Visit: The 55th Annual Pasadena Showcase House of Design
Author:Abigail Stone
April may bring showers but it also brings the annual Pasadena Showcase House of Design. All photos by Peter Christiansen Valli.
This year’s event, which benefits arts and music programs throughout Southern California, is being is staged at the Boddy House on the grounds of Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge from April 21 – May 19 (closed Mondays). The imposing Hollywood Regency style, 12,000-square-foot mansion was designed by James E. Dolena.
Also known as Hospitality House, it also hosted the 2007 event. Now it’s been reimagined by 27 designers including Taylor Jacobson, Nicolette Tsukamoto of Studio Akiko, Samantha Williams, Lynnea Jean, and Robert Frank
The downstairs is laid out in a circular pattern revolving around a central entrance foyer and solarium. The rooms, which radiate like spokes of a wheel, include the living room, a solarium, a modern family salon, an entertainment lounge and bath, a powder room and a formal dining room. Directly off the dining room, there is a morning room, kitchen, and a catering kitchen.
Two staircases lead to the upstairs, which is divided into two wings. The Master Bedroom wing includes a master bath, a linen closet, a vestibule leading into the master dressing room. Full-length French doors open onto a balcony with a spectacular views of the San Gabriel Mountains. The other side, across the petite landing, adds a lady’s hideaway, a writer’s haven, a guest bedroom suite with a bath, a teen atelier, and a craft and cigar retreat to the second floor.
Tickets, which are $35 – $5, include free parking and shuttle service as well as visits to Shops at Showcase, Showcase design talks, and an art gallery dedicated to California painters. For more information see PasadenaShowcase.org or call 714-442-3872. The Showcase House is closed Mondays.
