Since Ali went there and admitted to watching The Real World yesterday, I figured I’d just go there and admit that I watch Whitney Port navigate The City on a weekly basis. The hilariously cold and snobbish “social” Olivia Palermo has a pretty sweet pad. I equate plopping a Hermes logo tray to wearing a T-shirt that says “J’adore Dior,” or me pinning my Ralph Lauren Polo tags to my bulletin board when I was eleven, but this room is pretty nice. I certainly would not let that cousin of hers put his dirty nasty self anywhere near the white John Robshaw pillows, but since those have been available on The Home Shopping Network she should probably pitch them anyway. What kind of trust fund princess with a fake job at DVF would be caught dead with goods that are readily available to the masses?

Also on The City, two random chicks no one cares about gossip about making out while perched in big Kelly Wearstler chairs at Bergdorf’s…

images are screen shots from mtv.com

I feel a bit (actually a lot) ashamed to confess this, but I watched one episode of the MTV’s Real World Brooklyn, just “to see what their house looks like” (cough cough) and low and behold DP products were everywhere! Fantastic college dorm room inspiration.

The first things I spotted were the DwellStudio Junior Transportation duvets and shams with the Framed Bodoni and Maze pillows as an accent:

Then a “confessional” came up and the hair rose on my arms as I was overwhelmed by the Read the rest of this entry »

I am still in deep mourning over the demise of Cottage Living. It featured homes that were modern yet warm, celebrated the vernacular without being too “kountry,” had stylish yet inexpensive interiors, and had sustainable small space design without shoving “green” down my throat in that annoying way that GE-owned NBC does. Twice I flipped through and saw extremely talented people I happened to know, once my mom called them to figure out which shingles were used on the dream house she saw on its pages and they hooked her up with the contractor, once after swiping a cabin feature they did I got to know Erik Johnson who tipped me off to some great fodder for posts. If you haven’t saved your issues like I have, you can still find a compilation of Cottage Living makeovers floating around in stores.I tried to find it online for you, but so far I’m coming up empty – it has a blue cover and I saw it in the magazine section of Borders last week.

Likewise, Facebook and the blogs are buzzing with news of Domino folding today. I started hearing rumors back in December and immediately stopped investing time in “My Deco File,” but kept my fingers crossed. Domino came on the shelter mag scene like a breath of fresh air. Although the last few issues were sub-par, I loved the magazine and thought that their website stood head and shoulders above the rest. I am mourning the plethora of inspiring slideshows, seeing how Scrappy Girl’s apartment turns out, checking out where Rita’s been, or what Nick’s obsessed currently obsessing over. I’ll miss Cynthia’s adventures and Muse Marion’s hilarous columns. I’ll never forget Ruthie Sommers on that first cover with the clever sofa I am totally going to copy and her Loni Anderson wastebasket.

As Blueprint, House and Garden, O at Home, InStyle Home and Vogue Living have all ended their runs in the past year or so, is the shelter magazine category still considered to be overcrowded? I am trying to see the silver lining and hope that something killer will rise up and fill the void.

Are there any U.S. publications left that you enjoy? Have you found any great ones to share with us? I still have subscriptions to Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home, Southern Accents, House Beautiful, Coastal Living and from the U.K., Wallpaper*. I wish I had subscriptions to Austrialian and English versions of Vogue Living and Elle Decor, as well as Living etc., but they are really expensive. Lately I’m enjoying my beloved Entertainment Weekly (Dan Snierson and Dalton Ross rule) and my new favorite, Garden and Gun.

photo by Melanie Acevedo for Domino

I know a major round of holidays just ended and the last thing anyone wants to think about is another holiday. I also know that a lot of people are not too gung-ho with what will soon be coming our way…Valentine’s Day. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but the fact is V-day is approaching and whether you are super, semi or hope to be chummy with your love he/she probably wants a small token of appreciation whether you like it or not. So, I thought I would collect some of my favorite Design Public Valentine’s Day-ish gift ideas…

For the guy/gal you feel a super strong attachment to, one of these may symbolize your love. You’d be surprised by how many pieces we have of two people attached to one another…

1.) A Hybrid-Home Anatomical Print:

2.) Donna Wilson Creatures – Terry Tina: Read the rest of this entry »

Back when I was ten years old and MTV actually played videos, my friends and I would sit around for hours waiting for the amazing ONE MILL-EEE-YON DOLLAR (remember when that was a shocking amount to spend on a video?), 15-minute long, epic video “Thriller” to air. I remember doing the zombie dance at Jenny Minning’s slumber party, a memory that was revived by Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30. As freaky as Michael Jackson has become, I cannot wait for the “Thriller” musical that’s now in the works. I wonder if Ola Ray is available?

“Thriller” has been done to zombie death on YouTube, but this inmate version really made me laugh.