Finding more than seashells

JUST south of Santa Barbara, Lillie Avenue in Summerland has long been a must-pull-over design destination off U.S. 101. This summer, the street boasts some new additions to its mix of Continental galleries, such as Summerhill Antiques, and beach house emporia, including the Consignment Collection. Just Folk is the new tin-roofed kid on the block, housed in a barn-meets-loft space designed by Santa Barbara architect Brian Cearnal. The store was launched by Susan Baerwald, board president of the Culver City art studio L.A. Goal, and sitcom queen Marcy Carsey, co-founder of the Carsey-Werner studio. They celebrate handmade and heartfelt arts and crafts with a wide range of outsider paintings, sculpture and toys priced from $500 to $45,000. The store, frequented by Ellen DeGeneres and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, also stocks classic Americana -- quilts, weather vanes and the like. A block away, Davis & Taft offers stylish furniture and accessories including Deco dressers and 1970s glass and brass backgammon tables. Across the street, Botanik focuses on flowers but also has lovely lighting: globes made with twigs and floral pendants constructed with capiz shells. At Europa, owner Patrick Aumont has a keen eye for French and Italian Baroque furniture and statuary. The store also serves as the only Southern California showroom for wife Helene Aumont’s custom Lucite and wood desks, swank upholstered chairs, damask-framed mirrors and lighting fixtures trimmed with military-style braiding.