Best Furniture Store (tie)
Carrie Quinn and Heather MacDonald of Maison Luxe. Photo
Maison Luxe – Maison Luxe, located at the corner of Highland and 15th Street, has been a gateway business to downtown Manhattan Beach for 15 years. And though the furniture shop will soon move to the former Re:Style and Either/Or bookstore site Hermosa’s Pier Avenue, the shop long ago transcended it’s physical location.
There are two reasons for this. One is that owner Carrie Quinn, who took over the business four years ago, has a pretty keen understanding of the entire local market. Hers is a full-service business, which does everything from real estate staging to accessorizing to full interior design in homes throughout the beach cities. She knows the South Bay.
“Nobody knows it better than Carrie Quinn,” said Heather MacDonald, the shop’s right-hand woman.
The second reason is because Maison Luxe, though possessing a varied in-store inventory, is also a virtual store of a sort. The store has a voluminous library of catalogues featuring furniture in every style from all over the world. Quinn, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising who has worked in the field 20 years, has created her own “California Beach Chic” style. But she can furnish a home in any style – contemporary, traditional, beach cottage, you name it.
“We don’t offer just one aesthetic,” Quinn said.
Maison Luxe, 1419 Highland Avenue, Manhattan Beach, 310-546-5552, www.maisonluxe.com