This pioneering architect helped make the simple style of Andalusian farmhouses central to California style High-end shoppers in Los Angeles likely took note of the new Bottega Veneta store that opened in Southern California earlier this summer. It?s hard to miss when an outpost of the famous luxury brand opens, and the prestigious Rodeo Drive address certainly helped raise its profile.
But another key aspect of the store was its sympathetic, Southern California style, particularly the cues taken from the Spanish Colonial style that was popularized in the region. The store?s white walls and arched openings call to mind many of the grand homes and mansions in the California countryside, which themselves recall the farmhouses and vernacular architecture imported by Spanish colonists centuries ago. One of the prime innovators of this style, George Washington Smith, name-checked by the store?s architects, designed homes for the types of upper class clients that likely would have shopped at the posh clothing store. Smith, an East Coast artist who initially made money in the bond market, may seem like an unlikely candidate to promote Spanish-style architecture, especially considering that designing homes was sort of a second career. But his unique experiences and keen artistic vision allowed him to make a lasting impact on the housing of his adopted home, creating stunning white-walled homes that played with light, shadow, and form.

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