Inside the Wondrous World of Joel Chen

As I said in a previous blog, anyone who savors the urban experience knows that it’s often spicier when its treats are well-hidden. And it is even more delicious when those treats…

As I said in a previous blog, anyone who savors the urban experience knows that it’s often spicier when its treats are well-hidden. And it is even more delicious when those treats are created by someone with an impeccable eye and sense of theater. One of those people is Joel Chen, legendary LA design and furniture dealer, whose no-frills web site belies the fabulousness of the parties-come-exhibits he periodically hosts in his loft on Highland. The current spectacle, called Lazy Hazy (subtitled, “Living Amongst Greens: Vintage and Classic Outdoor Furnishings”) fuses classic LA outdoor furnishings with plants provided by The Tropics in a way that inspired my husband to flights of fanciful prose: “A soothing meditation on the exalted loveliness of deceased nature,” is how he described it, and “a stroll through the intestines of a 16th century Florentine dream….” The show is open through August 13. J.F. Chen is at 941 N. Highland Avenue. Tel. 323 466 9700.