Lots of classic L.A. to the highest bidder
“Paul LASZLO knew how to reel the big fish in,” says Los Angeles Modern Auctions owner Peter Loughrey, who is hoping to find a similarly well-heeled audience for the largest-ever consignment of custom furniture by the famed architect. The Laszlo slate includes more than 100 pieces that he designed for the Hudspeth family of Oregon timber tycoons in 1952. Back then, from an atelier on Rodeo Drive, Laszlo created his own vocabulary for furniture “with quirky proportions, magical textures and candycolored, hand-rubbed lacquers,” Loughrey says. Among the contents of the 10-bedroom Hudspeth house: patent leather benches on metal frames, shown here (Lots 126 and 127, estimated at $5,000 to $7,000), and a 12-foot primavera sofa carved to look like bamboo, with a built-in side table (Lot 182, estimated at $2,500 to $3,500). The auction is noon Sunday at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood; (323) 904-1950 or www.lamodern.com. For equally historic bidding, the Collector’s Auction at Bonhams & Butterfields in L.A. will encompass more than 600 items of movie and music memorabilia, including an Argentine one-sheet for “Rebel Without a Cause” (Lot 5211, estimated at $600 to $800). It starts at 10 a.m. Sunday; (323) 850-7500, www.bonhams.com.
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SAVE
Showroom style, warehouse prices
Smart shoppers never pay retail. This weekend, even the clueless can score major breaks. At George Smith, home of the Norris chaise shown here, floor samples of stately chairs, ornate ottomans and other pieces are going for up to 50% off through Saturday; 142 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 360-0880. For midcentury mavens, Jules Seltzer Associates will take orders at 44% off list price on Knoll classics, including Frank Gehry’s early-’90s woven bentwood chairs and Warren Platner’s ‘60s wire chairs; through Saturday at 8833 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 274-7243. For the clean, contemporary silhouettes of Ligne Roset and Driade, which manufactures designs by Philippe Starck and Ron Arad, check Linea’s showroom warehouse sale, Saturday through Monday at 8843 Beverly Blvd., (310) 273-5425. If there’s any time or money left, head to Santa Fe Springs, where Restoration Hardware promises savings of up to 75% at its warehouse sale; 13300 Orden Drive.
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HOME PAGES
Move over, Martha
The self-proclaimed “author of 16 decorating books, host of my own TV show and creator of thousands of designs for every room in the house” goes Oprah on us with her new magazine, At Home With Chris Madden. Like a can-do Carol Brady -- she has Florence Henderson’s she-mullet but, alas, not her sass -- Madden is a trite and true traditionalist. The premiere issue is largely about simple solutions, homes in Vermont and herself. As a design resource, it’s a scrapbook of badly photographed, bland interiors with -- most Maddening of all -- six pages of advertising for her JCPenney home collection.
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OPENINGS
Cute to the core, for better or worse
The Brentwood Country Mart is the right place for British designer Cath Kidston’s newest boutique. Stacked with dinnerware, linens, wallpaper and fashion accessories sporting 1940s to 1960s prints and florals, the shop is a cacophony of cute, a visual concert of polka dots and primary colors that elicits an “Oooh!” or “Ooops,” depending on one’s tolerance for tea-party decor. Although the two-person Pop Flowers tent, $225, was an instant sellout, and the toys are charmers, other pieces are head-scratchers: Plastic ware that isn’t microwave or dishwasher safe? A plain enamel candle holder for $38? Then again, it is cute. 225 26th St., No. 33, Santa Monica; (310) 451-6727, www.cathkidston.com.
Additional reporting by Times staff writer Lisa Boone