French classics fit this tres chic space

BIGGER was not necessarily better for Michele Sommerlath. During the past seven years, the proprietor of French 50s-60s on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice had expanded her store to three times its original size, bringing in postwar American and Scandinavian furnishings. “It got very crowded in the store, and it’s not good to mix too much,” she says. So earlier this year she opened another storefront next door, Galerie Sommerlath, which has become the repository of her best midcentury Parisian designs. “People notice the pieces here,” Sommerlath says of the spare, new shop. Though small, the living room-style arrangement boasts big names in design at prices far below those one might encounter in West Hollywood. Iron and stamped metal tables by Mathieu Mategot start at $600, and Le Corbusier studio designer Charlotte Perriand’s rustic chic tables are $2,500. At $1,200, the 1960s Roger Capron tile zodiac coffee table shown here with Sommerlath has an earthy quality that brings modernity to traditional decor, and vice versa. Sommerlath, who scours France for merchandise twice a year, also offers pieces by architect Paul Frankl, “even if he’s not French.” 1423 Abbot Kinney Blvd.; (310) 452-3980; www.french50s60s.com.

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HOME PAGES

Ideas at your fingertips

Bookmark www.architonic.com. The Zurich-based website is a vast encyclopedia of contemporary styles meant to help anyone shopping for ideas and inspiration. Architonic’s Product Library lists more than 28,000 architectural and interior decor products, with photo galleries and links to manufacturers. The website’s Design Collector database has more pictures as well as auction prices for more than 1,000 20th century designers, including top midcentury talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Gio Ponti and Hans Wegner. Architonic also has introduced the printed Flipbooks, below. Following the format of paint color selectors, the books’ pages fan out so you can compare hundreds of designs. Two books -- Scandinavian design and chairs -- are available. For pricing and ordering information, e-mail info@architonic.com.

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OPENINGS

A touch of Malibu on Beverly

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Late Gothic Revival, the 1928 Heinsbergen Decorating Co. on Beverly Boulevard has “vaulted ceilings, leaded glass windows, portholes and gargoyles,” says its newest occupant, Santa Monica-based interior designer Dan Marty, who has turned the space into a retail showroom. The layout emulates a two-story residence, with upstairs bedrooms decked out in Marty’s Malibu cottage collage of English antiques, French textiles, Asian furniture and “the whole shell thing.” Among other finds are the contemporary wire-and-cloth Chinese lanterns, shown here, which emanate Zen cool, nautical charm and a bit of alfresco Hollywood Regency style. They are available in three shapes for $50 each. 7421 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles;

(323) 935-5514.

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FINDS

A cool place at the table

French designers Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec, darlings of Parisian interior and furniture design, are releasing their first piece for the Italian plastics firm Kartell this week at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile furniture fair in Milan, Italy. The Panier, shown below with its translucent lid, is a ribbed plastic drum in five see-through colors. Erwan once declared, “There’s no way you can make an ugly chair comfortable,” but with Panier he and his brother succeeded in making a piece that is not only beautiful but also functional. At 2 feet wide and 9 inches high, it can serve as a low table or footrest as well as storage. The piece takes its name from the French patisserie basket -- fitting, because it will set you back a fair amount of bread. When it goes on sale in July, the price is expected to be about $290. Kartell, 8815 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 271-0178; www.kartellus.com.