Unmade beds? Color is the new sex? Martha in ’08?
What’s going on over at House Beautiful?! It’s design, American style, baby, and with Editor in Chief Stephen Drucker at the helm, design is approachable, colorful, resourceful, delivered with quintessential American flair and (gasp!) a healthy dose of humor.
Stephen Drucker spent a very generous 30+ minutes with us, talking about the magazine’s redesign, the thinking behind the changes, the truth about big-name designers, why America’s First Lady of Style has a lot more in common with Hillary than you’d think.
And then there's the REAL story behind why people are afraid of using color (And how House Beautiful is coming to the rescue on that, now more than ever). Stephen also answered the AT Top Nine, the questions we’ll be asking every time during our monthly interviews...
1. What's the smallest home you’ve ever lived in?
A basement studio at 28 Grove Street in Greenwich Village. Never had a bad moment there.
2. What’s the last thing you bought for your own home?
Search “grand tour intaglios” on eBay and you’ll see.
3. If you had to furnish one room in your own home from scratch all from one source, what would it be?
Ruby Beets in Sag Harbor, NY.
4. What’s your favorite spot in your own home?
My desk. Sitting there, you’d swear you were in London.
5. How often do you cook?
Most Saturday nights.
6. What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without?
My Bose iPod dock.
7. Where should people splurge in their homes? Where should they save?
A decorator once told me, it isn’t the first $1000 that makes a room, it’s the last $100. (In other words, it’s not the sofa, it’s the small stuff.)
8. What designer do you most admire?
Billy Baldwin.
9. What makes a home comfortable?
Using things. If you’re afraid of it, get rid of it.
Interviewed by Patrick (the other one), aka P2
nice work P2!
I LOVE this feature!
I started decorating--for money, I mean--back when i was still in college, but I owe the beginnings of my collection of American industrial design to Stephen Drucker, because the day after I saw a picture of him with a little Thermos carafe designed by Henry Dreyfuss in the new issue of--I think--[i]Metropolitan Home[/i] I found the exact same piece at a local garage sale in Peoria Illinois. This was probably 25 years ago, but I ripped out that picture & I've still got it somewhere in my files. And [i]House Beautiful[/i] has always been my favorite shelter magazine--I'm mainly into traditional style--but Stephen has really done a great job of lightening up its feel. It's like a brand new magazine.
So Patrick, you're funny and insightful. And so was Stephen Drucker. (And you should add subscription link to the comment section.)
Yowsah, 30-min interview? Any chance of making the audio available as a podcast so we can listen to it on a mobile device?
Enrique,
yes. we're working on that. the xml button at bottom should make it itunes ready...
or paste this into your iTunes podcast:
http://maxwell.hipcast.com/rss/apartmenttherapyinterviews.xml
Thank you!
You have a real winner on your hands here! I thought this was a great idea, but it even surpassed my expectations. And a major boon for the interviewee - I am definitely stopping by the newsstand after work.
Thanks P2! I see you sense of humor is only one of many talents:)
I have to be the skunk at the garden party. Ptoo is wonderful and can do no wrong but Drucker leaves me a little cold since the House Beautiful redesign, switching to all Q&A format. He intro'ed it by saying that all writers wanted to commit "acts of literature" in their articles. I'm a reporter/writer and found that so offensive and dismissive of writing in general. While those magazines are all about the pictures, the writing tells me things I wouldn't know or notice otherwise -- many times I look at the pics, then read the accompanying article, then go searching in the pics for things that were mentioned but that I did not notice on my own. And the questions that get asked: oi. There's a reason reporters write stories rather than just printing transcripts of interviews (not you Ptoo! you are beyond above reproach): we ask stupid questions, but the answers are often brilliant, and they get worked into the final story. And Q's and A's can't tell you things that you see, the effect they have, the atmosphere in a room...all they can say is, "this room has an elegant feeling. How did you achieve that?"
And let me say this, completely contradicting above point about brilliant answers: a lot of these designers are visually -- not verbally-- talented. Let the writers handle the words and the decorators the drapes and the world is a better place. PLUS I find the q and A format much too easy to blow through with a glance. I don't read them closely at all.
I mostly eschew HB now because of this new format. If the man finds his writers pretentious and not adding value FIND OTHER WRITERS. There's a slew of them on this blog alone that I'm sure would love a crack at those pages.
I feel better now. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
pam
wow!!! Great interview, loved it!
and the humor really adds to the warmth.
P2 giggles are familair ;)
P2-
Good job!
Nice job, P2! And Mr. Drucker sounds like he's really doing a good job. Now, I just have to figure out whether I renewed and am still getting HB, because I was kind of trying to slim down on my magazine intake.
I'm new to this whole design/home decorating thing (but am absolutely LOVING it!). Can anyone recommend what the best home design magazines are so I can start some subscriptions?
Thanks!
It is too bad Pam H blew through the comments. That's her choice. Short does not always mean lacking content. I liked the responses to the questions and am looking forward to hearing the audio once I am on a computer with speakers. The first $1000 and last $100 comment really stuck with me. When someone sits down at my place they invariably focus on an accent, something chosen to please or catch the eye above all else.
After watching for the past years as P2 commented, disputed, mediated, and essentially radiated his essential self, I am so pleased to see him get time above the comment boxes. He belongs there and this is a wonderful format to use his talents; you can tell he enjoys the art of conversation. Interviews with Patrick is a brilliant use of the talent we all have been enjoying throug hhis posts.
Can't wait for the next interview!
This is a great way to meet the people behind magazines I enjoy on a regular basis. There is so much work that goes behind every publication, sometimes it's good to be reminded. I'll be getting my first issue of House Beautiful in the mail soon. I'll be sure to thumb through it only after I listen to this podcast - I am sure it will add to the reading experience.
Thanks!
Hey Matt (and others)--
thanks for the kind words and support... including Pam. I think the interviews she blew through were those in the actual magazine.
I think hers is an interesting angle on that subject, much the same way TV writers were slighted by the reality TV boom.
I look forward to incorporating more reader questions into upcoming interviews... and we have some way cool people lining up!!
Great interview. I appreciated Drucker's insight into the trend of home as sanctuary. I also liked his perspective on design "mistakes," and his intention to use the magazine to dole out useful resource information (ie paint formulations). I have to admit that I've grown bored of shelter magazines (and magazines, in general) last year and have let all my subscriptions lapse. I can only look at so many pretty pictures of pretty rooms or slicky-styled product shots. It's gotten to the point that I'll only occasionally glance an my all-time fave publication UK Elle Decoration every few months at the newstand. (But even that one is starting to feel a bit stale to me.) After listening to this interview, I'll probably check out House Beautiful on the stands--to see if it actually delivers on the type of content promised by Drucker in the interview. So, maybe HB's first-person editorial approach might engage me more...
Great job, p(too). Both interview and subject came across as interesting, knowledgable and charming. It kind of felt like eavesdropping on cocktail party chatter.
Final thought. If interviews like this and other audio features are to become regular features, I think AT should get a decent quality digital recorder and/or microphone. If this one is any indication, this format seems like it will be a good one for adding interesting content to the AT site. Maybe use better technology to present it in a better light?
Ahhhh....thanks Patrick (and apologies to Pam)- I see I misunderstood. Pam was talking about the HB Q&A. That's what I get for only half-reading on an fully-empty stomach. I don't know WHAT I was thinking...
Very cool idea Patrick. You wear wear many hats...all very well I might add. Looking forward to seeing where it all goes.
It was super fan-tab-u-lous. Great Job!
Tony G.