Art Deco, but curvier

WITH a nod to Biba, the London shop that revived Art Nouveau and Deco styles in the 1970s, the new restaurant-lounge Foxtail cuts a dark, dashing Old Hollywood figure. “It plays to the idea of the rich bohemian traveler of the 1930s,” says designer Frank X. Medrano. Patterned pink-and-black marble floors, copper-and-wood moldings and coffered ceilings set a luxurious stage, below, for octagonal marble tables and lights. To throw a curve into the Deco tableau, Steve Brabson, Medrano’s partner in Franklin Studios ( www.franklinstudios.com), says they incorporated the “curvy-wurvy organic and floral motifs of Art Nouveau.” This is evident in the unexpectedly groovy stained-glass windows with an Antoni Gaudi vibe that the designers had fabricated at Sunshine Glass in Hollywood, and in dining chairs trimmed with Houles fringe. Classic urns, above, display peacock feathers instead of fresh flowers -- a great take-home idea. But a bit so-last-century? Not at all, Brabson says. “People who want to be cool get trapped into modern. Maybe this will inspire them to do something traditional in a new way.” Foxtail, 9077 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 859-8369.