Way out of the box
If, as Philip Johnson said, “all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts or stimulates the persons in that space,” then Los Angeles soon will be Stimulation Central. “Architecture Days,” an Architectural Digest-sponsored confab, opens Wednesday in L.A. for a weeklong run before moving to Chicago and New York. “What city better than L.A. to kick it off?” says the magazine’s publisher, Amy Churgin. “It has such out-of-the-box architecture.” Getty Center designer Richard Meier lectures next Thursday, but the big tickets ($25 to $80) are five tours of homes and landmarks. “Designs on Downtown” will look at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising studio (above) with project architect Clive Wilkinson as well as the new Morphosis-designed Caltrans office and the Bradbury Building, featured in “Blade Runner.” “Architects of Set Design” is a panel discussion and cocktail reception with “Desperate Housewives” production designer Thomas A. Walsh. www.architecturedays.com.
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HOME PAGES
Decor, so pretty in print
From the chocolate and cerise nameplate that matches the David Hicks sofa on the cover, the premiere issue of Domino, “the shopping magazine for your home,” promises a pretty and perky look at hip housing. Following the winning formula of sister magalog Lucky (and metrosexual brother Cargo), Conde Nast’s Domino turns home design into a parade of shopping options for fleeting fashion statements. (A gardening feature devotes half its space to cute things to wear whilst weeding.) One plus: The first issue, hitting newsstands Tuesday, has the good taste to feature L.A. designer Ruthie Sommers on the cover and a what’s-hot section called -- Hello! -- “Scouting.”
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PETS
A fetching pump for your puppy
It’s chic, with a squeak. Leave it to Isaac Mizrahi to come up with a dog toy that screams fashion. This black vinyl pump -- lined in what could only be called Mizrahi magenta -- is worth every one of its 299 pennies at Target, which has rolled out six ridiculously precious collections of pet accessories. Mizrahi created the toy for his mixed breed, Harry, “who is on the wagon when it comes to shoes.” The 5 1/2 -size AAA pump curbs Harry’s destructive tendencies. “I think dogs respond to the postmodern irony of the toy,” Mizrahi adds. “Why chew a real shoe when you can chew a fabulous fake?” The canine plaything met with mixed reviews in random dog testing. A small female terrier named Lucky whined that it lacked that “new shoe” smell, but a dachshund named Benny loved it, chewing it into an open-toed pump.
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OPENINGS
West Elm takes its show west
The lamp is less than $100, the vases start at $16. If these prices sound right to you, hie thee to San Diego. West Elm, the cheap and cheerful home furnishings catalog for urbane urbanites -- or people who want to live like one -- opens its first West Coast boutique today, a 20,000-square-foot showroom in Mission Valley. “Our goal was to bring the catalog to life,” says Dave DeMattei, president of emerging brands for parent company Williams-Sonoma Inc. “The end result is a Zen environment in a loft-like setting, which has become West Elm’s ubiquitous look.” For Domino readers who can’t wait for West Elm’s Santa Monica branch to open in September, the San Diego store offers two-day delivery throughout Southern California. A $2,000 shopping sweepstakes is open to visitors until May 15. 5080 Mission Center Road; (619) 543-0117; www.westelm.com.
Additional reporting by Times staff writer Lisa Boone
