Marketplace Shops: California Dreamin'

The name may sound vaguely like a Beach Boys B-side, but Summerland, California, isn’t all surfing and sunbathing. With its seemingly unlimited supply of antiques and home furnishings shops and its proximity to Santa Barbara (a mere five miles north on Highway 101), this picturesque beach town is a shopper’s paradise.

The fanciful cottage exterior and verdant gardens of BO•TAN•IK look as if they have been transported straight from the pages of a child’s storybook.

Photographs by Michael Skott
Text by Jenny Bradley

Known for its lush succulent gardens and larger-than-life specimen orchids, BO•TAN•IK has become the place to go for garden delights. Owner Erin Keosian, who also launched a neighboring home store by the same name in 2003, has added home furnishings, accessories, and lighting to the garden store’s mix. “We try to bring the best of the relaxed California lifestyle to people’s homes,” says Erin. “It’s all very organic and earthy.”

A few doors down Lillie Avenue from BO•TAN•IK, EUROPA ANTIQUES & FINEART GALLERY, arguably the area’s premier antiques destination, contains treasures from owner Patrick Aumont’s frequent trips to Europe (mainly France and Italy).

While Patrick specializes in Renaissance and Baroque furniture, you’ll also find items such as a 1970s Swedish Lucite-and-rosewood desk by Poul Norkell and a collection of Robert Stivers’s moody photographic prints.

“My passion is Italy and France in the 17th century,” says Patrick. “That was a time when ‘Cabinets of Curiosity’ became so popular—a precursor to the Enlightenment. And in that spirit, curiosity is what moves me in my quest for art, objects, and furniture.”

For custom furnishings, vintage textiles, and colorful home accessories (don’t miss the John Robshaw pillows and bedding), cross Lillie Avenue to ROOMS & GARDENS.

Actress Mary Steenburgen liked the shop so much that she recently partnered with owners Eric and Jami Voulgaris to open a third location in Santa Monica. (You’ll also find a shop in Santa Barbara.)

“It’s difficult to characterize our look,” says Eric. “It’s a mix of elements—from British Colonial and French country to high-end beach cottage.”