An eclectic and enticing annex
Loyal customers of D.L. Rhein, a small shop just beyond the corner of Motor Avenue and National Boulevard in the Palms neighborhood of West L.A., know that owner Deborah Rhein-Gleiberman and stylist Jessica Young have a knack not just for finding unique items but artfully arranging their wares in a way that can be nearly seductive.
The shop, which opened in 2006, is the brainchild of Rhein-Gleiberman, who began by crafting unique accessories at home. She expanded over the years into full-scale design and retail. “I love collecting and hunting for beautiful objects,” Rhein-Gleiberman says, “old, new, antique and vintage.” For more than 10 years the store has been stocked with a varied mix of hostess gifts, jewelry and furniture, with a special focus now on serving ware and home products.
Rhein-Gleiberman brought the sensibility of the shop into her recently expanded annex — right around the corner.
She wanted to show ready-made custom and refurbished furniture as well as one-of-a-kind vintage and refurbished objects. “We had been keeping a lot of unique pieces in storage and pulling them out for clients,” Young said, “but Deborah wanted them to be displayed.”
Combining old and new to make “modern vintage,” the annex is divided into charming vignettes that people can browse through and perhaps mix and match from custom and refurbished furniture, as well as one-of-a-kind vintage objects and furniture acquired all over the world. Someone could fall in love with a coffee table in one “room” and also want the pink velvet chair in the “bedroom.” Merchandise is rotated regularly and includes new items from Made Goods, Arteriors and other high-end home furnishers.
The store will also refurbish well-made vintage furniture to modernize it, turning an otherwise classic 1960s couch covered in a “hideous Granny jacquard textile” into an elegant statement piece in navy mohair with channel tufting. An old dresser is updated with grass cloth wallpaper, and hanging over it is a giant round mirror made with scores of antique rolling pins. The store got a darling cherry wood bed from a vintage vendor, stripped it to its natural wood and added an upholstered head and footboards in gorgeous Belgian linen.
“We will custom-make anything,” Young adds. The store also has a great collection of vintage rugs in unexpected colors and super-luxe New Zealand sheepskin available in an array of sizes and colors. Full interior design services include everything from styling someone’s bookshelves to full demo and remodels.
Pricing is as eclectic as the furniture, with one-of-a kind items ref lecting their value as well as some real steals.