Thomas Lavin at Pacific Design Center

Thomas Lavin is a leader in bringing an international range of exclusive high-end home furnishings, fabrics, lighting, and accessories to Los Angeles.

Lavin’s interest in design was piqued at a young age, when he would visit the Pacific Palisades home of his grandfather, Richard Irvine, Chief Operating Officer of the Walt Disney Company. Irvine’s creative interests extended to his house, where, among other things, he covered an entire room in silver tea paper and brought over an artist from Japan to paint orientalist scenes on the walls. Lavin, who was fascinated by his grandfather’s magical house, graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in art history in 1990 and began working in events planning.

In 1995, he launched a career in showroom sales at the Pacific Design Center. Recognizing that there were many manufacturers of fine residential furnishings that had no showroom representation, Lavin decided that a boutique showplace representing little-known talents in the furniture-making field would be favorably received in Los Angeles.

Opening in March 2000 in a compact space on Beverly Boulevard at the crossroads of the Avenues of Art & Design, Lavin moved to an 11,000-square-foot showroom in the Pacific Design Center five years later. He now represents a finely edited assortment of furniture, lighting, textiles and accessories from 60 manufacturers.

Lavin’s philanthropic activities include fund-raising for the L.A. Antiques Show, whose opening night preview benefits P.S. Arts, and he supports numerous charities, including DIFFA’s Dining by Design. He serves on the board of directors of Outfest and is a founder of Design on Beverly Boulevard.

Regarded by the press as a style maker, Lavin is an avid traveler, reader, and connoisseur of art, antiques and fine furnishings.