Luxury, to scale
A FORMER antiques dealer, interior designer Windsor Smith re-imagines classic English and American furniture for the California home in her debut collection. “Everything is a little taller, a little deeper, the lines are more relaxed and scaled to how we live today,” she says of her designs, which include, left, the lacquered Brittany Secretary, $12,000, with antiqued mirror doors, nickel hardware and a drop-down writing desk and the leather upholstered, nailhead-trimmed Directoire chair, $4,200. The line also has an innovative two-sided sofa and updated Georgian and Chippendale cabinets that can house flat-screen TVs. “Opulence is coming back in a more simplified way,” says Smith, left, in her Mandeville Canyon home. “I want it to feel like the cool kids have invaded the ancestral home.” The locally handcrafted pieces, custom ordered through Smith, take eight to 12 weeks to complete. www.windsorsmithhome.com
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SALE
The season for deals
When it first appeared in 2000, Philippe Starck’s Bubble Club, below, seemed a strange hybrid: a 21st century plastic seat with the roll arms of a 19th century chair. Now, with the advent of Minimalist Baroque styling in home decor, it makes real sense. Until July 29, the weatherproof piece by Kartell, regularly priced at $680, is on sale for $408 at Design Within Reach. The Sunbrella cushion, shown here in parrot green, is reduced 15%, to $102. The chair and cushion coordinate nicely with the Pix cafe table, a quick-assembly 2002 design by Peter Schaffner that consists of two X-shaped legs held together by a 31 1/2-inch table top that snaps onto the base like a lid. The cafe version in green, shown here, is marked down to $98, from $250. To order or to find a retail location: (800) 944-2233 or www.dwr.com.
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FIND
Cushy stars and stripes
East Meets West Antiques, an emporium dedicated to Yankee home furnishings, has an all-Americana take on recycling. These star-spangled throw pillows, $45 each, are made from hand-held flags, circa 1890-1910, that passersby used to wave at holiday parades. Backed with mattress ticking striped cotton that matches the piping, they are a stylish addition to a sofa or easy chair well past the Fourth of July. East Meets West Antiques, 160 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 931-0500 or www.emwantiques.com.
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HAPPENING
Rising to the (dining) occasion
Modernist architect Richard Neutra anticipated the need for space-saving dual-purpose furniture by creating the Camel table -- so named because with a simple adjustment of L-shaped legs, it rises from low-slung coffee table to a standard-height surface for dinner guests. A 1954 Camel, shown here, custom-made for the Hammerman residence in Bel-Air, will be offered (Lot 120) at Los Angeles Modern Auctions at noon Sunday. The Neutra Camel is expected to fetch $15,000 to $20,000. A 1950s Hendrik Van Keppel & Taylor Green version manufactured by the defunct L.A. firm Brown Saltman (Lot 160) is estimated to sell for $1,000 to $1,500. Previews 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Saturday. Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., Suite B538, West Hollywood. (323) 904- 1950 or www.lamodern.com.
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