House Beautiful March 2013 issue - Part 1 of 2

House Beautiful US edition is one of the many

magazines I subscribe to. 

It is a staple for good and achievable design;

not crazy and elaborate but they demonstrate good, solid tips and delineate decor methods succinctly.  



House Beautiful March 2013 issue

I started to subscribe to them because

they do a great monthly section about paint colors.

For instance, they do things like this often.

And sometimes they do features that was about unexpected color schemes that work like the one below.

So when they came out with this latest issue headlining
 color combos, I was rather excited.

Sorry to tell you guys who don't have a subscription that this issue might not really be worth purchasing...

I was expecting a decent exploration of color with some diametrically opposed  and unique color combinations.  
Instead they gave me this.

So choosing the color celadon means you are a good listener?

Adding gray suggests one is a stable influence?

I just thought it was a classic Nordic color combo scheme myself.

I thought purple and yellow were at the opposite ends of the color spectrum so that was the resonance...
I did not know it meant it could turn you into Mystic Meg.

Wait a minute, so has House Beautiful just gone into a house and started psychoanalyzing people? 
( I thought we just did that quietly in our own head.)

I am sure it is no fault of Kate Smith, the color expert,

because the editor is the one to choose content but this is the angle House Beautiful is taking? 

I can't be polite about this picture in any way whatsoever.

This is okay in a civilian home but featured in HB?

The flat tonal primary colors and the general decor is reminiscent of the first wave of home redecoration TV shows in the 90's where decorators had an hour to create a new look.

I have learned nothing from this except my house might have a shot to get into a future edition of House Beautiful.

There were no inspiring shots, in fact, 

they were conspicuously mediocre.

The most interesting thing about this is the cushions.  

This reminds me of those model show homes where they stick 

an apple pie in the staged dining room hoping you get a 

Pavlovian reaction and buy the house in the hope your grandma is waiting for you in the attic.

Seriously? 

Am I the only one who finds this creepy?  

It looks like someone's stalker snuck into the bedroom with a 

spray can of paint.

This is cute and quaint but looks like it's from a DIY project blog. 

So this is part one - I will post part two tomorrow.

Part of me worries I am being too critical, 

but I feel like I pay good money and 

I pay for inspiration and their expertise.

These days with decor blogs, instagram and pinterest, 

magazines really need to up the ante...

Otherwise, I am slowly going to reconsider all my subscriptions.

This has made me think about posting about colors and its effects. 

I used to work in marketing and there were so many subliminal powers colors had and I find it quite interesting so I will be posting sometime soon on the subject. 

Hope you guys join me tomorrow x