Preppy Does Dallas

The August issue of D Home (Dallas) landed in my mailbox today (I really don't remember ordering it, but I'll take it). Anyway, the title on the cover is "Go Preppy." All the articles feature very preppy interior designers from Texas and LOTS of pink. There's even a quiz on being Preppy. It's really a charming theme this month and I don't remember them doing themes before, but it's possible.

D Home is a great local design magazine, something that Houston doesn't have. The columnists are first rate. I even featured one earlier here, David Feld who wrote a hysterical column of the overuse of coral in interior design. Their web site is superb too and a great way to peruse old issues if you have the time. There are a lot of quality designers who never get any national press, so local magazines are a good way of discovering them. I try to pick up different "local" magazines whenever I'm at a newstand. Here are a few pictures from this month's Preppy Dallas. Enjoy!

Notice the children's portrait - a la Warhol does Preppy!

I love the way West Elm and Brocade show their daybeds for outdoor porches.

For the Birds

At Indulge, in Houston, I bought these beautiful faux bois candlesticks featuring birds perched on the limbs. I lusted for them for a few months and finally couldn't resist any longer. They're at home on my dining table now, for a while at least. Have you noticed the trend this year is birds? They are everywhere: on designer file folders, on fabrics, on notecards, on prints with cheesy frames. It reminds me of coral. Yes, they've exploited coral to death. And I hate that because I do love it so. As you can see:



The funniest and truest article ever written about the over use of le trendy coral is by David Feld, a columnist for D Home Magazine (Dallas, Texas). Here's a small taste to whet your appetite:


Enough Already
Coral is a prime example of when decorating trends go bad.


In one form or another, real or fake, coral is replicating itself in every house in America. There's the real stuff, which has ossified in its naturally beautiful state of white, pink, or blackish red. Then there are the plaster fakes, which have been turned into sconces, and the cast-bronze copies, which have transmogrified into vases. The Alberto Pinto-designed china we see everywhere was interesting for about three minutes. There's not a textile house in the country that isn't producing a coral wallpaper print (why stop at red when 22 designer colors will do?), even Pottery Barn's coral sequin-embroidered pillows are flying out of the pages of its everyman catalogs.
Read the rest of the article here.

So, birds, fly around really fast. Your death knell is ringing already. Such a shame!