Here's a great example from the September issue of House Beautiful. This room, designed by Mona Ross Berman, is really cute and of course, I love the orange and pink scheme. My main issue is regarding the leather Moroccan pouf, x-bench, and Flokati rug. There's nothing wrong with these elements, however, we've all seen them a million times by now. I'm definitely not getting any fresh decorating inspiration from this and therefore, the magazine has failed to serve its purpose for me since I didn't find useful fodder elsewhere in the issue.
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| Design by Mona Ross Berman, photo by Jonny Valiant via House Beautiful |
Further, I like this powder room that is from the same home as the room above. I think the wallpaper, "Recessed" by Studio Printworks is cool. The use of the Circa Vendome sconces and the Kohler Memoirs pedestal sink, while pretty and classic, is certainly short of groundbreaking and is not what I would consider to be special and new enough for editorial.
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| Design by Mona Ross Berman, photo by Jonny Valiant via House Beautiful |
And the Kitchen of the Month is fine but it's definitely old news. It's a kitchen from one of the chalets at The Bavarian, a quaint lodge in Taos, New Mexico (even though I can't find it now on their website). I blogged about it a year and a half ago and it looks pretty much the same aside from the photo styling.
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| Design by Alexandra Champalimaud, photo by Dominique Vorillon via House Beautiful |
Do any of you agree with my assessment? Are you bored by the major shelter magazines too or am I just being cranky and jaded?
I kind of disagree. I want things that are do-able and don't cost a million dollars (although I hate that kitchen). I loved Courtney Cox's home in Elle Decor.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you somewhat - although I think the interesting thing with the bathroom that makes it fresh is the tile work is really interesting!
ReplyDeleteAnon - I agree about wanting do-able and affordable inspiration, but I think the mags are lacking in those areas too. Anyhow, the saying "different strokes for different folks" is accurate because I didn't love Cortney Cox's house in ED.
ReplyDeleteAlex - believe it or not it's wallpaper in that bathroom and not tile! The pattern is "Recessed" by Studio Printworks - there's a link above :)
ReplyDeleteI really loved that tiny apt. that Nick Olsen did, and there was a small house in the same issue that I liked a lot as well. I think it was House Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI am kind of over the poufs and the flokati rugs, but maybe that's because I could never picture using them in my home in the first place. :)
I definitely know what you mean. While there have been a few features in recent shelter mags that I really liked, I have noticed the same trends playing out over and over again. However, I think this is compounded by sites like Pinterest. Every time I log in, it seems like the same 4 or 5 interiors images are repinned over and over again. This probably doesn't help that feeling that a particular look or style is "everywhere," if that makes sense!
ReplyDeleteYes---agree with Nichole's post about the small green and white Nick Olsen apartment. I felt that was really inspired--especially the mexican blanket bergere chair.
ReplyDeleteI am ready for the Moroccan thing to move along, however. I like it a lot, but I'm just over it.
I was just thinking this today actually! You're so right, I can't remember the last time I got totally caught up in a magazine!
ReplyDeleteMeg
I agree with you soI must be cranky too. I am very tired of all the zig zag rugs you see in every single house and on every single blog along with poufs (cute but they dont belong in every house) white painted furniture (again, not for every house)and DIY items like paint stick sunburst mirrors and clothespin pendant lights. I long for a beautiful home that looks lived in, combines the old with the new and doesnt have any turquoise to be found! I know I have probably angered many designers and bloggers out there but it is time to see some "real" decorating that doesnt incorporate every trend out there.
ReplyDeleteKyle - so glad you are saying this. As someone who covets everything, soaks in all info and aspires to be a designer one day - I feel like Ive seen this stuff for the last three years in the blog world. Granted, I can never stop learning and feel like I still need to see all of these images. BUT, I have been short of disgusted with Elle Decor for a while now, too. I feel theyve got way too many ads, way too much fodder and nothing of real live substance. I havent hated on HB as much, though. The blogsphere is def. way ahead of print, as to be expected. I, like you, wish for more avante guard and different, to inspire and fulfill.
ReplyDeleteand if I may - I wanted to reply to the first comment about more do-able and less expensive stuff. There are so many resources, DIY tutorials, blogs and HGTV shows that showcase the attainable side of design, and for that, I'm grateful (except for this new show called Donna Decorates Dallas - which I happen to think is so completely out of synch with reality and where design is going… sorry, tangent.) But I appreciate they are more off-beat sources and high end content in magazines and even blogs. I think it makes for a nice balance
ReplyDeleteI totally and completely agree with you!!!I used to look at these magazines over and over and lately I can't find any interiors that are original and inspiring. There is too much that looks so out of a box. Maybe it is a temporary lull. I remember when everything was country french for awhile and everyones interiors looked alike and then it slowly got better.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! While I love all these things, poufs, zigzag, ikat, sunbusrt mirrors...I look to shelter mags to introduce me something new. I just don't feel like they've been doing that lately!
ReplyDeleteagreed. i'm bored with it, same with the design blogs. same same same. i love the floor of that top bedroom though.
ReplyDeletebut honestly, i was into pink & orange in 2004, while it's still pretty i think it's time to move on.
So I don't read enough shelter mags to comment on this one way or another (credit my 10 month old baby for that), but I think it's pretty hilarious that there'a an ad for moroccan leather poofs right next to this post. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it's just an unfortunate coincidence, but did you notice that there's an advertisement for poufs on your sidebar?
ReplyDeleteI used to save issues of House Beautiful, Elle Decor and Traditional Home for months if not years because they contained spreads that just hit me at first glance. As I returned to each magazine again and again, the reasons behind their instant appeal emerged. I don't experience that "wow" reaction much lately, and find very few issues worth holding on to for long.
