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For this week’s edition of The Source, we’re turning to one of our own colleagues, the ever-charismatic Mayer Rus. As AD’s West Coast editor, Rus is hip to all the new goings-on in art, design, and culture along the Pacific Coast—and, lucky for us, is always game to share his intel. Here, Rus riffs on how L.A.’s prized design galleries are breaking out of the box, and opting for residential locations that are inviting, historic, and idiosyncratic. —Lila Allen, Senior Editor, AD PRO
Welcome Home, L.A.
One of the many joys of living and working in Los Angeles is the opportunity to explore the world of design and art in residential settings. I’m talking about the trend of galleries and showrooms decamping from traditional commercial venues and setting up shop in charming homes far from the madding crowd. The first business that comes to mind is, of course, The Future Perfect, maestro David Alhadeff’s emporium of the bold and the beautiful. Over the past 15 years or so, Alhadeff has hung his shingle in a series of Casas Perfectas in L.A., the latest being the 1916 Samuel Goldwyn house at the base of the Hollywood Hills.
Then there’s Friedman Benda’s lovely L.A. refuge, tucked discreetly in a house above the famed Chateau Marmont (which is currently experiencing a renaissance of sorts among Hollywood cool cats, if that kind of grotesquerie is your thing). There, one can dip into the most avant of avant-garde design and then skip down the lane for a cocktail and a front row seat to a controversial pop star assaulting someone—ALLEGEDLY—or some such nonsense. Anyway, it’s a win-win.