The Revitaliste Official Design Guide to Los Angeles
Revitaliste is now serving Los Angeles with upholstery and furniture refinishing and restoration services. We’re enthralled with our new city, where creativity abounds and there is design inspiration on every corner, in each detail of restaurant decor from the trendy to the classic, and flora and fauna galore. To get to know our new city, we tapped some of our favorite creatives to get the inside scoop on what the Los Angeles design pros love most about their town. Meet our style-savvy guest contributors below!
Victoria Smith, founder of sfgirlbybay
Estee Stanley, principal designer at Hancock Design
Tatum Kendrick, founder of Studio Hus
Georgia Tapert Howe, interior designer
WHERE TO EAT
From West Hollywood to Beverly Hills, beautiful restaurants with equally beautiful food dot the landscape of Los Angeles. Botanica in Silverlake exemplifies that laid-back elegance and freshness you’ll only find in this city, and the hybrid market/restaurant comes highly recommended by Studio Hus founder Tatum Kendrick. “It’s my neighborhood go-to with a yummy seasonal menu and even yummier wine list!” Manuela is another of Tatum’s favorite spots - a hidden gem with a courtyard, right in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. If you’re dreaming of a summery night in Paris, famed bistro Petit Trois is Hancock Design principal designer Estee Stanley’s go-to (and she happened to design the beautiful interior herself!). For all your picture-perfect charcuterie board and pasta needs, Bestia is a favorite from it-girl Victoria Smith, founder of sfgirlbybay.
FAVORITE FLORISTS
“I like to do my own arrangements - if I really have time, I’ll go to The Los Angeles Flower Market downtown,” says interior designer Georgia Tapert Howe. Tatum Kendrick agrees: “I love going to the Flower Market for photo shoots and doing the arranging and styling myself. It’s so fun to arrive at 8am and start your day roaming a massive warehouse full of flowers from around the world.” If you prefer to use a florist for your blooms, Victoria Smith recommends Moon Canyon, a floral design studio creating the world's most ethereal arrangements. For incredibly unique and sculptural bouquets, Estee Stanley chooses Bloom & Plume.
FAVORITE SECRET AND NOT-SO-SECRET GARDENS
Los Angeles’s perfect weather means perfect gardens all year round. While bougainvillea is blooming along sidewalks and California poppies sprout up in every public park, Los Angeles is home to plenty of gorgeous traditional gardens. Victoria Smith loves to spend time in Descanso Gardens, which has a particularly beautiful Japanese garden and a rose garden with over 1,600 roses of different varieties. Georgia Tapert Howe recently added the stunning Virginia Robinson Gardens to her list of local favorites: the home and garden are not only recognized as a historical landmark, but also a design destination to enjoy by appointment only. Huntington Gardens comes highly recommended by Tatum Kendrick: “Not only are the grounds and plants amazing but the museums and architecture is great as well.”
BEST MUSEUMS
Having always been a haven for creatives, Los Angeles is home to some of the best art museums in the country. Victoria Smith named LACMA as the one museum that can’t be missed in the city. With art from ancient times to some of today’s most lauded contemporary artists, spending the day at LACMA will fly by. The Getty is another favorite among creatives - Georgia Tapert Howe adds it to her short list of the city’s most inspiring spots.
EXQUISITE ARCHITECTURE
Should you choose to roam the city looking for architectural inspiration, The Eastern Building in downtown Los Angeles is a great place to start. “Who doesn’t love turquoise terracotta tile on a classic art deco building?” says Tatum Kendrick. An architectural design mecca for Victoria Smith is The Theater at the Ace Hotel, a restored Spanish Gothic style wonder, originally designed for Charlie Chaplin’s film studio.
Thanks to our lovely Los Angeles design contributors for sharing their favorite spots in the city!
Wondering where to get your furniture refinished, lacquered or reupholstered in Los Angeles? Revitaliste’s full revitalization service offering is now available throughout Greater Los Angeles.