GIANT Shake Up at Hearst Publishing : Whats Up?

Unbelievable news today on the shelter mag front. Blog beloved and much appreciated Editor in Chief of House Beautiful Magazine, Stephen Drucker will be leaving the magazine he has captained for the past 5 years to take the helm at another Hearst Publication; Town & Country.

Stephen Drucker

Newell Turner, current House Beautiful Creative Director will take over the reins as Editor in Cheif at HB. (HUGE sigh of Relief!!! - Why fix something that is not broken! ) Turner along with Drucker has brought a well received emphasis to the magazine on the editorial content and photography, publishing lush, large and lengthy features in the mag. Hopefully that will continue under his watchful eye.

Newell Turner out on the town with Margarette Russel of Elle Decor

Hearst Magazine Veranda's much admired founder and Editor in Chief since 1987, Lisa Newsom is to be replaced by Dara Caponigro a founding editor of the very popular but now defunct Domino Magazine! This seems to signal a huge shift in content for Veranda which currently has a much more sophisticated and high end demographic than Domino. Newsome will continue on as Editor at Large at Veranda and will work on related book and editorial projects.

Dara Caponigro

It seems things are heating up again in the Shelter Mag arena. I hope that this editor swap will mean good things most hopeful; a new emphasis on shelter content for Town & Country! The most troubling hint of things to come for me is the change underway at Veranda. After the almost incomprehensible loss of Southern Accents last year all we die hard traditionalists had left was Veranda. Over the past few months there has been a significant shift in their content to more modern and transitional projects. Looking back now this shift had some method to its madness.

It should be an interesting year ahead for all of us as we see how these new editors guide their respective publications. All I can say is get out there and SUBSCRIBE!!!!! The thought of losing any one of these remaining mags is too horrible to contemplate.

I'm heading over to Town and Country right now to sign up!!!



Read the full press release from Hearst Publications here

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Dear Shelter Mags, So Sorry I Dissed You

Over the years of my long career in design I must have read of thousands of shelter magazines. In the beginning I treasured every copy, reading them thoroughly from cover to cover and analyzing every picture. I even saved some my favorites and referred to them over and over again.

As my career progressed and became busier and busier I began to neglect and disrespect my mags. I would flip through them quickly scanning for items of interest or inspiring rooms. If I found something that struck my eye I would rip out the page in question and throw it in a messy pile to be sorted at a later date.



The remainder of the magazines corpse was tossed unceremoniously into the garbage can. I will admit that I put very little thought into the time and effort of the many individuals who worked tirelessly to produce the issue for my reading pleasure. I took them and the magazine for granted. I believed there would always be another volume showing up in my mailbox to entertain me, plus, I did not want to clutter up my meticulously styled bookshelves with magazines! How Tacky...


I developed a system that let me store the pages I tore out in a quickly referenced series of notebooks labeled and organized to hold images of a certain subject such as kitchens, or bathroom fixtures. I would tear pages out and my assistant would seal them in plastic page holders and file them away in their appropriate binder.



This system served me well for years but now I am living to regret my lack of respect for the many magazines that have ceased to exist over the past two years. I feel that I should have realized the importance of each issue instead of dissecting it and tossing it away with little or no regard to its content. Should I have saved them all, intact, for posterity? Are we seeing the permanent demise of the once thriving shelter mag industry? If so, should we treasure our remaining magazines before they also go the way of the dinosaur?



Personally, even though I have confessed to misusing and abusing my shelter mags, I always had a deep and abiding love for them. I always felt a rush of anticipation every time one would arrive in the mail and I neglected my important duties of the day to read them immediately upon arrival. I did store my chosen pages reverently behind plastic in binders for eternity. Now when my copy of Glamour magazine shows up in place of whatever subscription to a fabulous shelter mag that was canceled I want to gag.




I find myself jealous of other bloggers and designers who gave these magazines the respect they deserved and now have vast reference libraries of past issues to refer to. They show them off with such pride and dare I say, superiority at their having the foresight not to trash them as I did ( this may just be my imagination but I feel like they know I threw mine away, paranoia? I think not) I feel an immense sadness that I did not erect a huge monumental bookcase to store all of my mags in. It would have had to be a big one to hold them all.




Perhaps I should have wrapped them all in custom covers to make a style statement.




Or should I have gone reverent and stored them like this? They probably would have preferred this environment over the trash can.




