Breezes into a new town
Amber Lewis’ half-million-plus Instagram followers, growing client roster and the success of her first brick-and-mortar home decor boutique provide ample evidence that she knows what works. ¶ Now the Calabasas-based interior designer is bringing her SoCal-inspired breezy, contemporary style to a different neighborhood on the other side of the hill.
“We had so many clients coming in from the Westside,” Lewis said, explaining her choice of locale.
And although she didn’t specifically target Pacific Palisades, certain circumstances helped guide her real estate decision: She was meeting luxury fashion retailer Elyse Walker last year when she noticed a “for lease” sign next to where she parked on Swarthmore Avenue, near the soon-toopen Palisades Village development.
It turned out that said sign had been posted that very morning.
Lewis knew the venue would be perfect for her mix of pillows, vintage imported rugs, textiles and other home accessories, as well as her custom furniture line.
Since acquiring the 1,000square-foot spot in December, “we gutted the whole place and did quite an extensive remodel” to transform the former clothing consignment store into a second Shoppe Amber Interiors location. (Her design studio remains in Calabasas.) She kept the building’s red roof tile and basic bones but made it her own by adding board and batten siding painted a shade of very dark green “that reads black.”
She intends to foster a community-minded, indie spirit, as she has in the west Valley since 2015.
“This is a neighborhood store where you get glasses and dishes and candles and pillows and order furniture,” Lewis noted. “It’s a curated collection of what we have in Calabasas,” noting that the first Shoppe Amber Interiors is 400 square feet larger. “It’s very much the same brand.”
Despite the distance — and sometimes daunting drives — from one side of the Santa Monica Mountains from Calabasas to the Palisades on the other, the territory feels familiar to Lewis. “I grew up in Malibu, so this is like my backyard,” she said.