Oscar the Grouch

Has anyone seen the article in the current issue of Vogue on

Oscar De La Rentas' home & gardens?

I haven't had a chance to read through it yet,

but I was disappointed by what I saw in the pictures of his house & home.

You would think someone with such

an eye for sleek and sophisticated fashion-design

wouldn't have such geriatric decorating tastes.

The rooms are dimly lit, and heavily/elaborately

(and might I even say incoherently?) adorned.

Instead of resembling the fresh face of the future

the look takes us back to the past -

the medieval past.

Parting the curtains, getting rid of some of the clutter,

and outlawing the use of floral prints would help a lot.

To be fair, I must say that there is something

quite lovely about the way this bedroom

is put together (above).

And I would even (shudder) keep the floral prints-

though I certainly can't explain why.

Would You Wear It?

I really don't know how to approach this post.

I guess I will preface it with saying that I often get frustrated as I flip

through design catalogs or books.

I want to ask "what were you THINKING?!"

This is not a matter of personal taste or whatnot, this is a matter

of decency.

Yes, decency.

Unfortunately, the one downfall of the blog-format is that I can not easily

post said pictures. So, I will improvise and pull one from a google search I did.

This was the best I could come up with, and it's actually much easier to take than

the rooms I was looking at in these supposed interior design books.

But still.. really? The lavender carpet is amazing... in a very bad way.

So here is the question.

If your room were an outfit, would you wear it?

Every day?
How about for the next five years?

If you can honestly say yes to both questions, with no hesitance whatsoever,

then take on the next one:
would anyone who uses said room enjoy wearing it?

(This includes friends and family for a living room, and husband for a bedroom, for instance).

If you wouldn't look forward to wearing nautical red and blue stripes daily,

with cutesy sailboats to boot,

then don't decorate a room that way.

(Of course, if it is a beach house, your guests might

like wearing red and blue stripes

every day they are there.. )

If pink, zebras, and polka dots are not a combination you would look forward

to wearing, then don't decorate a room that way - and certainly

don't subject your husband to a pink kitchen or bedroom.

Puke-green is not a color you would wear? Then why would you put it in your bedroom?

You wouldn't wear a patterned pant and a patterned shirt? Then...

Get it?

Got it?

Good.

I think this one simple rule can go a looooong way.