HEIRLOOM ROOMS

When Vienna-born Angelika Schubert set out to decorate the secluded Bel-Air Crest residence she shares with husband David Tate, she envisioned a continental-meets-California look. “I wanted to combine furnishings I inherited from my family in Austria with those we’ve collected in Los Angeles for the last two decades.” To achieve that, a handsome collection of 18th, 19th and early 20th century furnishings now fills the couple’s hilltop house. A Baroque armoire, a Biedermier sofa and a pair of Joseph Hoffman cabinets, all family heirlooms, mingle gracefully with French Art Deco club chairs, Art Nouveau candelabra and California art pottery bought on weekly forays to antique shops and flea markets. “I love the mix of many different periods,” says Schubert, a former fashion designer who now runs Celestine, an agency for clothing, hair and makeup stylists.

Except for the 20-foot-high ceilings and large picture windows, the couple’s split-level, 10-room house overlooking the Pacific Ocean was quite unremarkable when they moved in three years ago. “Everything was taupe--taupe carpet, taupe walls, taupe window trim. It looked really sad,” Schubert recalls. To give the interiors some panache, the doors, cabinets and window trim were painted in high-gloss black. Walls were coated in linen-white paint, and black granite was installed for the entryway floor, kitchen counters and fireplace surrounds.

Autumnal shades--olive, gold, rust--and vintage textiles produce an elegant tranquillity throughout the Mediterranean-style home. Which comes as no surprise since Schubert is also a silent partner in Odalisque, a Melrose Avenue shop specializing in 19th century European textiles for bedding, drapery and upholstered goods. “Old fabrics have such wonderful color and texture. They almost cry out to be touched,” she says. In the master bedroom, a 1940s floral coverlet forms the central panel of a bedspread trimmed with butterscotch-colored velvet and gold bullion fringe. Pillows in antique velvets and ‘30s trims line the living room couches. And for drama in the foyer, the entry door is draped with a black border of raw silk. Says Schubert: “It reminds me of a Chanel showroom I saw as a child.”

Elsewhere, rooms are set with small, tasteful vignettes of pottery, antique bronze lanterns, Japanese scrolls and ceramics. “A house is like a good basic dress--it’s a backdrop,” Schubert explains. “To me, it’s always the accessories that create style--that make an outfit or a home come alive.”

Hair stylist: Kali/Celestine L.A.