A Guide to the Best of Southern California : FAVORITES : Safe and Stored

STILL STORING THOSE oil paintings in the attic? The vintage Bordeaux in the kitchen cabinet? The Los Angeles Fine Arts & Wine Storage Co. has a better idea. Designed to store anything from Picassos to port in temperature- and humidity-controlled compartments, this high-tech storage facility just opened in West Los Angeles. “It’s a way to offer first-class protection for any collectible,” says Bo Zarnegin, whose own family’s art collections inspired the warehouse idea.

The art compartments are spacious enough to hold anything from paintings to statues and large-scale 3-D pieces. In addition to the large walk-in compartments, which can expand even beyond 20 feet square, there’s a comfortable art-viewing and wine-tasting room where collectors and enophiles can trade, sell or sample one anothers’ wares. The Los Angeles Fine Arts & Wine Storage Co. also features around-the-clock electronic security service and personal-access key cards.

Collectors of other types of valuables can lease compartments to keep furs, rugs, film, tapes and legal files safe from theft and the elements.

Los Angeles Fine Arts & Wine Storage Co., 2290 Centinela Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 447-7700.