GARRET & GARAGE | Interior Spotlight

DOWNTOWN LA – Beatrice Novoa and Kimberly Higgins of  Garret & Garage, reveal their design project in the Eastern Columbia Building.

The Shefa Loft project was a full-scale renovation in the Eastern Columbia Building below Johnny Depp’s penthouse, in the Historical Theater District of DTLA. Riffing on the building’s Art Deco sensibility, Garret & Garage designed a grand, cinematic space capable of shifting scenes from a contemplative study, to an intimate pied-à-terre to an impressive stage for entertaining. The duo were thrilled to work with Lori Shefa, whose own discerning eye and openness to their vision made the project an innovative endeavor.

Garret & Garage delight in exploring unique materials and innovating architectural enhancements: a sliding solid brass door bearing their client’s family crest, structural columns wrapped in blue blackened steel and brass, a built-in bookshelf with a custom-made library ladder of walnut. Additional bespoke furniture includes a walnut desk with a stamped leather surface, and a lamp entitled “The Fuller Brush Man”. A number of aesthetics are referenced; British mens club meets mid-century meets turn-of-the-century Americana.

Further refining the space with subtle details, they trimmed walls with triple moldings and draped the large windows with a unique tie-dyed textile from Belgium. Intricate use of color is another signature of Garret & Garage; from Farrow & Ball came their palette of rich, smoky blues evocative of the thirties. The duo also has an uncanny skill at curating and expanding a client’s art collection, deepening the personality of the space. Vintage artifacts are juxtaposed with contemporary works by Cuban artist Luis Rodriguez and witty British artist Harlan Miller. This intriguing collage of styles yields a mise-en-scene ready for any conceivable narrative.

Garret & Garage collaborates with craftsmen, artists, and vendors to conceive and produce bespoke furniture for indoor and outdoor living. Our objective is to provide uncommon artistry, quality, and sensibility. “The melding of polar opposites, this back and forth -tug of war – if you will, is our inherent crux”.

The duo team of Beatrice Novoa, Cuban by birth but raised in Madrid, brings to Garret & Garage a global aesthetic and multi-faceted background. With an MFA in Visual Design, she worked first in fashion, under such luminaries as Thierry Mugler in Paris, Geoffrey Beene and Calvin Klein in New York. She then went on to create her own line of furniture in historic ateliers in Florence, and ultimately established a celebrated furniture gallery in Miami.

Her partner, Kimberly Higgins, was reared in the Sandhills of the Midwest. She has a substantial background in the field of design and has built a discerning clientele working with both the entertainment industry and notable design companies in Los Angeles, collaborating in development and re-branding. Screen work includes The Royal Tenenbaums, The Aviator, Ocean’s Eleven, and the Barbara Walter’s Academy Award Specials. Design houses include Emmerson Troop, Rituals, Bardeaux Mobilier, RH and more.

Kim has collaborated on projects involving foreign dignitaries, Ralph Lauren, Jean Mathison (William Haines Archives), and The Sarasota School of Architecture.

Furnishing Details: Rodger Stevens brass sculpture on RH coffee table, from Timothy Yarger Fine Art. Italian bronze foot from ma+39. Hair on hide frame from House of Mercier, Peru. Center left: Abe Desk by Garret & Garage. White Alma Credenza by Dzierlenga F+U, Polaroid camera by Ching Ching Cheng, from Timothy Yarger.  ‘The Fuller Brush Man” lamp, from Garret & Garage. ‘Bird #1’ by Robert Peluce, ‘A Man With Small Pockets And A Big Heart’, by Beatrice Novoa, and other assorted flea market finds.Painting (above bed): by Martin Bruinsma. Solid brass rolling barn door by Garret & Garage.

Read more in the Summer 2018 issue of LA HOME

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