LEGENDS 2019 Bunny Williams and Suzanne Rheinstein

Designers who traveled from around the U.S. and the world to the La Cienega Design Quarter for LEGENDS 2019 – three days of immersion into the rarified world of high-end design on the theme of Legendary: Icons of Design – experienced an unprecedented number of firsts this year.

The most highly acclaimed design event in the U.S., LEGENDS is a three-day extravaganza that draws thousands of design aficionados, editors, influencers, VIPs and tastemakers in interior design, decor, art, fashion and architecture from around the world for keynotes, discussions, parties, exhibitions, personal appearances and demonstrations – held in the 49 member shops and showrooms in the one-square mile that comprises the La Cienega Design Quarter. 

This year, from May 7 to 9, thousands of LEGENDS attendees celebrated the design stars of yesteryear and, for the first time, the LCDQ honored two Living Legends: design superstars Bunny Williams of New York and Suzanne Rheinstein of Los Angeles.


Other novelties at LEGENDS 2019:

– The LCDQ inaugurated a brand new Shop the Quarter day on the first day of LEGENDS, May 7, so that designers would have an unhindered opportunity to browse the new designs at member shops and showrooms.

LCDQ LEGENDS 2019 Shop the Quarter
Shopping at Serena and Lily.

Artist Peter Shire personally launched an exhibition of chromatic works curated by Furth Yashar & at Farrow & Ball on the new first day of LEGENDS.

LCDQ LEGENDS 2019 Farrow & Ball
Peter Shire exhibit at Farrow & Ball.

Design Dash, a self-paced game created by Sotheby’s Home to enhance the Shop the Quarter Day on May 7, was a hit! Incentives and prizes for visiting LCDQ showrooms were part of the fun, and the winner, Melissa Galt, is an interior designer with pedigree. Galt is the great-granddaughter of Frank Lloyd Wright, daughter of Academy Award-winning actress Anne Baxter and goddaughter to famed costume designer Edith Head. Could it get any better?

The largest contingent of out of town designers participated in LEGENDS this year. Half of the 43 window designers flew in from New York, Toronto, Chicago, Texas and the South to create window displays in the LCDQ shops and showrooms in honor of legendary Icons of Design Tony Duquette, David Hicks, Elsie de Wolfe, Billy Baldwin, Dorothy Draper, Mario Buatta, and other luminaries

– Registrants were able to vote for their favorite window on the LCDQ app. The winner is Catherine M. Austin from Charlotte, N.C., whose design icon is Alberto Pinto.

– Bunny Williams and 20 other design authors were on hand to discuss and sign their latest books at a variety of events including two group book signings at Mecox and Hammer & Spear.

Unique artisans from around the world including hand-block wallpaper maker Walter G of Australia (represented at Nicky Rising Ltd) and a renowned glass engraver from Italy (at the B David Levine showroom) were on hand for special demonstrations and workshops at LCDQ showrooms.

LCDQ LEGENDS 2019 Nicky Rising
The wallpaper printing workshop at Nicky Rising Ltd was a hit.

Two programming highlights of this year’s event included one-on-one discussions between top national design magazine editors and the Living Legends. On Wednesday, May 8, Bunny Williams sat down for an intimate chat with Elle Decor’s Whitney Robinson, and Suzanne Rheinstein was joined by Jill Waage of Traditional Home for a spirited discussion on Thursday, May 9. These two sessions and the keynotes were on Facebook LIVE, courtesy Pacific Sales.

Lines were out the door for repeat game show-style events Love It or Hate It sponsored by Chairish and Design Dating Game brought to you by Alt for Living and Remains.

LCDQ LEGENDS 2019 Design Dash
Registration table display featuring Sotheby’s Home Design Dash contest maps.

Other programming highlights included:

– “Why It’s Worth It,” a 1stdibs Dialogue with panelists Nate Berkus, Jamie Bush and Veere Grenney from London talking about the upside of collecting. Appropriately, the keynote took place in the courtyard of Hammer & Spear, owned by Scott Jarrell and his wife Kristan Cunningham, avid collectors of vintage treasures.

LCDQ LEGENDS 2019 Hammer and Spear
1stdibs Dialogue at Hammer and Spear featured panelists Veere Grenney, Nate Berkus and Jamie Bush, with moderator Anthony Freund.

