Shops Will Revel in the Three Rs of Design : As public savvy grows, open house focuses on remodeling, redecorating, redesign.
West Hollywood, the self-proclaimed “Creative City,” has long sought ways to promote its unusual blend of design showrooms, galleries, antique dealers, fashion designers, specialty retailers and restaurants.
Next week--for the second year in a row--almost 100 business owners will fling open their doors to the public. The semiannual open house is aimed at capitalizing on the fevered pitch of remodeling, redecorating and redesigning.
“The public is so much more aware of design these days--just look at the number of shelter magazines,” said Patrick Laughlin, manager of Modern Living, the upscale showroom, which moved earlier this year to Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood to be part of the scene.
“People are shopping on their own, and businesses like ours are happy to help them.”
Sitting in his contemporary showroom filled with sleek, functional chairs and sofas, Laughlin had just come from a meeting to discuss his store’s participation in next Thursday’s “Open House on the Avenues: An Evening of Art and Design.” It’s a free walking tour, between 6 and 9 p.m., of shops on Melrose Avenue, Beverly and Robertson boulevards between La Cienega Boulevard and Doheny Drive.
“We always like an excuse to throw a party, and this is the perfect excuse,” Laughlin said. “It’s a fun night and an opportunity to see many, many stores.” Last March’s open house attracted an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 visitors.
It provides the area’s many upscale design showrooms an opportunity to present themselves as user-friendly to consumers.
“These are stores on the street, and they’re not just for professional decorators,” Laughlin said. “You can go up and down the streets and see a little of everything--modern furniture, traditional, antique stores, fabrics, art and prints.”
The event was set in motion three years ago when the retailers on the streets, which have become known as Avenues of Art and Design, established themselves as a Business Improvement District and began paying fees for promotional programs.
“Now we tax ourselves so that instead of sitting around talking about the things we want to do, we have the money to execute them,” said Marshall Dobry, a member of the Avenues of Art and Design board of directors.
As a result, stylized black and purple “Avenues” banners now wave on the streets to signify the district’s new profile. The first “Open House” was in September 1998.
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Sheryl Havered, owner of Rhomboid Sax, has been selling avant-garde bath furnishings on Beverly Boulevard for 11 years.
“I’ve seen the area gradually get more focused,” she said last week. “We have more visibility now, and that, coupled with the fact that the economy is so frisky, has facilitated a lot of attention here.”
“The open house is a lot of fun, and we hope a lot of people walk through,” Havered said.
Laughlin, who started working in a showroom as a part-time job 12 years ago when he was in college, has made it a career. He lives as well as works in West Hollywood (“and my house is full of Modern Living furniture”).
The business has changed a lot in the last 10 years, Laughlin said.
“Customers are much more knowledgeable. We used to sell to retailers and decorators, and now we are courting the end consumers. Design is a hot topic now--not just magazines, but cable shows and Internet Web sites.”
And design is particularly hot in West Hollywood. Modern Living moved to its current location in March.
“This is the neighborhood where fine design and the furniture business are centered, and we knew we needed to be here,” Laughlin said.
His shop arrived just in time for the spring open house, known as “Design Walk.” Laughlin said he was amazed to have 600 to 700 people show up at his door. “We finally turned off the lights and physically pushed people out.”
This year, on the event’s eve, a Wednesday night reception is planned for Piero Lissoni, Italian furniture designer of such lines as Cassina, Living Divani and Matteo Grassi.
“He’s doing cutting-edge design with Italian furniture, and we are featuring his work in our showroom,” Laughlin said. “We’re hoping he will stay around one more night for the open house.”
Veteran retailer Grant Seltzer attributes the success of the Avenues event to a blend of healthy economy and focused promotion.
“You have to pay your dues and get the word out,” he said. “I think the public has found a new location for furniture, art and good restaurants. Beverly Boulevard had wall-to-wall people for the ‘Design Walk’ last March.”
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The owner of Jules Seltzer Associates, which has been a presence on Beverly Boulevard since the 1930s, is pleased to see the area coming back from a late-’80s slump.
“Everywhere I go there is remodeling. People are finding their homes again,” Seltzer said.
Since his store is known for contemporary and classic furniture, he plans that focus for the Thursday night open house.
“Guests will be Eames Demetrios, grandson of [designer] Charles Eames, and Peter Loughery, who heads up the L.A. Modern auction [a periodic auction of modern and contemporary art],” Seltzer said. “They’ll have a lot to say. That’s the point of the event--to give a better informational feel on what our area is about.”
In fact, with homeowners remodeling and restoring at record pitch, many of the Avenues’ showrooms are putting a special spin on information for the event.
“It’s a great evening for good, lively discussion about product,” said Havered of Rhomboid Sax. “Last year there were lots and lots of questions. Husbands and wives came together, and it was a nice relaxed atmosphere, very conducive to covering a lot of ground.”
She has invited several manufacturer and factory representatives as guests for the evening.
“It’s a nice event because we aren’t selling things--we are introducing ourselves to the community,” said Marshall Dobry, owner of Kitchen Design Studio Inc., on Robertson. “Most of the things available here are not spontaneous purchases.”
Because kitchens are high on the remodeling list these days, his showroom is repeating an attraction that was successful in the spring. The guest star will be a residential contractor who will answer homeowner questions.
Connie Koenenn can be reached by e-mail at connie.koenenn@latimes.com.
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Design Shops Open Their Doors
“Open House on the Avenues: An Evening of Art and Design,” Sept. 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. in West Hollywood. Free, self-guided tour.
Parking at Pacific Design Center at San Vicente Boulevard and Melrose. Also at 8899 Beverly Blvd. and 123 S. Robertson Blvd. Information: (323) 650-2668.
