ground-floor rooms just off the back garden. The Asian elements, including the antique Japanese screen and Tibetan area rug, give the space its timeless appeal. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles interior designer David Dalton created one of the most exciting rooms in the house, a Young Adults Bedroom inspired by Daltons love of all things fashion. The space is intense not so much to relax the senses as to set fire to them. The furnishings are upholstered in Trina Turks custom outdoor fabrics by Schumacher. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Detail from the Young Adults Bedroom. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
The Debutante’s Bedroom created by Design & Style looks like the punky, funky bedroom of a rebellious little aristocrat. The mix of new and vintage furnishings, the oversized pink upholstered headboard and the burgundy draped canopy add up to a theatrical, “Gossip Girl” attitude. The ceiling is a floral wallpaper by Osborne & Little. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
The decadent master bathroom by the Saxony Street Design Group of
The master bath, with an oversized tub from Kallista and a sitting area in the background. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
The opposite view, with dual vanities and chandelier. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Its cool enough that we forgive the use of the Buddha. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
A simple hothouse in a remote section of the gardens was turned into a quirky, lighthearted retreat with a 19th century world-traveler vibe. Padua-DK Designs of
Like a specimen from some alien sea, this whimsical Tony Duquette reproduction chandelier by Baker ($22,000) makes a bold statement back in the entrance hall designed by Karina Oldemans Interior Design of Los Angeles. The Pasadena Showcase is open Tuesdays through Sundays, through May 17. For ticket information: www.pasadenashowcase.org.
For a peek inside another design house, click here to tour the American Society of Interior Designers Orange County annual show house. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)