best of the magazines // september 2014

happy monday my friends! it's been a bit of a summer break, but the magazines are back in full effect and in all their fall glory. from my time at the library with a coffee and a stack of mags, let's dive in and see what eye candy i found in this month's issues.

from house beautiful, september 2014, "wake up your life with color" issue:

i have to admit that after thumbing through this issue of house beautiful, i almost threw in the towel on this post. the over-the-top and over-decorated interiors, all the excessive moulding, fabrics, furniture, and expensive (like $12,000 light fixture expensive) accessories were a little much. i was about to toss the issue back in its pile when this pretty little tablescape came innocently along:

irene chen's outdoor tablescape:

aww. it's perfect. while it might not be real life, (and i'm pretty sure that flatware costs $25 a fork), something about its easy charm and bright pops of color wooed me out of my anti-opulence funk. and that tablecloth? get outta here- part polka dot, part smudged ikat...what a gorgeous fabric. 

once house beautiful had successfully seduced me back in to the magazine world, i turned the page to this bathroom by bryan joyce:

opulence to the max, but it turns out i'm a sell-out for marble herringbone tile and unlacquered brass. i don't even care. i love you bathroom!

from elle decor, september 2014, "25th anniversary" issue:

i am battling with myself as i write this. i try to keep things positive here, jimmy falon style, but there was almost nothing i liked in this issue. in fact, it tempted me to write an entire post about the worst of the magazines. the most serious offenders were a purple lacquered room with a red ceiling and a playroom that looked like an asylum. 

luckily, there was a backyard deck with a fire table and a bed (i've just decided that every deck needs a bed on it, right?) that i could definitely get some serious lounging done on:

outdoor living space at the home of designer miquel angel aragones:

moving on....

from country living, september 2014, "ultimate guide to color" issue:

this one got a rocky start too, due to the 2014 house of the year with a (shudder!) pink-ceilinged zebra-tiled kitchen, but some cute bedrooms salvaged the issue.

jenny piazza's minnesota lake cottage:

she had me at the quilt. i looooooove it.

and the attic bedroom:

you know i'm always swayed by a view like that.

from dwell, september 2014, "small space big design" issue:

i thought this month's dwell was excellent. (finally!) maybe i'm the problem, and my tastes are getting more and more modern. 

the british columbia cabin retreat by architect bohlin cywinski:

oh man, how much do you want to grab your skis tartan blanket and go to there right now? i know that in every day life that an exterior this modern isn't for me, but what a perfectly luxe getaway spot. 

i also loved the brooklyn home of home of david friedlander & family:

the living room:

i like how calm, serene, and pared down this home is. unfortunately there is another kids' asylum room, so i can't give the whole thing 5 stars, but almost all of the other rooms had that minimalist part of my heart beating faster.

kitchen:

bathroom:

sliding door to the master bedroom:

from traditional home, september 2014, "fashion comes home" issue:

from kay krill's home on long island sound:

this photo betrays the fact that there is a traditionalist deeply embedded in me somewhere. and the fact that, try as i might to fight it, i do have expensive taste.

after that, a tim clarke-designed home in las vegas was really interesting to me. the neighborhood required a frank lloyd wright style house, but the homeowner's style was anything but. i thought clarke did a good job of blending their tastes with the modern and streamlined exterior. and the part of me that loves good old fashioned hollywood glamour enjoyed the results of the whole project. 

family room:

there were a lot of things i liked about it, but the master bathroom took the cake:

that chair positively needs to go, but everything else makes up for it. 

and, ok, seriously...i'm definitely back on the magazine bandwagon here, but look at this closet:

no girly girl can deny, that thang is awesome. plus, this home is in las vegas, and you have to have a closet like this if you live there, right?

well, if anything, this post let you in on the fact that i couldn't nail down a design style if i tried. now you know why i have issues at my own house...i'm part modern-lover, part glamour girl, part minimalist (if only in my head), and part quilting club country girl. good thing there are a lot of different magazines at the library.