Good Reads (Gone): Domino Magazine is No More

Domino magazine is ceasing publication, it was announced today. The March issue will be Domino's last.

There have been rumblings that the magazine was in trouble for awhile -- and plenty of other home-design titles have been shuttered recently due to this piss-poor economy -- so it's not like the news is coming completely out of the blue.

But still, I'm speechless. And sad. I guess I'll have no choice but to console myself with $9 imported copies of Living, Etc.

Where will you be getting your shelter porn now?

Sound Off: Another One Bites the Dust

First House & Garden shut down, then Blueprint was shelved. The dust seemed to settle for awhile, but then Home magazine folded, and in quick succession O At Home was shuttered. Now, barely a week after word that the mighty Oprah's shelter spin-off is no more comes news that one of my very favorite "nesting" magazines, Cottage Living, is ceasing publication. (There have been rumors -- quickly denied -- that Domino is in trouble, too.)

Blame the economy: Ad pages are way down at shelter publications. And despite the $5 or more you fork over for the latest issue at the checkout counter, advertising is what any magazine survives on.

But is there something more behind the demise of so many beloved home-design titles? Is the internet killing print? As much as I love a stack of shelter mags on a quiet afternoon, I do find myself reading them less and less. (I still buy them all, mind you -- but more often than not my magazines gather dust while I surf the web.) What used to be 100+ shiny pages of new products, fresh ideas, and drool-inducing "home porn" now often feels like old news, since I've already seen much of it on the blogs. Many of the homes featured in the big magazines are either clearly scouted from blogs (including this one) or have already made the blog rounds before the ink on the pages is dry.

I think blogs have also democratized design to a certain extent. These days, I'm far less interested in how Manhattan millionaires with top interior designers on speed dial live than I am in seeing the homes that cash-strapped artists, designers, and creative civilians from Seattle to Stockholm have made for themselves. And that kind of aspirational (but still attainable) inspiration is where design blogs excel.

That said, I do think we're losing something major with each home magazine that closes its doors. Consistently good writing for one, and original content for another. (And for me personally, work. I wouldn't trade writing this blog for the world, but it's not exactly paying the bills the way magazine editing and freelance writing used to.) So many bloggers simply paste up pages from the current issue of their favorite magazine, with little comment or insight that adds anything new. I'm not pointing fingers; I've done it myself.

What will we all blog about when there's nothing left to crib? Maybe, with fewer magazines as source material, we'll be more motivated to go out and create original content of our own, offering readers a more authentic reflection of our own lives and those of the artists, designers, shopowners, and creative nesters in our own communities.

That's pretty exciting. But still, I'll miss Cottage Living, just like I mourn O at Home, Home, Blueprint, and House & Garden. Curling up on a rainy day with a cup of coffee and the laptop just isn't the same.

What do you think? What's behind the recent rash of magazine closings? Are blogs a factor? What do blogs do better than printed publications, and what will you miss most about these departed shelter titles? Post a comment and let me know.

Sound Off: Top Design 2 Season Premiere

Did you watch last night?

I'm so, so happy this show is back. I know Season 1 had issues, but in my book, Top Design is still miles better than Design Star. Plus, Kelly Wearstler's hairstyles alone will make this worth watching. (Did you catch the little hairstyle montage in the upcoming-episodes teaser? Oh. My. God.) And Flipping Out's Jeff Lewis as a guest judge? I'm in heaven.

My prediction for Season 2's breakout star: Wisit, the so-gay-it-hurts, opera-singing sprite. He's a strange little bird, but I think he just might have what it takes to create a beautiful and unusual space.

And my prediction for breakout bitch: Andrea (aka Mrs. Ricky Schroder). I like her, and think she has some design chops (even if her aesthetic veers dangerously toward "shabby chic") but suspect it's only a matter of time before she starts ripping her competitors a few new ones.

Anyway, what did you think of the completed lofts, and of the parameters of the challenge? Granted, the $2,000 budgets were a major roadblock, but please spare me from designers who whine about spending that much on a table lamp. Hello! Welcome to the real world, folks.

I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who Tivo'd the show, but I feel bad for the contestant who was sent home for working hard laying wood floors in an entire loft in two days when there was clearly another train wreck on that team ...

And one question: Why was Todd Oldham even there? India Hicks has rendered him completely extraneous.

Thoughts? Discuss.

P.S. I'm going to be seriously despondent if Tom & Lorenzo -- aka the Project RunGay guys -- aren't blogging this season. TLo, I know you must be utterly exhausted from blogging Project Runway and Shear Genius and Mad Men so brilliantly these last few months. But please, for the love of God, I need you and your exquisite bitchery now.

P.P.S. Update: Woo hoo!

