Leslie Olson - Home Staging and Interior Design - Marin County CA

Skipping merrily through our local MLS listings I stumbled across this delightful MLS photo. While I can appreciate the personalized funky style of this house for sale, I stopped dead in my tracks at the dining room photo...

Apparently I wasn't the only one who stopped dead in their tracks...what's that perched atop the buffet, peering at the dinner guests?

YIKES!

Leslie Olson - ASID, RESA

Leslie Olson Interiors www.leslieolsoninteriors.com leslie@leslieolsoninteriors.com 415.233.2633

Home Staging - Redesign - Interior Design Marin County, California

The New York Times is reporting a public outcry over the cancellation of popular home magazine, Domino. As I mentioned in my recent blog, Say It Ain't So...Are Home Shelter Magazines the New Dinosaurs?, Domino is one of several shelter magazines recently nixed because of shrinking ad dollars.

In the NYT article, "A Girl World Closes, and Fans Mourn," they write:

WHEN Domino magazine folded last week, another casualty of the economic smack-down, a howl of protest rang through the blogosphere. Fans of the girlish, how-to decorating magazine owned by Condé Nast were vociferous in their disappointment, posting anguished comments on design sites like Apartment Therapy, Decorno and Design Sponge (which accrued 498 remarks in just a few hours), as well as nondesign sites, like The Huffington Post. Even Gawker readers set aside their snark to mourn.

The commenters bemoaned the death of a magazine that "felt" like them, and worried that their Domino subscription renewals, already paid, would yield subscriptions to Architectural Digest, Condé Nast's remaining shelter title (median reader age: 50).

To read the entire article, click on http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/garden/05domino.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

It remains to be seen if the protests will bring any results, but clearly this is a publication that was innovative, fresh, and tapped into a young, growing market. Quite a contrast from the old dowager Architectural Digest (which, to my knowledge, is not being cancelled).

For Leslie's blogs related to this subject, I invite you to visit:

Say It Ain't So...Are Home Shelter Magazines the New Dinosaurs?

How Are Your Favorite Home Retailers Doing? Must-Read Articles

Leslie Olson, ASID, RESA

Leslie Olson Interiors Marin County, CA www.leslieolsoninteriors.com leslie@leslieolsoninteriors.com 415.233.2633

This new construction craftsman-style home was built in a charming older neighborhood, replacing a house that was dilapidated beyond repair. The Realtor was in fact the person who had designed and built the house -- a two-year labor of love. He hired our firm, Leslie Olson Interiors to furnish and stage the vacant house for sale. Despite the very tight staging budget this was such a gratifying project to work on, as the Realtor/Owner was thrilled to finally see "his" light-filled house transformed and furnished, after nurturing it from concept to construction.

Vacant Living Room before:

Living Room after staging by Leslie Olson Interiors:

Welcoming Living Room from the Entry:

Kitchen during contruction:

Warm and inviting Kitchen after accessorizing:

A tranquil Master Bedroom awaits future homebuyers:

Cozy Master Bedroom seating area:

Master Bathroom vanity with reflections:

Master Bath with view:

For additional Before and After examples of Leslie's Traditional Style Home Staging in Marin, check out:

Marin County Home Stager - Staging for Traditional Home Architecture and Style

Mill Valley Film Festival - Outdoor Art Club - Before and After Photos

For more Before and After photos from a variety of Leslie Olson Interior's Vacant Home Staging Projects, please view:

Staging an Eichler-Designed Home in Marin - Before and After Photos - Part 1

Staging an Eichler-Designed Home in Marin - Bedroom Before and After Photos - Part 2

Mill Valley Film Festival - Smith Rafael Film Center - Before and After Photos

Staging Vintage Kitchens - Marin Home Staging - Before and After Photos

Bring on the Popcorn! Media Room Makeover - Real Estate Staging Marin

Thank you for your interest!

Leslie Olson, ASID, RESA

Leslie Olson Interiors Marin County, CA www.leslieolsoninteriors.com leslie@leslieolsoninteriors.com 415.233.2633

To follow up on my most recent blog, "How Are Your Favorite Home Retailers Doing? Must-Read Articles," this New York Times' article, "The Meltdown in Home Furnishings" lists troubled home furnishings retailers who are struggling in this economy, as well as many much loved "shelter" magazines:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/garden/29industry.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Due to the faltering economy and shrinking advertising dollars, the past several months have seen several home design magazines close up shop, to include:

The 106 year-old House and Garden, Home, Blueprint, O at Home, Cottage Living, Country Home, and most recently Domino.

At a personal level shelter magazines have been so important to me through the years as sources of inspiration, aspiration and upcoming design trends. I have folders and notebooks filled with pictures clipped over the years, kept to inform future projects. Some designers' works I've collected as if I were in a movie star fan club. (Don't forget those shelter magazines also elevated the careers of many successful designers.) Sifting through several of these notebooks before our move last summer I felt like I was traveling through a time capsule of dreams deferred (and sometimes realized), representing my own evolving design interests. And for years my Interior Design clients have shared similar magazine clippings with me, helping to crystallize a focus for their design plans.

I fear that some of my favorite magazines may be next in line for troubles (as well as those who write and publish for them), and send them my very best wishes.

Do you have favorite magazines that have particularly inspired you through the years? Which would you truly miss if they were no longer here? Are there past shelter magazines that you continue to miss? What other sources of design inspiration do you use in their place (blogs, etc.)?

**UPDATE**

2/5/2008 - This morning I just posted a follow-up blog about the cancellation of Domino magazine, from a recent New York Times article. Check it out at Domino Effect - NYT Reports Fans Mourning Demise of Magazine.

Thanks for your interest!

Leslie Olson - ASID, RESA

Leslie Olson Interiors Marin County, CA www.leslieolsoninteriors.com leslie@leslieolsoninteriors.com 415.233.2633

As much as I'd rather be the bearer of good news in these difficult financial times, I've read two articles in the past 24 hours that are must-read for all of us who work in home and design-related industries.

Many retailers that we can hardly imagine not being there are currently on the ropes, and may not make it much longer. And shelter publications that we've come to rely on for inspiration are also walking the plank.

Here's the New York Times' article, "The Meltdown in Home Furnishings"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/garden/29industry.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Similarly Time ran an article yesterday featuring some of the same companies, "Retailers on the Ropes: Can These Companies Survive?"

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1874532,00.html?xid=rss-topstories-cnnpartner

This says nothing about local furnishings companies who are also feeling the effects of the economy. I feel for all who are touched by these industries and their troubles, as well as their families.

Leslie Olson, ASID

Leslie Olson Interiors Marin County, CA www.leslieolsoninteriors.com leslie@leslieolsoninteriors.com 415.233.2633