Friday, May 13, 2011

Pasadena Showcase House 2011


For the longest time, this event has been on my bucket list. Today I went!

I was told beforehand that this house "wasn't one of the grandest" and wasn't as "impressive" as some past homes. I asked what's the square footage? 7000 square feet! Wow, that alone impresses me, no worries there :)

Well, it was gorgeous. Built in 1920 and designed by Paul Williams, a very prominent California architect who designed many celebrity homes, estates, and iconic building here in LA area. The grounds ( 4 acres worth) were landscaped by several different landscape designers and went from the whimsical vegetable garden, the the elegant patio, to the floral woodland wonderland nestled by a natural stream that ran across the property.

Most of us in LA suffer through small lots and not a lot of privacy to enjoy perfect weather, but this home had it all: luscious grounds, grand rooms, history, elegance and space to spare.

There were a few rooms I wasn't crazy about design-wise, and the number of designers probably contributed to a little incontinuity bewteen rooms (one more "modern" one art deco, one traditional) But the color schemes (All Dunn-Edwards paints) were set ahead of time, so the rooms did flow in that respect.

If you are in LA, tickets can be bought on the website and the house is open until May 15. I do suggest going early (the crowds make it hard to see the rooms well) and planning on staying awhile...there is a lovely outdoor cafe set up in a beautiful tent and even a separate little "bar" on the grounds to get a glass of wine. There is also a shopping pavilion, with all sorts of homemade goodies ( the scones and key lime curd was sooo good--have a sample!) jewelry, clothing and lovely handmade handbags (I almost bought one of those but Dave Ramsey whispered in my ear again-- however, I have her card)

See the video of the homes transformation here.

Make it a Great Day!
Ann

1 comment:

  1. Valuable information and excellent design you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts.
    Interior Designers Pasadena
    Southern California Architects


    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by!! I love your comments!