Sound Off: Decorating Disagreements

Yet another reason that I j'adore Jonathan Adler -- his thoughts (as quoted in the Huffington Post, via Shine At Home) on what to do when the two halves of a couple disagree on decor:

"We have a saying in my company: The wife is always right unless the husband is gay. Questioning your husband's sexuality is a great way to get him to shut up. Assuming that this is not the case and your husband is straight (is he?), you simply have no recourse other than to eliminate him from the process. Take into account some of his functional needs, and then ignore everything else."

Umm, are you reading this, honey?

But seriously, how do you guys handle decorating disagreements with your significant other?

I feel alternately blessed and cursed that Nick actually takes an interest in these things. I love that he enjoys going shopping with me, and is often the one to rustle my ass out of bed so we can hit the monthly flea market before all the good stuff is gone. On the flipside, he'll get mad if I, say, buy six new dining room chairs or decide to change out the color scheme in the living room without consulting him first.

But here's the thing: I don't want to ask him, because I've already made up my mind and have little patience for anyone trying to talk me out of something I've decided I absolutely must have. Plus, I figure that if he despises something, I can always return or resell it. (I find, too, that men -- and kids, for that matter -- tend to hate the idea of change but then usually accept new things once they've gotten used to them. Although they're all still cursing me, three years later, for getting rid of the ginormous velvet rolled-arm sofa. Yes, it was heaven to sit in. But it was so very 1998, and the cats had ripped it to shreds.)

Does my admittedly sneaky strategy work? Sometimes. I think Nick has learned to accept my "design ADD" and just roll with it, at least most of the time. That's not to say he doesn't resent it, at least a little bit. He and the kids have a (slightly bitter) joke about me: "Mom is trying replace all the comfortable furniture with stuff that we hate. Oh, Mom ... " And our 10-year-old daughter has taken to checking the Goodwill closet on a regular basis and rescuing random household items from it. There's one vase, in particular, that I keep finding hidden in her room.

I also tend to use a trick that parents everywhere will be familiar with: Offering limited choices. I'll narrow down a paint color to maybe three very similar hues, then let Nick (and, increasingly, Laurel -- who's determined to have a say in these things) choose the one they like best. So instead of, "Do you want macaroni, spaghetti, or penne for dinner?" It's, "Which of these silvery grays do you like best for the hallway?" It's a win-win, right? Still, I think they're getting wise to me, and I'm starting to hear things like, "When did we decide it was going to be gray?" Or, "Wait -- we're painting the hallway?" Oh, bother.

Verdict: My "just forge ahead and hope that Nick and the kids will get on board at some point" M.O. has met with limited success. And, as gender stereotypical as this is, I also give him carte blanche to make decisions about household electronics, appliances, and functional systems like heating and plumbing -- as long as I either can't see them or they're not too hideous to look at. So hopefully that helps balance out my take-no-prisoners approach to decorating.

What about you? Do you and your partner see eye-to-eye on design decisions? If not, who has final say? What tricks do you use to get him or her to come around? If compromise is the name of the game, are there particular areas that you're willing to step back on and others that you get to make the call on?

Post a comment and let us all know -- I'm dying to hear.

Sound Off: Talk to Me, People

Photo by Mrs. Maze

Hey everybody. There's something I've been meaning to ask you -- because, well, I sort of feel like we're friends at this point.

So, umm, here goes: Why so quiet? I know from my super-sneaky site counters that a couple thousand of you stop by most days. And yet ... you're surprisingly silent. (To my regular commenters -- and you know who you are, all five of you: Thank you!)

But the rest of you, what's up? Why are you giving me the silent treatment? It can get a bit lonely here behind the keyboard, and I long to hear you talking. What am I doing wrong? Am I not leaving enough room for you all to chime in, or am I somehow giving the impression that I don't want or need you to? What can I do to encourage more give-and-take?

Let me know and I promise to do better. In the meantime, feel free to jump in and join a debate on the merits of "disposable decor" or how bad Design Star blew this season. Confide your deepest, darkest feelings about Gwyneth Paltrow or Juno. Weigh in with advice for a fellow reader with a design dilemma. Start a conversation. Ask a question. Share a tip. Vent. Give me an earful about something that's bugging you. Or, you know, just say hi.

I'm listening.

Sound Off: Design Star 3 vs. Top Design 2

Season 3 of Design Star starts Sunday, June 8. Do you care?

I did Tivo Season 2 of HGTV's ratings juggernaut, and enjoyed it well enough. (Though I think winner Kim Myles' new home-makeover show, Myles of Style, is disappointing.) But I can't work up much enthusiasm for Season 3. I dunno -- the cast looks pretty cheesy, for one. And the location: Umm, Nashville? I'm sure it's a beautiful city, but I don't exactly think of it as a design center. I predict lots of has-been country singers getting their basement rec rooms re-done by the eager contestants. Zzzzz ...

