I grew up being dragged to flea markets around greater Los Angeles–and though I have fond memories of the Rose Bowl and Long Beach fleas, I think I remember them best for the soft pretzels and license to drink soda before noon. Last weekend I flew home and in my quick three-day trip, I was determined to give the L.A. flea market scene another shot. Because it was the fourth Sunday of the month, it was Santa Monica Airport’s turn in the monthly market cycle, and I couldn’t have been happier about the timing. Smaller and much better curated than the average show, it was the best way imaginable to spend the two hours before a flight.
An airport parking lot doesn’t sound like a particularly scenic venue for a day of shopping, but the 175 vendors took the time to set up professional-looking displays (and the sea of prop planes in the background actually added to the appeal). Under white tents, vignettes of living areas and dining scenes made each set-up feel more like a boutique than a one-day booth. Part of the reason the displays worked so well is that a crop of contemporary vendors are also allowed to show there each month. Though new wares generally send a flea market into swap-meet territory, these stalls with their shabby chic furniture, vintage accents and their slashed prices, actually blended nicely.
Though I may feel different about the flea markets of my youth now, I am going to rank the Santa Monica Airport as one of the best–even the food was good!
Santa Monica Airport Outdoor Antique and Collectible Market is open on the first Sunday from 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. and the fourth Sunday of the month from 6:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. (the fourth Sunday, the one I attended, is the bigger of the two and I highly recommend it!).
In honor of Mothers Day, I need to give my mom some credit. If I have good taste, it started with her. An East Coaster by birth, a former resident of Tokyo, and a Los Angeleno of thirty-five years, my mom Robin has taken the traditional look, peppered it with Asiana and given it a West Coast cool. She is a great collector, ruthless bargain hunter, brilliant DIY-er, and a woman who knows her style. As I was growing up, she dragged me to antique shows, flea markets, flower markets, fabric houses–and I may not have loved it at the time but now these are the places I get my inspiration.
Though we had a formal dining area and a kitchen table, we still spent most meals and nearly all our chats around the butcher block island. When Mike and I moved into our new condo and were presented with an empty kitchen–I knew an island would be the answer to a warm and inviting space.
This sitting room is an extension of the kitchen. Ill never get sick of this color red.
This is her sitting room, one of the many places blue and white dishes can be found. Flow blue, Canton, Willow, transferware–you name it, she’s got it somewhere in the house.
The obsession of hanging blue and white plates led to a less discriminating love of china in all colors and backgrounds. The pattern hanging here in the dining room was actually my great grandmother’s dinnerware.
Chintz may be where our tastes diverge. It’s just too traditional for me to ever use in my house but I can completely appreciate that wing chair when paired with the red linen velvet sofa.
In recent years my mom has been cutting back on her antiquing but recently she spotted this adorable tufted green chair and couldn’t resist.