Joyce Rudolph
For those who love to see how others live, the Pasadena Showcase
House is the granddaddy of looky-loo heaven.
Members of the home tour's organizing committee, the Pasadena
Showcase House for the Arts, have had a lot of practice getting it
right, said this year's chairwoman, Jennifer Johnson.
"It is a much-anticipated event in the community," she said. "We
have successfully been putting on a Showcase House for 40 years. This
is our 41st year."
And it's a win-win proposition for everyone involved, Johnson
said.
It raises funds for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and for youth
music programs, offers designers a chance to show their expertise in
the home and garden and lets the public see the most modern ideas in
home remodeling, she said.
The committee selects a different estate each year in the
Pasadena, San Marino or La Canada Flintridge areas to serve as a
backdrop for the ideas of some 30 Southern California designers.
This year's choice is a 10,000-square-foot Italian Revival-style
house constructed in 1929 in San Marino. It was designed by Wallace
Neff, who is often referred to as the architect of California's
Golden Age, Johnson said.
Having a design included in the showcase is a great marketing
opportunity for the designers, Johnson said. When working with
clients, designers stay true to the wants and needs of the homeowner.
But at Showcase House, they have an opportunity to design without any
outside influences, so it's pure designer input.
"I think we have a wonderful team of 22 interior-design teams and
12 exterior-design teams," she said.
Take the Traveler's Suite, a guest bedroom with bath, decorated by
Maria Videla-Juniel and Marcus Juniel of MV Design Group in Burbank.
The room is cast with a soothing palette of calming greens and blues
against rich chocolates. The colors are drawn into the bathroom,
which offers a serene spa feel, Johnson said.
For the space, Videla-Juniel said she wanted to create amenities
just like a five-star hotel in the middle of this lush Mediterranean
estate.
"Most of the furniture is custom made," she said. "It's done in
clean, tailored lines, which is my style. The room really reflects
what our style is all about."
On either side of the bed are nightstands in Ebony Macassar, an
exotic wood. One nightstand is round with just a top drawer, while
the other is a square chest of drawers.
"The comments we've been hearing are how cool it is to have two
different nightstands," she said, adding that they are the same
height and in the same wood.
