On a tip I went to check out Bleu Moon, a funky furniture store on La Cienega, which touts itself as having antique and rare one- of-a-kind furniture, unique accessories and architectural elements and gifts from India and Asia.
The store had some beautiful things.
I’m a sucker for those multi-colored glass lanterns. I loved an antique Chinese wedding bed like the one here, and I always dig those killer wood-carved hand sculptures posed in the Buddhist symbol for “peace!” or “Thanks!” (Like most Angelinos, I don’t speak fluent Buddhist…yet)
I’m going out on a limb here, but for me high end- World Interiors can sometimes leave me wondering more about the poor kid who whittled the $900.00 wood hand than about the comfort it gives when juxtaposed with a stack of First Edition Robert Frost poems on a good Danish side table. 
Chinese love those wedding beds too that's why they are always on the market and Chinese designers splurge on them. Sometimes I want one too. The prices in Flushing (i.e. the warehouse on 20th Avenue in College Point) seem pretty reasonable compared to Pottery Barn nevermind Armani Casa.
Interesting points. Maybe it's an LA thing, but I don't know anyone who has actually decorated in an ethnic style. I plan to use some elements, but my husband already had some things from living in certain countries (and my parents, who were born abroad, gave me stuff too).Plus, I just like to pretend I'm Talitha Getty sometimes, minus the nasty death. ;) Kidding. I swear.
Plus, while child labor is theoretically illegal, I do think that practically everything we buy (esp. clothing) is produced in some sweatshop. I'm certainly not advocating that in any way, but I'm not sure there's any huge difference.
The most stunning apartment I've seen in NYC belonged to a travel writer specializing in Africa who had bought and brought back everything herself. It was amazing.
Seems like two issues here-- global responsibility, and the potential of beating a theme to death.
I think that in any "good" room, there is no one single source, retail or stylistic, and that a mix yields a much better result that may stand the test of time a bit longer.
But I do think an all-out themed environment can be great fun, when it suits the space/owner and is done with taste and humor, but with a nod to its being somewhat seasonal/trend based.
I also think some people can pull it off and look like they respected the original cultural intent (Enrique's exotic terrace redo, for example) even though there have been some cultural mixes based on style preference (and availability of the "right" piece.)
My pet peeve is when design shows throw unknown Chinese character stencils into a room with pseudo-Shojis and throw an "Asian-inspired" blanket over it.
ps, AH--
Really enjoying your contributions to the site!
It's important to be conscious. We can't do anything about a particular issue until we are aware of it. AH raises the issue of child labor. Perhaps he will now begin to question retailers about the sources of their products. Perhaps he will find out that the artifacts he is perusing are created in a small artisanal setting, helping to bring much needed support to a village. Perhaps he will find out that some corporate entity is virtually enslaving its workers. Whatever. By being aware, perhaps some positive action can be taken, whether directly or indirectly.
I love those Chinese wedding beds. It's like having a mini apartment inside an apartment...
I agree Mary. The are perfect for a loft.
Fiona,
FYI, child labor is not "theoretically" anything. 132 countries, including the US, have ratified an International Labor Organization convention that makes child labor *actually* illegal.
Whether or not this enters into one's decisions about what products to buy is certainly a personal matter, but please don't try to justify it by pretending that the laws don't exist.
ak--
I seriously doubt Fiona was trying to "justify" it. I think she meant that while yes, laws exist, not everyone *actually* adheres to them...
(Sorry Fiona if I am speaking on your behalf incorrectly!)
Thanks, Patrick. ;)
Ak, I'm not trying to justify anything. All I'm saying is that I'm sure child labor still exists, despite those laws. I'm just being realistic saying that. I obviously do not advocate child labor in any way!!
What I was trying to say is that, yes, many places employ illegal labor as well as labor that may not technically be illegal, but is still extremely undesirable. Therefore, being concerned about practices regarding your furniture only works if you also do not buy clothing (like, say, from the Gap or almost any chain store in America) or food (like non-Fair Trade coffee or almost any produce because of illegal, underpaid labor).
I hope that makes sense. I try to be a conscientious consumer, but sometimes, it feels like you are fighting a tidal wave, because almost everything made is exploitative. I'm not saying give up by any means. I'm just saying that it's easy to mouth platitudes (not that AH is, but some people do) while loading up with cheap stuff from Target.
