Michelle Beamer, owner of Lonetree in downtown Santa Barbara’s Victoria Court, has long had a vision for a store that provides space “to inspire, create and bring people together.” 
Team Lonetree includes, from left, owner and interior designer Michelle Beamer, project manager and designer Taryn Bazzell, retail operations and marketing manager Marni Cheverez, and office administrator Christy Phillips. 
Lonetree features upholstered pieces, chairs, ottomans, candles rugs, pillows, overhead lighting, art, baskets and more. 
Family, friends, clients and customers packed Lonetree’s beautiful new home furnishings store in Victoria Court in downtown Santa Barbara. 
Lonetree’s grand opening doubled as a fundraiser for CALM (Child Abuse Listening Mediation). 
The author takes her shot with Lonetree owner Michelle Beamer.
On a recent 1st Thursday in downtown Santa Barbara, a distinctive buzz was in the air at charming Victoria Court.
Inside the courtyard at 1221 State St., Lonetree was holding an opening reveal for family, friends, clients and customers at its beautiful new home furnishings store in Suite 24.
The large crowd, myself included, was there to celebrate owner Michelle Beamer’s accomplishment and to check out all the merchandise, which includes upholstered pieces, chairs, ottomans, candles rugs, pillows, overhead lighting, art, baskets and so much more.
White wine and champagne were served by Kompas Wine Club and charcuterie and hors d’oeuvres were locally sourced by the host.
Lonetree also raffled off several items, including design services from Beamer, in a benefit for CALM (Child Abuse Listening Mediation).
“The intention of Lonetree is not to make or shape to a prescribed ‘look’ but to encourage clients to tap into their own unique self-expression,” Beamer told Noozhawk.
“Being at home is about a place that feels, functions and looks great and tells a story. The excitement for me is finding new and vintage things, and a great joy is putting a variety of pieces together to create unique and beautiful spaces for home.”
She called it “my passion and motivation for this venture.”
Beamer explained that she was finishing her Master’s thesis at Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at The George Washington University when she “envisioned a type of store that displayed goods as a landscape of ever-changing vignettes.”
Putting theory into practice, she said clients can expect to see the Lonetree landscape changing on a regular basis.
“Lonetree was born out of a desire to have the perfect space to inspire, create and bring people together,” Beamer said. “Just like this evening.”
The downtown Santa Barbara Arts District — home to many of our community’s most beautiful art galleries as well as the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Arlington, The Granada and The New Vic theaters — is becoming a bustling home and design collective destination as well.
Lonetree joins domecíl, Celadon House, Haute Bohemian, Maune Contemporary, Sofa U Love and Galerie XX in helping the area re-emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic with energy, vigor and excitement.
— Judy Foreman is a Noozhawk columnist and longtime local writer and lifestyles observer. She can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.