How very splendid

BRENDA ANTIN is coming out of hiding. The London-born dealer of European antiques and vintage tapestries and fabrics has vacated the vine-covered cottage she had occupied since the early ‘90s, moving her eponymous shop west to an industrial space at 7377 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles. Drenched in sunlight through arched picture windows, the store has concrete floors and blackened brick walls that provide a counterpoint to ornate period furniture and luxurious pillows made from Antin’s trove of Art Nouveau velvets and the 19th century Turkish embroidery known as Suzani. Other accessories include Murano glass lamps and large-scale, contemporary French and Chinese ceramics. “I buy from the heart,” Antin says. “If I see something I fall in love with, I have to have it.” She has reproduced more than two dozen of her prized finds, including Portuguese dining chairs, Troutback wing chairs, white-lacquered, fretwork seating cubes with antique linen cushions, and Chesterfield sofas in cream-colored, Italian glove leather. For early next year, she promises carved lion’s paw bookends and Belgian dining tables that are “so hefty you can drop a plate of food on them and not think twice about it.” (323) 934-8451.

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SEEN

Ask designers to deck the halls ...

Maybe you wouldn’t cover a Christmas tree in compact discs, bathroom tiles or pictures of Marilyn Monroe, but the pros have done that and more at the Giving Tree, a glittery exhibition at the Pacific Design Center, where designers such as Robert Kuo and Michael Berman have trimmed more than two dozen trees. Berman, right, flocked a Christmas tree with Chinese lanterns, used a Japanese ceramic jardiniere for the base and surrounded the whole thing with gift boxes that look like takeout food cartons. He says the event “should provide lots of inspiration for people who want to try something new at home this year.” The display is open to the public 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, through Dec. 23, in the blue building lobby of the PDC, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. Proceeds from a silent auction benefit the Children’s Circle, a foundation supporting seriously ill foster children in L.A.; (310) 657-0800, www.childrenscircle.org.

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HAPPENING

An inspiring patchwork of creativity

“Art is our common language,” says Petite Konstantin, executive director of L.A. Goal, a studio for artists with autism, mental retardation and learning difficulties. “Our organization allows these people to celebrate and share their creative abilities, rather than focus on their disabilities.” This weekend, more than 20 L.A. Goal members, who support themselves as working artists with salaries from the 15-year-old organization, will offer their work for sale at an annual Winter Holiday Boutique. Along with the silk patchwork pillows shown here, $95, original canvases and mixed-media works will be for sale. Members of the studio also produce housewares, including hand-painted birdhouses, ceramic platters, aprons, pillow slips and baby blankets. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at L.A. Goal, 4911 Overland Ave., Culver City; (310) 838-5274, www.insideoutproductions.com (click on “gallery” for a sample of the work).

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FINDS

Faux snow to crunch underfoot

OK, so you can’t exactly scoop it up into a ball or roll it into Frosty the Snowman. But if you want a yard that’s full of Christmas, try these fake flakes from Hollywood Turf. Specializing in no-maintenance synthetic lawns and backyard putting greens, the Canoga Park firm is introducing Snow Turf, a sparkly white faux grass available in 6-foot-wide rolls for $3 per square foot. (The minimum order is a 4-foot-long strip.) Although covering an entire lawn might prove pricey, Snow Turf can turn a footpath or stair steps into a slightly crunchy, nonslip winter walkway. Indoors, it can be used as a runner in the front hallway, Christmas tree skirt, tabletop accent or liner for holiday mantels or window sills. The plastic is pet stain-resistant and cleans up with a hose. (888) 275-8191, www.hollywoodturf.com.