Fiona and Patrick,
Point taken. Please don't think I was being judgemental. I completely agree that wanting to consume conscientiously can feel overwhelming. My only concern is that when people make the decision not to take into consideration the origins of the products they buy, they be honest with themselves about it... what I mean is that the fact that most companies engage in unfair and/or illegal labor practices is not a good enough reason to throw one's hands up in the air. Even one conscientious decision out of the many we make every day makes a difference.
So now your decorative painter friend, Curtis, can't help but want to do a mural in somebody's (no particular person in mind) tiny bedroom to make the entire room look like an enormous one of those wedding beds, and as if you're looking through the little open-work spaces out onto some other bigger space, possibly as if it's in the middle of an oriental garden.
Juicy, juicy thread... I'll skirt the whole labor/consumer responsibility issue since many points have already been made, with Fiona's mirroring my senitments best.
Fiona/AH--The ethnic influence in design currently seems to be much more prevalent in LA than in any other US city in which I've lived/visited. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's the Hollywood influence. (After all, we have set designers to blame/credit for the midcentury "Hollywood Regency" style in L.A.--for example.) It is a trend, and a strong one at that right now. Hmmm... maybe it's because all the young starlets dressed in their boho-ethnic threads want to coordinate better with their environs. Who knows?
One thing I've noticed in the past 12+ years I've lived here is that higher-end consumer design trends locally have followed design cues from hipper hotels, nightclubs and restaurants around town. And themed concepts rule these establishments.
Design trends cycle fairly quickly here. But hey, it keeps the local trade pretty hopping. And there are more than enough people with money to burn over here. (Not me.) God forbid they should let a little thing like money keep them from being perceived as "passe." Sad, but true.
Hey all,
Thought IÂ’d comment on my seemingly provocative statement. ItÂ’s true that everything from my super-cheap matchstick blinds to my phat new Adidas kicks have all been made with cheap labor. And while much of what we all love in Interior Design is created not by child labor, but by the painstaking labor of Craftsmen and Artisans, when it comes to the mass produced itÂ’s hard to know where to draw the lineÂ…as if any line is ever okay.
My comment was more about the selling of Global Culture and Spirituality. Since I have moved to LA, I have found so many Hollywood-types looking to connect spiritually, which is great. But you also get lots of “Free Tibet” bumper stickers on Escalades and Zenned out actresses protesting the war in their $400.00 Juicy sweats. The line is just so blurred. To me, it seems rather pointed when I’m looking at a Meditation Alter in a zippy LA shop that I know has more than quadrupled the wholesale price.
Thanks for litening.
I dig this site so much! Long live Apartment Therapy!
AH--Y Que Trading Post on Vermont Ave (in Los Feliz) sells a t-shirt that reads "Free Tibet--with Purchase". If that doesn't some up LA's commoditization of all-things-spiritual, I don't know what does... C-Ya at Pilates! ;)
One more thought. Southeast Asian imports are ubiquitous in L.A. right now--and the price/quality is all over the place depending on which shop you visit. Literally, you can't go half a mile in either direction without tripping over a store that sells a teak/mangowood/capiz-shell/Buddha-head/Ganeesh something-or-other. I've been to a lot of them, but Bleu Moon.
One shop that has a lot of truly unique pieces is Pusaka, located on Crescent Heights (just north of Santa Monica Blvd). The have none of the cliched "Zen"/Asian pieces you'll find mass-marketed at Cost Plus World Market, Pier 1 or Overstock.com. Though they have many pieces from Burma, Bali, Vietnam and Cambodia, their "ace-in-the-hole" are their artisinal pieces from the Philippines. Many of those pieces are in exotic woods that are indigenous to the Phillipines--some of which I wasn't even familiar with (and I was born in the PI!). Pusaka is definitely worth a look, if you're into putting a little ethnic punch into your design mix, especially for the garden.
(Bizarre side note. Pusaka is located in a house that was previously owned/occupied by a reclusive elderly woman who was brutally murdered during a home-invasion style robbery 10 years ago. I've asked the shopowners if her ghost is still around. They told me that she does make her presence known every now and then, but "seems very happy" with her idyllic surroundings.