I wish I could have foreseen the future and kept them all. This bookshelf would have held a few.


Thankfully it's never too late to start so from now until the last shelter mag left on Earth showcases a product or room that I can't live without I will refrain from tearing them to pieces and give them a respectable home in a bookshelf devoted to their own kind.



In closing, to all of the individuals who worked so hard to produce the issues that I tore apart with my bare hands; I am very sorry and I promise not to do it again.

How do you store your old magazines?

Do you plan on saving magazines now?

Let's Discuss.

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Architectural Digest + Brad Pitt = A Good Thing

I have not read an issue of Architectural Digest since their March 08' issue on the Bush decorated White House when I questioned their poor timing, here. I have been a fan on and off but over the last few years I just couldn't get excited about the interiors they were featuring. But when my husband brought home the January issue with Brad Pitt on the cover I felt obligated to give it a once over.

design: Peter Marino photography: Durston Saylor

To my surprise the issue was absolutely stunning, filled with a scintillating variety of diverse designs that, while certainly luxurious, offered inspiration that could be applied to any interior.

design: Chakib Richani Architects photography: Marina Faust

The locations of the homes featured are as exciting as the interiors. From this beautiful home in Beirut, which seems to be such a departure from the images we normally associate with the war torn city, to a collectors paradise designed by Samuel Botero in New York.

design: Samuel Botero photography: Phillip H. Ennis

Jennifer from The Peak of Chic, recently posted inquiring what had become of the decorative arts collector. Well Jennifer, I believe he's doing very well and living in this gorgeous apartment which is done to perfection and filled with a diverse collection of art, architectural elements, and antiques.

design: Hendrix Allardyce photograph: David Matheson

One of my favorite interiors in the issue is this eclectic but elegant home in Melbourne. The jubilant mix of furnishings in the great room is nothing short of perfection. It is a study in the superb use of scale, balance, and harmonious effect.



It takes a lot to overshadow the glorious Mr. Pitt but I was so entranced by the interiors in this issue that I almost forgot about him. The issue takes a look at the efforts of his Make It Right Foundation to help rebuild the devastated neighborhoods in New Orleans using safe, affordable, and sustainable homes. Learn more about the organization at www.makeitrightnola.org.

On another note: Hot on the heals of their New York auditions, Architecturl Digest is holding another series of try outs in California. Brooke Gianetti - get on over there !



In an age where shelter magazines and design book publishers are in serious trouble I plan to do my part and subscribe to AD. If this issue is any indication of things to come I know it will be well worth the price of admission!

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Perplexed by Paltrow

Like many of you I am a Gwyneth fan and I adore her mom, Blythe Danner. I've always thought of Gwyneth as a style icon but with a quirky, natural, unpretentious, girl next door flavor. So I was excited to see her home in the Hampton's featured on so many blogs this week. Check out the posts by Girl Meets Glamor, Bijou Kaleidoscope, and Decorno.


I have to admit the girl has impeccable taste. It seems that every item was chosen with great care. The home is very hip and every piece is about as current as you can get. But I am surprised by the impersonal, sterile look of the house. This could be a photo shoot of rooms from any one of a hundred hotels around the world.

Part of the fun of seeing celebrity homes in our favorite rags is to see how they live. To peak into their personal lives and live vicariously through their mementos and personal objects. This house could belong to anyone. It looks like it has been staged to sell by removing any personal hint of the owner (except for the ever so subtle product placement of her perfume and face cream on the nightstand- sell sell sell) .

In the fabulous behind the scenes post by Habitually Chic you get the sense that even the photographer was having trouble giving the space a human feel. They have added "props" like shoes and child's steps in an attempt to make the reader believe that people actually live in this space. If you took away the photo of Gwyneth you would have no idea what kind of person lived in this home.


A pair of sneakers posed in the front room. Is this to remind us that she has a husband? Where are the family photos? The mementos of her career? Her Oscar? They do show a couple of toys here and there but where are the kids paintings or personal items?

How do you put a sisal rug in the main room when you have two kids crawling around? This is a beach house and they must be in shorts most of the time. Those poor little knees!


I love the canopy treatment in Apple's bedroom but isn't it a bit old looking for a 3 year old? The only personal touch in the whole home is the monogrammed pillowcases. Does this look like a room where toddlers would play? The room looks cold and sterile to me. A stark white rug in a kids room! Come On! I think it looks kind of creepy in a weird hospital room sort of way.