– The first ever LEGENDS appearance of House Beautiful editor in chief Joanna Saltz as she moderated the keynote “Rules are Meant to be Broken” with design veterans Mary McDonald, Suzanne Kasler and Thomas O’Brien as panelists.

– “The Great Design Debate: Minimalist or Maximalist,” expertly handled by veteran moderator Pamela Jaccarino, editor in chief of Luxe Interiors + Design, with proponents of both sides, panelists Alex Papachristidis, Nicole Fuller and James Magni.

– “Legendary Art and the Designers Who Love It,” moderated by Galerie editor Jacqueline Terrebonne, with Alexandra Loew, David Netto and Steve Giannetti weighing in amongst the artistic rugs hanging from the rafters in the gorgeous farmhouse setting of Marc Phillips Decorative Rugs.

– The first ever LEGENDS appearance of Veranda editor in chief Steele Marcoux, who led consummate voyagers Penny Drue Baird, Colette van den Thillart and Martyn Lawrence Bullard in a discussion on “Legendary Travel Destinations.”

LCDQ LEGENDS 2019 Legendary Green Room
The Legendary Green Room sponsored by Pacific Sales, furnished with seating from Nate + Jeremiah for Living Spaces.

Diversions included The Legendary Green Room, sponsored by Pacific Sales, where LEGENDS guests got to have lunch with Living Legends Bunny Williams and Suzanne Rheinstein. The Legendary Green Room, furnished with comfortable sofas and chairs supplied by Nate + Jeremiah for Living Spaces, was a grand space where any LEGENDS attendee was welcome to recharge their electronic devices on charging stations provided by Pacific Sales and enjoy New Zealand tea and treats courtesy Fisher Paykel.

More than 40 interior designers from around the country transformed the windows of the 49 LCDQ shop and showroom windows to honor the legendary Icons of Design, among them Albert Hadley, Rose Cumming, David Hicks, Elsie de Wolfe, Mark Hampton, Andrée Putman, Billy Baldwin, Dorothy Draper, Mario Buatta, and other luminaries.

LCDQ LEGENDS 2019 Out of Town Designers
Panelists and guests at Mecox’s “Looking Forward to the Past” discussion came from as far away as Australia, the UK and New York.

The largest event of its kind supported by major corporate sponsors and media partners, LEGENDS 2019 could not be staged without:

– 1stdibs and Pacific Sales as Partner Sponsors; Benjamin Moore and Sotheby’s Home as Presenting Sponsors; and California Closets, Chairish and the New York Design Center as Participating Sponsors.

– National media: Elle DecorGalerie, House Beautiful, Luxe Interiors + Design, Traditional Home, Veranda

– Regional media: California Home + Design, California Home and Convo By Design.

– Contributing sponsors: ICAA Los Angeles chapter and Dering Hall.

Please see the attached program for LEGENDS 2019 for a complete list of window designers and programming. For further information visit lcdqla.com/legends-2019 and watch our video to see what makes the LEGENDS event so special.


ABOUT LEGENDS: In its 11th consecutive year, LEGENDS has attracted over 75,000 attendees and garnered more than 500 million media impressions in the last year alone.  The parties, lunches and programs are a huge draw, with as many as 800 people at the opening party in previous years and capacity audiences of 150-250 at the programs held in LCDQ member shops and showrooms.

ABOUT LCDQ: The La Cienega Design Quarter was founded in 2008 to promote the burgeoning antiques and design neighborhood on one of Los Angeles’ oldest thoroughfares. Since the 1950s, La Cienega Boulevard has been the leading destination for interior design, shopped by icons like William Haines, Elsie de Wolfe, Tony Duquette, Frances Elkins, Chet Chidester, Michael Taylor and Kalef Alaton. Today, La Cienega (from Santa Monica Boulevard to Rosewood Avenue), Melrose Avenue (to the East and West) and Melrose Place continue to be the leading destination for high-end design as top designers, celebrities and selective shoppers source the most unique furniture, antiques, lighting, garden, ironwork, hardware, rugs, fabrics, art and accessories in the world from the 49 shops, galleries and showrooms of the LCDQ. For further information visit lcdqla.com.

Media Contacts:

Tamar Mashigian – tamar@cdecor.com
Rich Pedine – rich@richpedinepr.com