Discover the best of living the luxury lifestyle with spotlights on places from home décor and furniture stores to hotels and restaurants and city life in and around the South Bay & Westside areas and around the world.
Today, that former Young Women’s Christian Association-owned haven at 939 S. Figueroa Street is undergoing a transformation that will see it re-emerge as a luxurious boutique property at the gateway to DTLA’s thriving arts, culture, dining, and nightlife scene.
Nearly 100 years later, the landmark Culver Hotel along Culver Boulevard survives—and thrives, riding the crest of culinary and artistic revitalization that is Culver City.
As the first condo tower to hit DTLA in almost a decade, the shiny-new, glass-cubed TEN50 is attracting the lion’s share of attention, with more than 50-percent of the boutique high-rise’s 151 residences snapped up since sales began last April.
If you’ve lived in the South Bay for any period of time, you’ve stopped in or at least cruised by a Spyder shop. Founded by pro surfer and board shaper Dennis Jarvis, who began creating Spyder boards in the late-70s to boost his performance on the pro circuit, his two Spyder stores—one at the corner of PCH and Artesia in Hermosa Beach; the other on Hermosa’s Pier Plaza—have for decades been friendly go-to fixtures for surf gear, from boards and wetsuits to board shorts, bikinis and beach fashion.
Created by noted luxury design firm AvroKO, the concept’s sexy and stylish environs feature locally sourced antiques and vintage pieces, along with light fixtures and artwork from area artisans.
Hosting home-based cooking classes and organic pop-up dinners, Swedish-born private chef and caterer, Helene Henderson created a thriving duo of eateries at opposite ends of the beach community’s pier.
Open since March, Wolf is the first restaurant for Marcel Vigneron, a Top Chef alum who was named runner-up in the second season before going on to appear in a slew of other cooking shows, from Top Chef: All-Stars to The Next Iron Chef. He even had a short-lived SyFy series called Marcel’s.
Knitting, once an activity of necessity for women and now of leisure, is treated by Karen Damskey—a childhood enthusiast who opened the store in her 20s—as an art, versus a craft.