The Moral of This Story.......
The ability to buy expensive, trendy furniture and accessories does not mean you will be able to automatically produce a beautiful, comfortable home. Without your own personal touch and inclusion of some of the messy clutter of life you are merely producing a hollow picture of a room.

I hope at the end of the day after producing all of these unemotional photos she took out all of her real stuff from the closets, pulled the shoes out from under the bed, brought the kids toys back inside from the garage, made a mess in the kitchen preparing dinner, poured a glass of wine and flopped down on one of those perfect sofas and looked around to see a perfectly beautiful mess!
What do you think?

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Domino we still love you!

I had no idea the kind of reaction my last post about Domino's online article about Barrie Benson would generate. I truly appreciate everyone's honesty and opennesses in commenting on this subject. It is obviously something that we are all very passionate about and it is a topic worth exploring. While I view my blog as a place where I can express my personal views I do feel an obligation to be responsible, fair and accurate when writing posts.

I originally saw the two photos of the canopied bedroom on the fabulous blog Style Court. Her coverage of the rooms prompted me to look deeper into the subject and post my comments. I then saw the Domino cover featured on another great design blog Habitually Chic . HC is a very talented young designer who has an incredible eye for detail. She has made a comment that I believe in the spirit of fairness should be addressed. She says,

"I have to clarify something for everyone, the photos you posted were from the online pictorial of Barrie Benson's work. They were not included in the magazine. The magazine article was a feature on her own mid-century home that she filled with family furniture and a mix of periods, not all mid-century furniture, which I happen to love. It's the way young people live these days."

The pictures and article including quotes taken from it that I used in my post are featured on Domino's website under the heading "house tour Barrie Benson".

My personal opinion is that it does not matter where or how the pictures and text of the interview are sourced the end result is still the same. I believe that this type of discussion and debate is a healthy and productive means of communication that is beneficial to the industry.

Thanks again to all of you,
Jackie

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Designer Homage or Blatant Rip Off ? - You Decide

I am a firm believer that there are no new ideas in design - only new unique interpretations of past designs colored by our current experiences and exposure. I believe that any talented designer or home decor enthusiast draws from their own personal well of inspiration that they have collected over their lifetime to produce one of a kind interpretations of things they love. That being said, I also think it is acceptable to draw inspiration directly from someone else's work and then mold into your own unique design.


Imagine my horror when reading the online cover story on this months Domino on Barrie Benson. This up and coming designer from North Carolina is featured front and center on the cover and shows a melange of her work inside. She practically boasts about "snaking" designs verbatim from other designers. Benson says, "We snaked the entire look from a house done by Tom Scheerer ...."

Check out the designs below. The first picture is Benson's Room - the second the original room done by very talented designer and "snakee", Tom Sheerer. I ask you to be the judge. Is Benson paying homage to the innovative and well designed room by Scheerer or is she just ripping him off. If I were Scheerer I would be more than a bit peeved to see this less than stellar duplication complete with over sized lampshade minimal wall decor and identical bedding. It seems that all she did was swap the colors of the walls and lampshade.



Below - Another picture from the photo spread in Domino - Look Familiar ??? Why yes, that is Kelly Wearstler's famous plate wall from the Viceroy. Again, as with the other room, we have the swapping of color from dark to light. Does the fact that these are Hermes plates make it good design? They aren't even hung straight.




The article quotes Benson describing the room below as follows:

"Mid-Century furniture in a Mid-Century house is so, well, last century! The mixing styles and using luxurious new fabrics with saturated colors makes it so fresh and new".

What is she talking about? I see a photo of my cousin's paneled basement with the old furniture that grandma was throwing out mixed with a worn out couch found on the street and some yard sale lamps and pillows. Where is the "saturated color"? Take a look at that sad blue velvet bergere and the cheap looking under filled pillows and tell me what's fresh and new.

Below- Find a superbly done room by the afore mention Tom Scheerer with a brilliant mix of period and modern furnishings. Benson should have ripped off - I mean - taken inspiration from this room.


So, as you can tell I have no opinion on this subject. But you decide, Homage - Rip Off - or - Just Bad Design? You be the Judge!


My opinion - Domino should be doing a cover with Tom Scheerer on it. !

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