I'm looking forward to the first annual ELLE DECOR Presents Legends of La Cienega Design Walk, scheduled to start on May 8 and run through May 9th.

There are several interesting panels and tributes evoking the legends of L.A. design, including a walking tour of designer vignettes on display in storefronts along La Cienega Boulevard, from Beverly to Santa Monica boulevards.

Highlights include:

• Friday, May 8th at 1:30 P.M. - 2:30 P.M.

Legendary Hollywood decorator William Haines is known as the father of Hollywood Modern for using an exuberant mix of English, Modern and Neo-Classical to style Tinsel Town's top interiors. Class Act, published by Pointed Leaf Press, is the definitive book on Haines' history and the celebrities whose homes were enlivened by his custom furniture designs.

• Friday, May 8th at 2:30 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.
  A Presentation by Bret Parsons of Hollywood's Society Architect Gerard Colcord with Book Signing to Follow of His Book Colcord Home
  Bausman & Company
  921 N. La Cienega Blvd.
  310.659.9459

  From 1924 to 1984, Beverly Hills-based architect Gerard R. Colcord created a significant architectural legacy in Southern California that includes more than 300 residential estates and 100 remodels. He designed in a variety of architectural vernaculars: Tudor, Country French, Hollywood Regency, Spanish Hacienda, Monterey Colonial, Contemporary, and his signature genre, sprawling Country Colonial farmhouses. These homes are still coveted today, often commanding between 5 and 10 million dollars

• Friday, May 8th 3 P.M. - 5 P.M.
  A Book Signing with Fran Drescher, Actress, Activist, Director, Philanthropist and Author of Cancer Schmancer
  Jean Marc Gallery
  906 N. La Cienega Blvd.
  310.659.2975

• Saturday, May 9th
  11 A.M. - 12 P.M.
  A Morning Tea with Eleanor Schrader Schapa
  Dishing the Dirt: Stories, Scandals, and the History of Furniture
  George Smith Handmade Furniture & Fabrics
  804 N. La Cienega Blvd.
  310.360.0880

  Eleanor Schrader Schapa tells the story behind many of George Smith's historically inspired furniture pieces, including plenty of gossip and scandal. She also shares the why's and how's of furniture design and construction.



• Saturday, May 9th


• 2 P.M. - 4 P.M.
  A Book Signing by Hutton Wilkinson for His Book Tony Duquette and Stories About the Legendary Designer
  Baker Furniture
  360 N. La Cienega Blvd.
  310.289.0074

  Hutton Wilkinson recounts his experiences with Tony Duquette and the celebrity crowd who surrounded this legendary designer.