#Two Home Design Fests Take Over L.A. This Month: Inaugural Design Miami.LA and LCDQ Legends

As celebrated interior designer Michael Smith once noted, “Los Angeles is a dinner party town,” an observation that may explain the city’s house-proud fueled obsession with real estate and interior design. May’s one-two punch of design festivals — La Cienega Design Quarter Legends and the inaugural Design Miami.LA — celebrates our passion for all things home.

La Cienega Design Quarter Legends 2024: May 7-9

The La Cienega Design Quarter “Legends” event, which celebrates all things interior design, makes its annual bow on May 7. The theme this year is “Rooms in Bloom.”

Kicking off the LCDQ celebration is a May 7 gala at The Sunset Tower Hotel honoring Pamela Shamshiri, known for her work on the homes of Anne Hathaway, Paul McCartney and Ryan Murphy. The design fest draws interior design professionals and aficionados for two days (May 8 and 9) of dynamic panels, exclusive lunches, experiential offerings and compelling keynotes. Among the highlights (many of which require “VIP registration”) are:

— A conversation between longtime friends Robert Ruffino, who’s worn the editor-in-chief hat at both House Beautiful and Elle Decor, and Alfredo Paredes who, during his tenure at Ralph Lauren, architected our ideas of classic American style. Wednesday May 8, 9:30 am, at Ancient Moderne, 8632 Melrose Avenue

— Internationally renowned event designer Bronson Van Wyck and Jeff Klein, restaurateur, and owner of the beloved Sunset Tower Hotel and the San Vicente Bungalows, discuss their secrets for creating memorable event and hospitality spaces. Wednesday, May 8th, 1 pm, at Ancient Moderne, 8632 Melrose Avenue

— Interior designer Madeline Stuart, whose client list includes Jason Alexander, Larry David and Lisa Henson (as a child, Stuart urged her father, director Mel Stuart, to bring her favorite book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the screen; she and her brother have cameos at the end of the Gene Wilder adaptation).

The LCDQ event’s anchor is the transformation of blue chip to-the-trade-only showroom windows along La Cienega Boulevard by top interior designers, including Jake Arnold, Windsor Smith, and Martin & Brockett’s Jason Martin, which will be up for a week starting May 5. “From hotels to soirees, sets to restaurants, fashion to art, Legends celebrates the myriad ways in which we are all inspired by great design,” says design industry strategist Rebecca Birdwell, the event’s producer.

Design Miami.LA: May 16-20

“It feels fitting to start 2024, which we’ve dubbed our year of evolution, with our inaugural L.A. exhibition,” explains Design Miami’s CEO Jen Roberts.

Cementing the city’s place as one of the pillars of the global art world, alongside the fair’s iterations in Basel, Miami and Paris, which kicked off last year, the by-invitation-only Design Miami.LA debuts May 16, commandeering a Holmby Hills estate designed by celebrated architect Paul R. Williams, and currently owned by Lubov Azria, the widow of Max Azria, founder of clothing brand BCBG Max Azria (Ms. Azria, who is preparing to put the house up for auction by Concierge Auctions, now runs the invitation-only art-focused salon Maison Lune in Venice).

Led by curatorial director Ashlee Harrison, the three-acre property will play host to a group of international design galleries and site-specific exhibitions of historic and contemporary furniture, lighting and objets d’art from the heavyweights of collectible design around the world ranging from local favorites The Future Perfect, Twentieth, and James De Wulf to Mexico City’s Atra, London’s Charles Burnand Gallery and Gallery Fumi, Paris’ Galerie Negropontes, New York’s Todd Merrill and global gallery Carpenters Workshop, among others.

Pivoting around the theme, “Living with Design,” it also celebrates L.A.-based artist Peter Shire. Notes Henrik Purienne, the event’s global creative director, “His work not only reflects the dynamic and eclectic spirit of Los Angeles but also continues to inspire and provoke dialogue in the wider creative community.”

LDV 8899 Bevelry: Design in Residence Pop-Up

After a successful — but all too short — run on Robertson Boulevard, invite-only design platform LDV has debuted a second pop-up, LDV on 8899 Beverly: Design in Residence, which will run through September.

The compelling collection of Art deco, ’70s-era and contemporary furniture and accessories from designers and artists — curated by branding expert Guido Callarelli and creative director and curator Birta Ólafsdóttir — includes pieces by Sami Hayek, Andy Warhol, André Sornay, Romeo Rega and Massimo Vignelli and channels the chic and carefree spirit embodied by Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita. The immaculately restored offerings mirror the glamour of its new location: Originally designed by Richard Dorman and built in 1964 to house ICM (until its move to Beverly Hills in 1992), it was recently remastered to showcase a cluster of luxurious condominiums, penthouses and single-family homes, courtesy of Olson Kundig.