East Pender becomes a thriving and diverse home decor hub

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      East Pender Street is the historic hub of Chinatown, but when it comes to home décor, it’s become a hip blend of Far East tradition and urban West Coast style.

      The approach is in the details. Look into Peking Lounge (83 East Pender Street) and you might find a sleek row of classic Foo dog statuettes, glazed in ultratrendy bright sky blue. Or you might find a huge yellow armoire with a bold red interior that owners Michael Bennett and Daniel Poulin had custom-painted in China.

      Just down the block, where Ming Wo (23 East Pender Street) has occupied its century-old building since 1917, you’ll find another fascinating blend of the traditional and trendy-new. Richly hued Dutch ovens and stoneware moutarde pots by in-demand French cookware line Le Creuset sit alongside bamboo steamers and Chinese clay pots.

      The block has always had a colourful assortment of Chinatown knickknack shops, but increasingly, the strip is becoming a more diverse cultural crossroads. Look to the cutting-edge contemporary art at the Rennie Collection art gallery in the 1889 Wing Sang building, the retro modernist chairs and sleek cabinets on casters at Bombast Interiors (27 East Pender Street), or vintage ice crushers, martini shakers, and designer bitters at Modern Bartender (28 East Pender Street). The historic street is quietly becoming a destination for décor and housewares.

      Ten years ago, when Peking Lounge moved into a location just a few doors up from its current spot, it was still considered a down-market area. The owners remember being a bit of an oddity amid the all-Chinese offerings that surrounded them. It helped that Poulin had spent a few years in Beijing, was fluent in Mandarin, and was bringing in furniture from China. What really drew the Lounge to the area was the affordable lease. But now Poulin can’t really see the boutique going anywhere else.

      “The neighbours came to see us when we first opened—they were like, ‘Who are those white guys opening in Chinatown?’ ” Poulin says with a laugh. “We were bringing Chinese furniture back into Chinatown, so philosophically it made sense. Even though we still dream of having a beautiful store in Gastown or South Granville, we still don’t want to move. We still feel we belong here, and rent is still much more affordable than anywhere else in the city.”

      What the location means is that Peking Lounge’s tight Chinatown space is jam-packed with antiques and reproductions that Bennett and Poulin buy on their two trips to China each year. (A new container is set to arrive in a couple of weeks.) Poulin jokes about the stacked trunks, bedside cabinets, and tables: “It’s the closest thing to what we see when we go to China.”

      His boutique attracts a range of clients. “Some of the people most successful in shopping here are the designers: they can imagine what something will look like,” he says. “We also see a lot of people who like to mix pieces. They’re very eclectic and very good with colours; they’re not afraid of adding bright colours.” Poulin loves nothing more than delivering a furniture item and watching it as it’s put into a home’s décor: “When I see it in people’s homes, I think, ‘Oh, good job!’ ” he says.

      Poulin is noticing much more adventurous hues in the new furniture when he and Bennett go to China. One of the most popular items is bedside cabinets, which can come in everything from black or white to turquoise, green, or red (about $275 to $400).

      But that’s the approach of Peking Lounge—and in a way, of the new Pender Street. It’s bringing the old East of Chinatown to the contemporary West Coast, with a keen eye for style. Poulin and Bennett pore over home-design magazines before making their buying trips, and often ask the furniture manufacturers in China to alter a piece to suit a more contemporary clientele. There are big, white vases ($75 to $200) that would fit in easily with modular sofas and glass tables, or rectangular, square, and round raw-silk pillows that would give a coolly monotone grey room a pop of hot pink or orange ($28 to $38). And the Spin line of ceramics, crisp white pieces with minimalistic, calligraphic markings, could fit easily onto a streamlined, dark-wood dining table surrounded by moulded-plastic chairs.

      It’s pieces like these that are helping draw a new kind of visitor to the heart of Chinatown. The Pender block is starting to thrive, with big-name art, hip furnishings, cookware, and cocktail goods, but there’s still one thing needed in the immediate ’hood, says Poulin, who’s watched the area change over the past decade. “The main thing missing is a good restaurant for lunch. Every tourist who comes in here wants to know where to go for lunch,” Poulin says. Note to prospective restaurateurs: to fit in with these eclectic neighbours, it’s best to fuse a little of old Chinatown with the new.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      anonymous

      May 2, 2013 at 6:23pm

      I am wowed by the beautiful furniture and accessories Daniel and Michael pack into their little shop. It's a wonderful adventure shopping at Peking Lounge! Thx.

      jo garrard

      May 7, 2013 at 2:34pm

      Sounds as though Pender is finally coming into its own!
      Does the Peking Lounge have a website?
      I live in Kelowna, and there isn't much choice in home decor and furniture that is unique and different.
      good luck guys, way to go!