WHAT: "The Arts and Crafts Movement in Europe and America, 1880-1920: Design for the Modern World" at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
WHEN: Today through April 3.
WHY GO: Assembling more than 300 items -- from furniture to textiles to decorative objects -- from scores of museums and private holdings, the exhibition is billing itself as the first large-scale show devoted to the turn-of-the-last-century design movement.
DON'T MISS . . . the reconstructed dining room by German architect-designer Peter Behrens that integrates lighting, dinnerware, glassware and even carpeting into an Arts and Crafts vision. Other marquee items include a Frank Lloyd Wright lamp, a Josef Hoffmann tea set and Newcomb pottery.
FEE: Free with paid admission to the museum ($9).
EXTRAS: Perhaps the area's finest example of California Arts and Crafts style is Pasadena's Gamble House (4 Westmoreland Pl., 626-793-3334, www.gamblehouse.org), built in 1908. One-hour tours ($8) are held Thursday through Sunday; tickets go on sale at the on-property bookstore Thursday through Saturday at 10 a.m. and Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Pasadena is also home to scads of other classic Arts and Crafts buildings, particularly along Arroyo Terrace.
Greater L.A. boasts several other pockets full of Arts and Crafts homes, notably Sycamore Terrace in the Highland Park neighborhood, the Jefferson Park area of the West Adams District and Alvarado Terrace between 14th Street and Bonnie Brae.
PACKAGES: The Elan Hotel Modern (8435 Beverly Blvd., 888-611-0398, www.elanhotel.com) has an "Art in L.A." package that includes lodging, two tickets to LACMA, breakfast and a dinner for two at EM Bistro or Pane e Vino restaurants. The rate is $314 per night double with a two-night minimum stay. Valid through Dec. 29.
INFO: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., 323-857-6000, www.lacma.org. -- Seth Sherwood
