The gold and crystal fixtures are a nice touch, as is tub with an ocean view.
The four friends had slowly made their way through all 6,000 square feet of the sumptuous Italian Mediterranean villa that commands a coastline view from a Palos Verdes Estates hillside.
Accustomed to touring houses together, the women oohed at this, ughed at that, and collected a few cards from the myriad designers who had left their artistic touches in each room.
Now, it was lunchtime under the white tent alongside the mansion, and an opportunity to compare impressions.
They loved the colors, especially the rose and green florals of the guest bedroom and the spring-in-bloom hues of a bathroom, where flowers, water and plants are painted on tile in the style of Monet.
But they weren’t too fond of the large master bedroom with its subdued taupes, ivory and silver and a long mirror of smoked glass. “It’s too masculine,” said Karen Willer.
She also picked up on a sponge painting technique used to texture a multicolored bathroom wall. “I’m going to try it. You let one color dry and then do another,” Willer said.
But Denny Lee was a little overwhelmed by the idea of translating the mansion’s $400,000 design scheme into her own home decorating.
“I’d have to trade my life to do this,” she said. “This is fantasy time for me.”
Welcome to Little Company of Mary Hospital Foundation’s Designer Showcase 1991, a kind of magical mansion where everyone puts his or her imagination in overdrive. This year’s house belongs to Deepak and Nandini Chopra, who live on Granvia Altamira.
If you live in the sort of digs that most people call home, this house is some kind of dream--a journey into lifestyles of the rich and famous far more palpable than those on television. Look at those gold and crystal bathroom fixtures, and the tub with an ocean view.
People who already live in mansions--and a lot who tour the Showcase house do--see what they’re doing right or wrong.
Almost everyone is able to pick up a few decorating tips, even if it’s a new way to hang the draperies that they already have.
And the designers, who leave their cards everywhere, are happy to drum up a little business.
“It’s not easy to find a design house that also feels like a warm, comfortable home,” said Nancy Lennartz, general chairwoman of the showcase. “People think they could live here and get ideas here.”
Four months ago, 28 interior design firms and landscapers descended on the 2-year-old villa to give its plain white rooms and bare terraces some character with rich draperies, tapestries and paintings, hand-painted wall coverings, elegant furnishings, antiques and other luxurious touches. The Chopras and their two daughters had vacated the house in June, before it was stripped to the bare walls and floors.
During the three weeks in which the house can be toured, visitors step into a marble-floored entry area that has a cathedral ceiling with a skylight. French doors on three sides of the living room flood it with light and capture a visitor’s eye with a sea view--at least if the Palos Verdes Peninsula overcast has lifted.
Most home tourists seem to be charmed by the two upstairs children’s bedrooms, which are resplendent in blues, yellows, peaches and greens carried out in wallpaper, furnishings, carpets and comforters.
In an unusual touch, a once-plain upstairs laundry room has been given the feel of a tropical island with a wall and cabinets painted to look like plants and a window overlooking palm trees and the sea.
The villa’s terraces and balconies are graced with overstuffed canvas furniture, its wrought iron painted to look as if it’s already rusted, and glass-top tables. And the children have their own balcony, complete with a mat painted for hopscotch and animal sculptures.
Although each room was done by a different designer, a color scheme was established, and a design council approved all of the room plans so they would complement each other.
Visitor Willer said this is in contrast to previous design houses she has visited, where the ultramodern and sometimes bizarre rubbed shoulders with the traditional.
“There’s a feeling of craftsmanship in the house, and it all flows together,” she said.
Perhaps no one is happier about the house than the Chopras, who worked closely with the designers and plan to buy much of the decor after the tours end Oct. 27.
“I used to say that you just give a decorator money and he puts colors together. Even I can do that, I thought, but this has changed my whole perspective,” Nandini said.
More than 1,000 Little Company hospital volunteers have pitched in to operate the Designer Showcase. They provide information about each room to people touring the house, and prepare and serve snacks and lunch.
Visitors also are treated to music, fashion shows and may purchase jewelry, clothing, plants and gifts from a changing group of artisans.
The hospital expects 9,000 people to tour the house before it closes and has set a fund-raising goal of $150,000, which will go to the hospital.
Said Lennartz: “It’s a social thing to do with a friend, see the house and have lunch.”
What: Designer Showcase 1991.
When: Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; through Oct. 27.
Where: 948 Granvia Altamira, Palos Verdes Estates; parking and shuttle on Montemalaga Drive in adjoining Rancho Palos Verdes.
Admission: $15 at the door or through Ticketmaster: 480-3232.
Information: 543-6708.
