
January 12, 2022
Kalon Studios Debuts Los Angeles Showroom
“Our work is what people live with. It’s not the big showy conversation piece.”
Michaele Simmering, cofounder of Kalon Studios

Kalon Studios’ by-appointment showroom occupies a 2,000-square-foot unit in a newly constructed live/work complex in L.A.’s Atwater Village neighborhood. The two-story property is flooded with natural light, ideal for showcasing Kalon Studios furniture and home goods collections. The setting provides an appropriately residential environment for them to share their own sustainably-minded, meticulously crafted work alongside the work of what Simmering dubs “the creative collective” of fellow L.A. artist and designer friends—but not without some necessary interventions.
Shelves displaying Kalon chairs and side tables are mounted onto a kitchen wall in place of the old appliances and cabinetry. The adjacent dining room with expansive windows that face the street fishbowl-style has been styled to house bedroom furnishings. The walls of the double-height living room, which currently is outfitted with the new Rugosa upholstered furniture collection and recent stone pieces, are refinished with Roman Clay from Portola Paints. The downstairs powder room is clad in deep green shimmering zellige tile sourced from L.A.-based Zia Tile and the upstairs offices and work spaces feature custom furnishings and wood storage that Kalon designed and tapped builder Erik Blinderman to fabricate.

Throughout both levels, Pauwen and Simmering get to enjoy the company of various L.A. colleagues and friends in the form of their respective creations. Work by photographer Laure Joliet, ceramic artists Victoria Morris, Bari Ziperstein and Adam Silverman, sculptor Ryosuke Yazaki, metal worker and designer Ramsey Conder, lighting maker Brendan Ravenhill, among others complement Kalon pieces. David Godshall of Terremoto Landscape consulted on the drought-tolerant, sculptural landscape interventions that include a Texas mesquite tree and other subtle modifications to the parkway. (The street itself terminates in a cul-de-sac and abuts a busy thoroughfare.) The welcoming rooftop deck provides outdoor space for gatherings with views of Griffith Park.
Simmering notes how the constraints of the showroom’s square footage and layout has its advantages. She likes the challenge of being “forced to do an edit. I’m glad we can’t show everything,” explaining that the Kalon Studios collections presented on site will regularly rotate. This residential context that feels shared, lived-in, and carefully considered is appropriate to the brand. “Our work is work that people live with. It’s not the big showy conversation piece,” Simmering says.
Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: [email protected]
Latest
Projects
Taisugar Circular Village is a Model Case Study for Circular Economies
The Taiwanese project by Bio-architecture Formosana claims to be the first residential village in the country to be integrated within a circular economy.
Viewpoints
3 Sustainability News Updates for Q1 2025
Local laws, easy-to-access tools, and global initiatives keep the momentum on green building going.
Viewpoints
Women Architects Struggled to Find a Home Within Modernism
American women offered a counterpoint to the boys club of the International Style, a new book says.