As the owner of Chapman Radcliff Home, which opened in June 2003 in West Hollywood, California, Sommers scours area markets looking for classic forms and fabrics to create her look. "Los Angeles is filled with resources," says the North Carolina native of her West Coast discoveries. "Number one for me is the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena. The deals are unbelievable."

She updates her finds with new paint or upholstery. "In addition to the antique pieces, I like bringing back midcentury forms and adding some flair," she says. Sommers has a knack for seeing the potential in even the most haggard pieces. "Everything is trial and error," she says. "Sometimes I make cocktail napkins and place mats with leftover pieces of fabric."

She basically uses the store as a design laboratory. The little white cottage -- you'd think you were in East Hampton -- that welcomes guests with an American flag and window boxes of red geraniums is chock-full of Sommers' resourcefulness. "It's hard to take a $10 item to a client and have them envision it as something more grand," she says. "With the store, all the work is done."

You'll find items such as the sea grass-covered sofa that Sommers found at a thrift store, club chairs -- once upholstered in white vinyl -- re-covered in a crisp green linen, and a mirrored coffee table Sommers bought for herself on Broome Street in New York. "Everything I own is in the store right now," she says.

Her best find? "I found a beautiful needlepoint picture in Maine for $10 with gorgeous preppy colors of pink, green, and blue," she says. Under a sticker on the back is the name of legendary decorator Sister Parish. "Every time I think I've maxed out my luck, something else comes along."