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Santa Barbara has always had an appetite for upscale restaurants, clothing and home furnishings — as evidenced by the opening of the new Santa Barbara Public Market, development of the Funk Zone and Montecito’s surge of higher-end retail shops.
Now, Santa Claus Lane in Carpinteria is having its own renaissance. While still infused with a beachy vibe that welcomes shorts and sandals, several businesses are leaning toward a more sophisticated shopper with an eye on design.
Reed Interiors, which was acquired by Myriam and Romain Doussineau four years ago, joins Porch, Hummingbird, Hawthorn at Padaro Beach and The Garden Market as examples of a retail inventory of upscale merchandise for your home and your fashion statement. Showcasing products that represent the relaxed coastal California lifestyle mixed with a contemporary edge, the Doussineaus bring their design skills nurtured in their native Paris.
Doussineau was a chef for more than 15 years in the hotel and restaurant business in Paris, his wife a European executive with Johnson & Johnson. In addition to their day jobs, the parents of two children remodeled several properties.
After Myriam took a corporate job with Mentor in Goleta, they emigrated to the South Coast and have not looked back. Deciding to merge their aesthetic and business talents, they’ve changed the face of the once-predictable resources at the former Reed to carry what they describe as a mix of styles and their idea of Santa Barbara lifestyle elegance.
With the beach breeze a welcome respite from last week’s heat wave, I sat down with the Doussineaus at their newly expanded showroom.
“We are careful to source interesting and unique products that a customer will not find in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles or even California showrooms,” Myriam said. “We want to be different and not another ‘me-too’ design center.
“Our version of contemporary, which is still prevalent in the showrooms of Milan and Paris, is comfort first, durability, affordability and style.”
Hoping to eliminate the need to go down to “traffic central” on Melrose, Robertson or Beverly Boulevard in West Los Angeles, the Doussineaus’ 4,000-square-foot showroom carries a vast line of fabrications for all residential or commercial resources.
Fabric lines such as Duralee, Robert Allen, Kravet and Schumacher for walls and windows join Italian leather furniture line Gamma; Casa Maison, specializing in reclaimed wood furniture; Hind Rabii, a Belgian lighting company exclusive to Reed; Bloom lighting from the Netherlands; Pottery Pots Studio, which specializes in modern garden furniture from Holland; Studio Orfeo Quagliata glass décor; Marianne Guedin, a French line of decorative candles; and Herve Gambs, another French line whose Neonature floral compositions are offered at Reed Interiors. Indoor and outdoor carpeting and hardwood, and Fatboy floor pillows are among their resource lineup.
The Doussineaus’ additional ingredient to ensure the best possible experience is their staff, which includes several licensed interior designers and sales associates with experience in the French Canadian fashion business.
Reed Interiors also has its own production and installation team, which Romain says “helps ensure more control of the final product.” Reed works comfortably with interior design professionals and the retail customers who prefer to do it themselves
C’est magnifique!
The Reed Interiors showroom, 3821 Santa Claus Lane in Carpinteria, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Click here for more information, or call 805.684.7583.
— Judy Foreman is a Noozhawk columnist and longtime local writer and lifestyles observer. She can be contacted at judyforeman@noozhawk.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.