Yes, seeing the same house, same pictures, sometimes a year later in diffirent magazines.

I hate that!

If I paid 6.99 to see it three months ago I don't want to see it again!

Seeing products over and over I guess people in magazines only shop at a few places, ZGallerie, horchow, crate and barrel, pottery barn, west elm, and to keep it real sometimes target and pier 1.

Once I knew that, their rooms seemed sort of boring.

The purpose of presenting photographs in magazines is to launch or reward designers or attract advertisers. Shelter magazines rarely, if ever, source most items in a photo. That's because there usually isn't anyone from the magazine at the photo shoots, or the designer doesn't want to reveal too many sources, especially those which aren't obvious.

It's been done this way forever. If magazines cared about what readers thought the system would have been changed long ago.

It never changes.

And this is why I stopped buying decor magazines when I was a teenager!!

I e-mailed to complain to one of these mags about not including any info on sources, where to buy etc. I got a very nice email saying the info had "accidentally" not made it into the issue and that they would like to make it up to me by sending me a free issue if I sent them my address. I did and that was about 2 yrs ago and I still haven't rec'd my free issue and the mag still doesn't include many sources.

I have a magazine with sources sitting right here. Mind you, they're all "To the trade" and the on source I do want isn't available (The paint used in the entry hall I am in love with) but heck there are sources....useless, but sources. When I'm a big fancy decorator (and pigs fly) I PROMISE to list my sources...which will be overly priced and impossible to find, but still, I'll list my sources :oP

Something somewhat related happened to me last week. Oprah had Nate do some decorating for a couple. At the end of her show, she said you could go to Oprah.com and find the sources for the materials. Well, I really liked this table he used and did find the source on Oprah,com but could NOT open it because I wasn't "in the business". I needed some kind of tax ID.... I was pretty mad because there they are, saying we could find out about the stuff used and it turns out you can only find out if you are a decorator! What's this crap about?

I can relate to that frustration about sources, too, although what really irks me more is when the magazine obscures or entirely omits in the very photo being discussed in the article. The educational and informative aspects of the article are diminished, if not lost, when they do this, as is much of the reason one would want to contact the designer allegedly being promoted by the spread.

Ditto the frustration. I found a wonderful fabric in a magazine. It lists Old World Weavers in the sources, and lists the designer's name, too. A couple phone calls and emails later and still no info. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I just spoke to a real person who might get somewhere for me. Whew!

One thing that gets me is when the magazine will list the paint brand, but not the name of the color! So they tell me they used Benjamin Moore--why can't they list the paint color or number as well?!

Or the paint color is listed as "custom," which is the usual, in my experience with designers. When I used a designer, none of the paint used was out of the can.

Meg,
I sent you an email through GW.

Good news! My final assignment in my silly computer class is to develop a magazine spread (front page) but heck, it's good practice. I think I'll include an article on "Sources" in the teaser titles.

ANd it will feel so real...because it's only the first page, so you'll never be able to see the article :oP

Igloochic: That's so mean! LOL

Kitchen: Shoot, I haven't received the email yet, nor did I receive the test email I sent myself three days ago, so I'm not holding my breath. The GW email system doesn't seem to work for me.

I just found out that the name of the pattern IS listed--if that's what you were going to email me. I assumed it was the name of the chair designer. Silly me.

I've tracked down yet another rug. I'm hoping it's sky blue, not spa blue, but I'm not holding my breath about that issue either. So here's what I have to keep telling myself: make the decisions; move on. Decorate the house already so you can enjoy it. You never know what's around the corner. (Got sad news about an acquaintance recently and I keep thinking along those lines. Sorry!)

Surprise, surprise. The decorator listed on the magazine source page called me back and was very helpful. Then I got ahold of the design center "store" that carries this fabric. I must have sounded so pathetic because he volunteered to just pop it in the mail for me--his only sample. I'm so excited! I'm expecting all these fabric and rug samples now and wait so impatiently each day for the UPS truck.

While the designer said that the fabric is indigo and sky--more purple than a spa blue or robin's egg blue, the local fabric guy said it was aqua and cerulean. Hmm. That's quite a difference. I wonder who's right? Only time will tell.

Gotta just get it done!

Watch out! The company may have three colorways called "blue," but one is "blue p," another "blue x," etc. Maybe both the designer and the local vendor are right! That happened to a friend of mine with a tile style.

I should get the fabric in a day or two. They actually call it chocolate. Think there could be a milk and a dark? The designer said they used an indigo welting so I don't think it could be cerulean. But, hey, color is in the eye of the beholder, right?

If you have House Beautiful, the Nov. 2007 issue, it's on p 140. It's shown on the bolster and on the chair cushions. Love, love, love it!

and then there is the magazine whose name says Creative Ideas/Directions to make at home....or something like that.
The only idea that I could use, and the one for which I purchased the magazine, had no directions for making nor any reference in the "sources" page....bah humbug...
If a magazine that you want info from is a Meredith publication.....forget it!! Info will NOT be forthcoming!...no matter WHAT they promise!

The pictures! Many times there is an overview and instead of showing another part of the room, they just crop the original picture, why do I need 2 pictures of the same shot? Many times there is a description and no picture for it...............urg.
Martha Bryan
Roswell, Ga.

Or claiming that they show a diverse array of styles, to appeal to many different readers, but out of five decor stories, four are traditional and one is cottage... three months in a row. Why did I subscribe, again?

Last pet peeve: rather than showing a range of prices, their photo spreads contain only expensive materials and goods, leaving it to us peasants to try to duplicate the look at a lower cost by scrounging around random websites for hours.

I wish each magazine would list the exact paint color and number and brand used on the walls, trim and ceiling. I also wish they would list all their sources. They would get a lot more sales since I feel more people would buy their magazines.

Goutgrec wrote that
T"hat's because there usually isn't anyone from the magazine at the photo shoots, or the designer doesn't want to reveal too many sources, especially those which aren't obvious."

Not to be argumentative, but that's not true, at least with the magazines I've freelanced for. House Beautiful, House and Garden, Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home almost always have an editor or producer around when the room is shot.

What is true is that often the designer has added things from vendors that aren't owned by the client or homeowner. Shoot's over, lamps go back to the shop.

And another thing:

I am really disappointed in the Christmas editions of the magazines I regularly receive. Last year, they knocked me out. This year, they seem quite mundane and blah. I'm wondering if it's me, or if others have the same impression. (Or, have we entered a new era of minimalism when I believe more is more?)

Never have sent an email to a magazine, although i've been irked several timeds in trying to locate an item with no luck.

However, this doesn't apply to at least one of the HGTV shows. I believe the show was Decorating Cents, and a woman had done her wall in a special finish and I just *had* to know the process. Her email was listed on that episode so I sent her an email asking the 'hows'. I received a reply after about a week, and sent her another email to which she replied. She wasn't a decorator, but someone who's home was feaured on the show. It was a pleasant surprise! ;o)

Ditto koidom! ( 2nd post) I truly feel ripped off when I purchase a special decor edition only to find the same photos I have viewed previously in one of their regular editions...i.e "Kitchens and Baths" mag. will include PREVIOUSLY published shots from one of their regular mags. Grrrr. Really! How dare they?!

My gripe to design mags...I CANNOT have white furniture. I do not like slipcovers and don't need more laundry anyway. Not only do I have messy teenaged boys, I have pets. To top it off *I'M* the messy one.

Give me ideas for furnishings in some other shade, please.

Here is a link that might be useful: Creative Soul

I am frustrated by seeing an awesome piece of contemporary art as a focal point in a room and not be told the name of the artist. It must be so annoying for the artist, to see their work in a national magazine with no credit.