L.A.’s Best Day Trip

Contributing editor Carolynn Carreño takes us on a low-key “daycation” of strolling canals, bohemian shops, and gourmet cafés in her favorite neighborhood, Venice Beach.

Photographer Thomas J. Story, Text by Carolynn Carenno

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Local Favorites

The name Surfing Cowboys (1624 Abbot Kinney Blvd.; 310/450-4891 or surfingcowboys.com) pretty much sums up the way Venice residents seem to feel about themselves, at least the husband-and-wife former artists who turned their studio into an antiques shop specializing in midcentury modern furniture and accessories. I love their retro cowboy boots, but it’s also the place to find a vintage fireplace, and much more.

The high-end antiques store Double Vision (1223 Abbot Kinney Blvd.; 310/314-2679) is what I call aspirational, in that I aspire to own just about everything within its four walls. The store’s collection of mostly European art and antiques is all the evidence necessary to prove that Venice has evolved. (Take a virtual tour of the merchandise at 1stdibs.com.)