ReplyDeletei couldn't agree more. especially after reading your comments on each room. while the wallpaper in the bathroom is great, the scones and sink would be even better updated. i'm kind of wondering what the deal is...these all seem not very "now" as far as innovative...as pretty as each room is. i love Dwell magazine bc i love minimalist and modern furnishings in the mix.
ReplyDeleteI agree it is becoming more difficult to find something that makes you stop, look and think. Something that you never thought of doing, but I guess that applies to almost everything innovation is becoming much ore difficult.
ReplyDeleteAs for these patterns I agree 100% I have had enough of them a long time ago
I like a mix of the accessible and the aspirational. It's nice to see both.
ReplyDeleteI was actually telling a friend today that this month's issue (sept) of House Beautiful was my favorite in a long time! While shelter mags may need to step it up, adding anything 'new' to the mix will be a challenge from here on. I say that because now I read several interior design blogs/day and it could be more a matter of being overexposed to some design elements compared to previously when I'd view 1-2 magazines spreads a month.
ReplyDeleteHa! Tara C and Anon - Google eavesdrops on EVERYTHING and is quick to serve up a relevant ad for the conversation so I'm not surprised about the Moroccan pouf ad!
ReplyDeleteI agree totally and blogged about the lack of inspiring interiors in online mags and shelter mags a few weeks ago. I was blasted by an anonymous reader who accused me of being "snobby" and it made me so frustrated that we can't ask for more... glad you spoke up and you are right! We can't all just be fake and sweet when there is original design out there that is not being featured..
ReplyDeletegreat post!
-e (modern24seven.blogspot.com)
The thrill of a crisp new magazine in my mailbox is still exhilarating. With that being said, I too am slightly underwhelmed while paging through. Online shelter publications and blogs provide me with much more inspiration than my old glossy friends. However, it could simply be an issue of overexposure as a result of penning my own blog and reading multiple blogs daily. We live in an instant gratification society and I do not foresee a shift in that mentality. The print mags may consider looking to the blogosphere for inspiration. I, for one, would prefer DIY's, picks, design boards, how real people incorporate dream designs, etc., versus recipes and repeat designs. (By no means am I trying to insult the fantastic work of the spaces featured - just saying I am looking for something fresh.) off to search for a "fresh new topic" for tomorrow's blog...
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with you to a point (I too feel a lot of Australian magazines feature so many trends which I'm a bit 'over') I think a lot of the problem is blogs. A trend takes off in blogs, a million bloggers copy it (which I have no issue with) but it means we are exposed to the same ideas over and over on Pinterest and Blogger. The result is, that by the time the trend hits 'mainstream' and gets feature in magazines bloggers are over it. But I'm sure the rest of the population thinks it is a very fresh and unusual trend to see chevron or Moroccan or trellis or sunburst mirrors. It just depends on what you're exposed to.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I'm tired of seeing the same trends for the past several years now, including the poster size pictures with typography and sayings. How about some original, real artwork!
ReplyDeleteI felt the same thing while reading the latest British Living Etc.
ReplyDeleteI do feel like the best way is to switch it up. By always reading the same magazines, we get used to their aesthetic and styling and everything starts to look the same.
I alternate between Australian mags and international mags. I revisit mags that I didn't like in the past. I try not to read the same mags every month. It tends to keep me on the edge.
Part of me agrees with you. But I also wonder, as is with celebrities we get sick of due to overexposure, is this what is happening with design trends?
ReplyDeleteI often see the same images on multiple design blogs, over and over again. And while I'm the first to love and appreciate a fabulous room, the colors and fads tend to tire more quickly when you've seen them repeatedly. I imagine for magazine editors it becomes more difficult to find the newest and most original content, particularly because some of it may already be 'out there' already for the consumption of the bone fide design junkies in the form of the world wide web.
Let's face it: we are not our mother's House Beautiful readers. This generation of design lovers comes in the form of proactive seekers. We don't have to wait for the monthlies, we are on the prowl daily. The hottest designers have websites with portfolios, and design blogs cover it all.
It must be a huge challenge for these editors to find the most original content now a days....they have a very, very discriminating audience!!!
good topic Kyle! It got the wheels turnin'!!
xo,
Katherine
I agree to a point and anything said should always be with the utmost discretion...it is a great feeling to see a fabulous cover of a shelter magazine with pages of newly inspirational rooms! {Being a contributor/stylist/scout for a number of years as well as a designer makes you realize what a job it is to find that inspiration that is new and breathtaking to bring to the readers!} And I agree that with the internet: blogs, pintrest,houzz, etc. {which we all love seeing} we are over-stimulated with these designs and looks} If we just were seeing it in shelter mags and a few on-line mags or came upon images via a designer's website portfolio, then we would not be so over-stimulated!
ReplyDelete{Even though, I feel the colour pink is everywhere too much- and it's not a colour for everyone's house! I did love the cover and home that Barry Dixon designed in House Beautiful this month!} He is a fabulous designer! :)
Michelle Zuniga
I think you all are forgetting how quickly design changes and becomes "out-dated" in this modern age of blogs. I have seen design pass through several decades in just a year's time because everything, as you all say, has been "done". And just because there are similar elements within a room which you have seen "done" before, doesn't make the space unoriginal. I think you all need to wake up and realize how overexposed design has become with so many blogs reporting on home design and stop criticizing gifted designers who have beautiful spaces to share with us.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the struggle has not yet subsided, as shown by some of the work presented.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen this article in the LA Times about international design magazines? http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-shelter-magazines-20110730,0,7401048.story Very interesting.
Cheers,
Claudia