Realm

This is a cute little place located in Chinatown where Wonder bakery is at.
I was walking alone in Chinatown and wondering around, finding new places i’ve never discovered before. I came across Realm, and I was expecting to see some spiritual stuff. but it was a super quiet and well organized store. Everything was so close together, I had a hard time walking around. I felt sort of claustrophobic. I didn’t want to accidentally hit and break anything. lol
They sell cute home décor and other quirky items. It’s nothing i’d ever come across. felt like a gallery though. Walk in, look around, walk out. Find anything interesting, like it? Buy it. The salesperson who works there does not engage or interact with you whatsoever. I find it kind of uncomfortable that she was just staring at you, while you walked around.
Ehh… it’s a place to discover if you’re alone and have no where to go. It’s an interesting place though! Check it out if you want to see cool things! (: Reminds me of an underground Urban Outfitters in a way. lol

Beautiful contemporary home goods store. Loved their unique glassware, heavy acrylic boxes, modern teaware from porcelain teapots, teacups, and even Palais des Thés French brand teas, yum! They also carry one of my all time favorite line of candles by Seda France in the most beautiful Classic Toile decorative ceramic container with lid and hand-​painted gold accents. Gorgeous collection! It’s a shame they’ve got a no pic policy for I can’t plaster all their beautiful finds online. But If you’re a lover of unique home furnishings and the finer things in life, do stop by this shop.

This store was discovered during Chinatown Nights and is amazing! It was a former restaurant with decore and structure historically Chinese, and is truly exotic. My wife and I walked the store, and noted many items that reminded her of her childhood, living in Chinatown. We’re going to come back in August, when they celebrate their 10^th anniversary! Thanks for letting us relive the days of the early Chinatown restaurant!

Here at the realm I did not know very much about all of the Asian artifacts and why do they perverse their ways to keep their way of life and everything and the lady who was gladly to help my group members with an interview that we need for our school project she was very informative about the place and new somewhat of the history of chinatown which was really great news for my group and I. and how it was built as a punk bar in the 60’s and was abandon for 30 yrs and was rebuilt in by an archiect.

What a special store!
The moment you walk in, sleek and shapely porcelain pieces greet your eye and draw you in.
Textures, colors, shapes, art in all forms — books, jewelry, decorative pieces, asian-​inspired furniture pieces, buddha statues, glasses and dishware, seashell and other mother-​nature-​made patterned or inspired decorative items.
Tons of special-​feeling gift-​worthy books and other gifty items, perfect for any discerning eye.
And a graciously warm shopkeep who explained that the store’s selection is chosen by a Chinese architect.
A welcome change from the cheapo dollar gifty stores in the area, and a must visit for anyone with a discerning eye.

I hate giving a mom & pop establishment such a low rating, but this place is absurdly overpriced. You can get a lot of the same items (similar or identical) at other discount stores like Cost Plus World Market or Home Goods for about 80% less than what they’re charging.
The concept is very much like A+R, except almost everything in A+R seems to be of such high quality that they match their price tags. At Realm, some things look straight out of Ross or TJ Maxx, yet the prices reflect high end designer boutiques. It’s odd to think they’ve survived this long.
Even though the folks manning the store have been quite nice and helpful, unfortunately, I doubt we’ll be going back.

Chinatown Realm. Nothing to really buy here except for something to display. the place is clean and organize.

If Crate & Barrel had taken over a 1930s Chinese restaurant (perhaps the one from the beginning of «Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom»), it would look like this.
Realm’s best feature is the interior design, which they forbid photographing. The ceiling tiles are vibrant greens and blues with golden dragons. The bar (at least what used to be one, I assume) has this bright yellow pagoda roof above it.
What they actually sell is far removed from the cheap, tourist gift shop, instead selling porcelains (including some in the shape of a crushed soda can for $ 20) and refinished nesting tables, along with other pieces of home décor, traditional Chinese art, stationery, books, and other things.
Right now they’re decked out for the holidays with a tree and expensive, glass ornaments.
Easily one of the prettiest shops in the area.

In the midst of the kitschy Chinese tourist souvenirs, I found this! What a beautiful surprise!
Yes, they have Asian art, furniture, books, teapots, cups, etcetera… but they are all tastefully done and beautifully crafted.
Aside from those, they have non-​Asian stuff that you might be interested in getting as well… such as a nice set of Alessi glassware, perhaps?

a really cool chill place with lots of unique things.

The complete gift store with everything from ornaments to home decorations to small books and big books, Realm saw a lot of me during the Holidays =). I love that while all the wares look classy and presentable for your boss, your boyfriend’s mom, or your secret santa, the prices are all VERY reasonable.
Aside from the goods, the store ITSELF is worth a trip. Realm is located inside what used to be a bar/​restaurant and has been completely renovated to its former glory. Beautifully painted columns, detailed ceilings and the restored remains of what used to be the bar all serve as a beautiful backdrop for your shopping experience.

As an Asian-​American that grew up surrounded with Chinese kitsch, I feel this place is the fusion, Amerianized, or you can also call more palpable version of that kitsch. The dishware seems pretty tasteful, while some items do not. What really threw me was the sex-​driven bookstore in the back. How do you Live with a Huge Pen*s? Well, from the book i know one way how you know you have one – it frequently gets caught under the toilet seat. Ouch.

Wonderful store when you are looking for something unique for your home or for gift giving. Large selection of quality items without being cluttered. I always stop here when I am in the area.

