Furnishings

Its exterior is classic California bungalow with beveled siding, wood-trimmed windows and a cheery gabled roof. But inside the Venice house, owners David and Jennifer Ritch live with clean lines, an open floor plan and modern furnishings. Can the two styles -- cottage and contemporary -- coexist? How can 1906 California architecture meld with the design preferences of its 2009 occupants? The Ritches asked themselves those questions when they decided not to demolish a 950-square-foot bungalow that the city of Los Angeles had already cited as a public eyesore.

QUITO, Ecuador - "Not long ago, we wouldn't think of coming to this area," Dominic Hamilton tells me as we stand on a street corner in Quito's historic area at 1 a.m. "It was horribly seedy. And dangerous. " Hamilton is a Brit who, after having spent many years writing guidebooks on South America, fell for an Ecuadorean woman and her country and made a life here. That was nine years ago. "Old Quito is one of the most beautiful cities in the world," he continues. "But it had become a shabby shadow of its former self - with drug dealers, thieves and other illicit industries.

1959 Dwight Eisenhower, on holiday from the White House, whips a golf club beneath a blue October sky. Frank Sinatra, driven indoors by a surprise December rainstorm, schmoozes with Peter Lawford and sings with Ella Fitzgerald. Meanwhile, other rich and famous folk are partying at the Chi Chi Club or pulling up their Cadillac coupes (nice tailfins!) in front of the Riviera, that vast new mod hotel. All over the Coachella Valley, architects and builders are seducing tourists with butterfly roof lines, space-age appliances, minimalist graphics and backlit starbursts.

LAYTONVILLE, CALIF. - In the mountains of Mendocino County, a middle-aged couple stroll into the cool morning air to plant the year's crop. Andrew grabs a shovel and begins to dig up rich black garden beds while Anna waters the seedlings, beginning a hallowed annual ritual here in marijuana's Emerald Triangle. In the past, planting day was a time of great expectations, maybe for a vacation in Hawaii or Mexico during the rainy months or a new motor home to make deliveries around the country.

"On parle Francais" in home decor these days, but with a strong American accent. In other words, we like French style, but we bend it to accommodate a more informal way of life, particularly in the bedroom, kitchen and family room. Thus, very unlike the French, we put Provencal print sheets on an oversized bed; entertain dinner guests in our "country French" kitchen and hide the television inside an armoire.

YOU DON'T have to drive 200 miles for great outlet shopping. Sure, Cabazon and Camarillo have their mallish charms. But Trina Turk, Kitson and half a dozen more outlets dwell right here in our neighborhoods, offering the same steep discounts and something closer to a boutique experience. Some of these outlets are in old warehouses and factory spaces, now filled with scores of reasonable designer dresses, shoes and bags.