Farm-Fresh

A LOS ANGELES LANDMARK TURNS A NEW LEAF

FARMER'S DAUGHTER

The Farmer's Daughter Motel, like Los Angeles itself, is a mass of heady contradictions. Formerly a drab, low-budget refuge and, in a previous decade, home to the v Olive, an industry haunt with an unlisted phone number, the city space with the country name has long attracted a curious mix of guests. From The Price Is t i jb Right hopefuls to the cash-strapped and starryeyed, this Fairfax landmark, neighbor to CBS, Farmers Market, and the Grove, has lodged them all. Pete and Ellen Picataggio have run things since 1999, when they took over from Ellen's parents. When the Picataggios' radical renovation is completed, an entirely new type of customer may be checking in. Handstitched denim bedspreads, milk pails, cowskin rugs, DVD players, and wireless Internet access are now the lay of the land. Architect Dean Larkin, recently at work on John Fogerty's new Beverly Hills home, and interior designer Delta Wright, whose credits include the Shalimar department store in Saudi Arabia, brought spirited imagination to the project. Striking a balance between the fanciful excesses of the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo and the dizzying hip of the Standards, the new design will tempt the trendy without upsetting Granny,

EMILY POENISCH