Mixing it up in Venice

PHILIPPE STARCK’S see-through plastic version of a 1700s French chair was called the Louis Ghost. Anne-Marie Midy’s wrought-iron rendition could be called the Louis skeleton. Her Opera armchair, offered in a variety of custom finishes and upholstery, is part of the Casamidy collection making its West Coast premiere at Colcha, a newcomer to Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. Store owner Sue Cowie (right, with Midy’s chair, $1,100) showcases her other discoveries: Finca Home, a manufacturer of traditional Mexican and neoclassical-style outdoor furniture in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Lamps by Los Angeles designer Jamie Young, textiles by John Robshaw screened in India and found objects from Mexico round out Colcha’s multicultural mix, which Cowie describes as “Mediterranean and modern, old rustic and contemporary.” 1356 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, (310) 392-3600; www.colchahome.com.

-- David A. Keeps

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SAVE

A very light face lift

The Cappellini showroom, one of L.A.’s best known importers of contemporary Italian furniture, is staging a spring sale today through Saturday, with up to 25% off on furniture, lighting and accessories by designers including Jasper Morrison, Marcel Wanders and Ingo Maurer. The price reductions extend to new inventory including Maurer’s intriguing Blushing, a limited edition of the lighting designer’s Zettel’z collection. The piece is designed as an interactive chandelier with clips that allow you to create your mobile-style shade using the material of your choice -- plain paper, love letters or, perhaps for multitaskers, to-do lists. Blushing does come equipped with multiple images of Japanese geisha that, when illuminated, give the fixture its name. At 25% off, the light is $1,830. 9016 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 276-6185; www.cappellinila.com.

-- David A. Keeps

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HAPPENING

Blinding eye candy that sells

Voila gallery, known for an ever-changing array of antique printed materials, will devote this weekend to an exhibition of advertising art from the 1890s to today. “Posters: Now and Then” features hundreds of large-scale images created for operas, exhibitions, holiday destinations and addictive products (alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, designer shoes). The artists are as diverse as Art Deco maestro Erte and Pop prince Andy Warhol. Among the highlights are a late 1950s children’s stockings advertisement by Francis Martoco (above right, $750 unframed) and this late 20th century fashion design by Vira Montez (right, $950 unframed). The gallery, inside the French antiquary Bourgeois Boheme, also will present informal lectures on poster artists and the history of the medium at 2 p.m. today through Sunday. 330 N. La Brea Ave., L.A.; (323) 954-0418; www.voilagallery.com.

-- David A. Keeps

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HOME PAGES

Top designs with heft

It comes in three volumes, consists of 3,300 pages and weighs 18 pounds, but “Phaidon Design Classics” is no by-the-numbers affair. The books profile 999 objects of “aesthetic value and timeless quality,” starting with 1663 Chinese scissors and ending with the minimally modern Apple iMac G5 computer and futuristic Barber Osgerby toothbrush tumbler. The series will be released in June with a retail price of $175; a limited-time offer at www.phaidon.com includes 20% off with free shipping.

-- Craig Nakano