Rose Tarlow Melrose Place

Rose Tarlow, the doyenne of design in Los Angeles, has returned to the helm of the company that bears her name to introduce a collection of furniture that reaffirms her mastery of the art of antique furniture adaptations.​

Known for her signature antique influence and an unparalleled attention to detail, Tarlow personally designed each piece in the new collection. The furniture and lamps are made in Los Angeles undergoing a thorough, multi-step design process, which has been the hallmark of Rose Tarlow Melrose House furniture for over 40 years. From the cutting of wood to the layering of finishes, each piece of furniture is the result of an accumulation of dozens of hours of human handiwork.

As one of the original antique shops in the La Cienega Design Quarter, Rose Tarlow Melrose House has been a prized resource for the interior design community for over forty years. Tarlow opened the shop’s doors on Melrose Place in the 1970s, when Los Angeles’ design community was beginning to form on La Cienega Boulevard and decades before the LCDQ was founded.

Rose Tarlow Four Poster Bed
Rose Tarlow Archie Four Poster Bed

Tarlow became an interior designer by default, as some of the most influential L.A. residents sought her out as someone who could make houses look effortlessly beautiful and comfortable, with all of the rarified originality that antiques can bring to an interior. The one book she published about her work, Private House, shows snippets from the homes of the handful of clients (and friends), such as David Geffen, Eli and Edye Broad and Barbara Walters. One of the most visible moments in her career has been the design of the former Jack Warner mansion in Bel Air, which Geffen purchased in 1990.

Despite her interior design dalliances, Tarlow’s shop remained the focal point of her passion for antiques. Yet over the decades, as antiques became pricey and customers were looking for furniture that was easier to adapt into contemporary settings, Tarlow established a reputation for antique adaptations and impeccably styled traditional wood furniture with finishes that look anything but new.

Rose Tarlow Library Sofa and Ollie Dog Bed
Rose Tarlow Library Sofa and Ollie Dog Bed

While the shop moved a few hundreds yards away to Melrose Avenue, Rose’s magical touch is strongly felt. Her latest introductions include the Archie four-poster bed, library sofa, bench, dog bed and a full collection of table lamps and crème pots.

As with Tarlow’s previous collections, many of these items are inspired by her own canon of antiques. For example, the concept behind the Archie Bench (below) is inspired by two Louis XIII benches she discovered in a European antiques market.

“Benches are wonderful as a pair to put under tables where there are large spaces that need to be filled and can be pulled out for extra seating,” says Tarlow.

Rose Tarlow Archie Bench
Rose Tarlow Archie Bench

Usually, Tarlow’s designs clearly reference their antecedents. But her new collection of lamps belies any connection to antiquity. Even though the Latte Lamp was inspired by an ancient

Chinese vessel from Tarlow’s own collection, the lamps are contemporary in execution, and their geometric shapes were designed to complement the rest of the overall collection.

The crème pots, says Tarlow, “were inspired by a Ming vessel that I have in my collection of early Chinese pottery. I like the slip glaze that feels like heavy cream.”

Rose Tarlow Raffles and Penny Lane Table Lamps
Rose Tarlow Raffles and Penny Lane Table Lamps
Rose Tarlow Latte and Cube Table Lamps
Rose Tarlow Latte and Cube Table Lamps
Rose Tarlow Creme Pots
Rose Tarlow Creme Pots

Explore the new 2017 collection at the Rose Tarlow Melrose House showroom in the La Cienega Design Quarter.


8540 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90069

T (323) 651-2202
rosetarlow.com