Personally, I'm more excited for Season 2 of Bravo's Top Design. I love me some Jonathan Adler, and can't wait to see the atrociously entertaining hairstyles and getups Ms. Kelly Wearstler trots out this season, what sort of politely veiled bitchery Elle Decor's Margaret Russell dishes up, and what we can expect from new host India Hicks. (But I wish they had lost the painfully awkward and wooden Todd Oldham.) Oh, and we can't forget the return of Tom & Lorenzo's deliciously vicious postmortems of each episode. When's the premiere, oh Bravo gods? I am so there.

What about you? Will you watch the new seasons of Design Star or Top Design -- or give both a pass?

P.S. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

Sound Off: The More Ways to Waste Time Reader Survey

Tiny Bubbles, by flickr member peater

Now I have a favor to ask: I want to get to know you all better -- to find out where you're coming from (both literally and figuratively) so that this blog can better serve you over the next 500 posts.

Will you take a few minutes to tell me a little more about who you are, what you like and don't like, what's working for you in this blog and what's not? Pretty please? I promise it will be painless -- it's almost all multiple choice, and should take just a few minutes.

Click here to take the More Ways to Waste Time reader survey.

Thank you so much!

Sound Off: Ugh

Gwyneth in her Hamptons home, from the Nov. House & Garden

I can't stand her.

Anyone with me on that?

Sound Off: What Is a "Good Host"?

My sister-in-law and her husband are coming to visit for a couple of days tomorrow, and I'm really trying not to panic about cleaning and making the house look perfect before their arrival.

Nick and I always do this: We have to scrub and organize and obsess for days before having houseguests or friends over for dinner -- not to mention feeling the need to cook something straight out of Gourmet magazine. The result is that we wind up stressed out and exhausted by the time our guests arrive, and then we're not very entertaining hosts.

Not too long ago, we realized that we were hardly ever inviting friends over because the whole thing was such a production. Then a friend (whose house, as comfortable and welcoming as it is, isn't likely to be featured in Metropolitan Home anytime soon) started having us over just for dessert, which was low-stress for her and fun for everyone.

We took a cue from her and invited her family over for Sunday breakfast -- somehow, scrambling eggs and toasting bagels seemed so much more doable than dinner for eight.

Then, newly emboldened by this idea of "casual hosting," I threw a dinner party for a bunch of girlfriends at which I served a simple salad topped with bits of cold chicken, along with some crusty bread. And I served it all on pretty melamine plates (which got lots of compliments) rather than whipping out the fancy china. Everyone seemed to appreciate the lighter fare and I was able to put together the salad earlier that afternoon and then actually relax and chat with my pals when they arrived.

Nick and I are also trying to remind ourselves that our house doesn't have to be immaculate in order for us to have people over. When we thought about it, we realized that we always feel so comfortable and relaxed at our dessert-serving friend's lived-in, sometimes messy house -- vs. sort of uncomfortable and unable to let down our hair in friends' and relatives' homes that are always spotless and perfectly styled.

Of course, changing our way of thinking about entertaining is a long process, and we're not quite there yet. But I think it's worth remembering that having a home -- even one with unhung art, a dining room full of our daughter's craft-project detritus, and a self-replenishing trail of cat litter on the floor -- that makes the people we care about feel welcomed and that's full of friends, loved ones, and laughter is so much more important than having a cold and empty showplace.

What do you think?

Post a comment and let me know -- and have a wonderful weekend!

(Photo: "Warmth," by flickr member gabo.)

Sound Off: What's Your Favorite "Little" Magazine?

Sure, everyone in the design blogosphere is drooling over Domino and buggin' about Blueprint, and I love those magazines, too. (On the other hand, Dwell, which my fellow design junkies all seem to worship, leaves me utterly cold. And while I like ReadyMade in theory, I don't have a crafty bone in my body.)

But the home magazine I live for is the U.K.'s Living, Etc. I have been known to drive across town in search of the latest issue, and to happily fork over close to ten bucks -- damn that exchange rate! -- for it. (I really ought to look into subscribing ... )

And I'm just loving the new-ish, Birmingham, Alabama-based Cottage Living (which, despite the name's shabby-chic connotations, is actually really fresh and even modern). I appreciate the fact that the homes featured are not in New York or L.A., as well -- who knew that the South was so stylish?

I'm really digging Canadian House & Home, too -- it's full of stuff that's different from the things you see in every American home mag, but that's still "get-able" (both literally and figuratively) for those of us not living in the Great White North. That's actually how I discovered Vancouver's One + Only Custom Headboards, which I blogged yesterday. I recently bit the bullet and subscribed, which wasn't cheap -- but I think it's worth it.

Now I want to hear from you guys: What lesser-known shelter magazines do you think are worth seeking out? Please post a comment and let me know!

(Photo: "Nice Rack," by flickr member vw-busman.)