After six years of championing exquisite furniture, lighting and design in Los Angeles, Scotti Sitz and John Davidson – the couple behind the design store Garde – have opened a second location in the idyllic Summerland area in Santa Barbara. Situated within a refurbished farmhouse that dates back to 1921, Garde Summerland not only operates as a concept store, but a dreamy, short-term rental apartment as well.
The historic barn was lovingly restored by Sitz and Davidson with the aid of a cherry picked selection of designers and makers. Architectural hardware comes from the company Peter Van Cronenburg, bathroom and kitchen fixtures were gleaned from Lefroy Brooks, the paints used were chosen from the family-operated Los Angeleno company Portola Paints, and Southern Californian’s Studio E&R contributed their woodworking expertise. Largely unchanged for the past 50 years, the barn also boasts an outdoor patio that comes complete with silkie chickens that roam as they please.
On the house’s ground floor, pieces by designers such as Apparatus, Egg Collective, Faye Toogood, Gubi, Workstead and Ben & Aja Blanc create a perfect picture of breezy Californian living. The neutral colour palette highlights the impeccably crafted nature of the collections, which also includes an array of exclusives, such as exquisite furniture from the Belgian designer Ben Storms, objects and lighting from the French designer Emilie Lemardeley, garden and outdoor ceramic accents from the venerable Terres d’Albine and its own in-house range of Garde House sofas.
Upstairs, the second floor has been transformed into a 93 sq m apartment available to rent on the platform Airbnb. Adorned with elegant amenities such as When Objects Work cookware, Piet Boon’s ‘Base’ dishware and custom-designed ‘Mad et Len’ scented candles, which are all available to purchase, this short-term abode easily puts most permanent homes to shame.§
