Where Serious Style Can Relax

Homeowners looking to decorate with style may soon be heading for the beach. Designer Michael Smith has just opened Jasper, a store at 5th and Broadway in Santa Monica, stocked with tony furnishings from around the world. In the cavernous shop, formerly an art gallery, turn-of-the-century Thonet chairs and Turkish carpets, Regency tables and Japanese trunks, Russian boxes and ‘50s American glassware share space with Smith’s own line of custom upholstery, fashioned after English classics. Smith also carries some of his favorite furniture and accessory lines previously unavailable on the West Coast: reproduction 18th century glassware by William Yeoward in London, wall sconces and other architectural lighting from Ann-Morris Antiques in New York and cotton carpets based on early-American designs by Thomas Woodard Weave, also in New York. All of which reflect the wide-ranging tastes of 31-year-old Smith, an interior designer known for his glamorous celebrity clientele and sophisticated but laid-back rooms. Smith delights in debunking the myth that only pedigreed and expensive furnishings belong together. At Jasper, a cotton throw can be had for $85, while an 18th century English breakfront costs a cool $95,000. “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, one style or another,” he explains. “The store is about the combining of things--eccentric, romantic, classic.” Perfect philosophy for a town where Eddie Bauer meets Gucci.