My friend S married a dude who is so controlling that he won’t LET her go to tourist traps such as Chinatown, even though he can’t afford a car and drives hers. Yesterday I drugged him and took S through the hallowed gates to Hop Louie and Ooga Booga and Mountain Bar and Realm … to show her why divorcing said LA Local, too-​cool-​for-​school, once-​sorta-​famous, now-​not, spousal unit is THE hip thing to do.
Hop Louie featured the youngish asshole bartender, so I was sad and my face fell. S didn’t know the difference (anyone remember the napkin portrait drawer bartender who musta been 85 three years ago? He gave me a smile every time). Mountain Bar was closed. Firecrackers popped.
But Realm was open.
Realm. I want everything in Realm, except the Buddhist-​themed stuff. I want the owls, the stationery, the punk rock books, the architectural vases, the necklaces, the wrapping paper.
I want S to divorce her man.
I can’t really justify shopping at Realm right now, what with not needing a single new thing, but damn. Glassware sure is replaceable, ya know? And at $ 12 a glass, go ahead! Break ‘em! Smash ‘em! Against your asswipe hubbie’s car. Ahem.
Good thing S isn’t a Unilocal person.

If you’re a silverlake hipster, a hip daddy, a hip mama, a hip sisi, a hip whatever, you need to stop at Realm for decorative goods. Here you’ll find things that is considered an absolute KNOCK OFF for its price. I made some research a jelly fish paper weight that is sold in the market for 200 dollars is only sold here for 45 dollars. This place is no joke. They have stuff ranging from cheap to expensive.
Again, if you’re decorating your apartment and have a few hundred bucks to spend. Stop here at Realm, and you’ll find East meets West kind of furniture pieces and fine porcelain that everyone will be wondering where you got it from.
Sounds like an advertisement … not really. Out of the many furniture store i’ve been to in silverlake, this one is one of my top three.

You know all those home décor stores I review and say, ‘this is the perfect place to buy a gift’? Well fuck them-​THIS is the place to go. This is seriously the most carefully curated shop I’ve been to, where clean and modern items are mixed in with items clearly inspired by the Chinatown location and the two perfectly compliment each other.
I picked up the most beautifully detailed porcelain parasol mushroom and an olive dish resembling a circular half pipe that is the perfect size for an apartment of two. Are these necessities? No. Are they awesome? Hell yes.
The store had penguin shaped martini shakers, silver pig statues with an etched flower pattern, gorgeous wrapping paper with metallic koi fish, a wonderful selection of design and Asian travel books, teapots, and tons more, some a bit too expensive, some very reasonable. Make sure to look up while there though-​the store’s original and very detailed ceiling is as impressive as their fabulous stock.
Also, don’t bother paying for parking in one of the millions of lots-​there is ample street parking a few blocks down on College past Hill.

If you venture into the Realm, it brings neo-​retro-​modern-​futuristic-​contemporary-​chinese-​couture-​culture into reality. This is «the» shop that every other shop in Chinatown would dream of becoming oneday but never will. It only seems different, because it stands out from the rest of the mom’n’pop shops selling the same-​different great things because Realm is way ahead of the retail game.
«Realm adds mad Futuristic Chinese Flavors right in the heart of the innercity-​oldtown-​Chinatown.»
Enough said check it out, and then go next door to MunkyKing and support the underground art scene and Urban Vinyls.

3 starts for nice home décor items and collection of books, but I was able to find similar if not identical items from this store for much less at cost plus world market, target, ikea, and crate and barrel for much less.
This store doesn’t seem like it really belongs in Chinatown, it seems like it would fit in much better on the Third Street Promenade, or somewhere where gullible people wouldn’t miss the extra money they throw away for these splurge items. Some of these items don’t seem like they are even remotely related to Chinese culture in any sense, except maybe made in some sweatshop there.
The book collection is comparable to those found at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, and easily purchasable at Barnes and Nobles for at least a 10% discount.

Awwwwwwwwwwww man! Mike beat me to it! I had taken some photos of the place but had somehow accidentally deleted them and so I forgot the name of this place. Damn you Mike!
Anyway, yes, this place is just too cool for words. You’d expect to find it in a trendy mall such as South Coast Plaza, but in the middle of dinky Chinatown???
COOL, COOL, too COOL for words!

If you probably stopped by Chinatown Central plaza, you probably seen a lot unique gift shops surrounding their central square. This is one of the most unique store I ever seen located in tourist trap portion of the gift shops nightmare.
The front of the place is very unassuming and looked like antique shop, but when you walk in, it turn into a posh exquisite shop. The front did not indicate or gave away any clue on how different it is on the inside.
This is a fascinating shop where it meshed the old style Chinese silver wares and put some fusion on it to make it more chic. The silver wares and hard wares has traditional Chinese imprints on it, but look like it belong on a trendy upscale Chinese eatery instead of a low end dim sum place.
Very stylish on many of the products that was inside of the place. Check out the website and you’ll see some of the items that is being sold both on-​line and at the store. Some of the silver wares was very elegant. Probably I can improve my home’s décor by adding some of those pieces.
A cool find in middle of a tourist trap destination. Definitely better than Ikea. OK OK, leave me alone.
How did I find the place? Oh… I saw one blonde walked in and then soon another blonde walked in. Just got curious on why that place is attracting such a certain clientele while the others are getting squat.