STYLE / INTERIORS : SHOW & DWELL

Small wonder that Randy Franks is one of Los Angeles’ most inventive designers. When he was 10, he and a friend would climb into a bright red Cadillac and comb the Georgia countryside for antiques. “We’d find everything from old rugs to pie safes and primitive chairs,” Franks says. “Then we’d head back to her house, hose everything off and start painting.”

Two decades later, Franks, the former creative director of Modern Living, is still on the prowl for great 20th century design. To fill his atelier on Melrose Place, he scours flea markets and estate sales for anything that strikes his fancy: Victorian antler chairs, Philippe Starck tables, a ‘50s Eero Saarinen molded-plastic chair, African art and textiles, vintage American photographs, contemporary paintings by local artists and a colorful collection of mid-century American and Italian glass. “I look for good quality and what’s unusual,” Franks says. “And I always have to love it.”

In addition to what he turns up on the road, Franks designs his own line of custom furniture in a style he describes as “a cross between Shaker and Japanese.” “It’s simple, clean and functional,” he says of the desk, wall systems and armoires he designed for the courtyard apartment where he now lives and works. Franks also likes to fashion one-of-a-kind lamps from found objects.

Next to having no commuting hassles, Franks says the best part about working and living in the same place is being able to live with the pieces he designs. “I can continue to refine them,” he says. And the worst part? “It takes some adjusting to be neat all the time,” he acknowledges. “Not to mention having everything in your home for sale.”