Interior design magazines

[Ambulance Chaser]

Having recently purchased a co-op, I am now looking for ideas on how to decorate it. Â My unit lends itself to a modernist style, such as furnishings found in Design Within Reach, Ligne Roset, and Theodore's. Â I would appreciate any ideas on good interior design magazines to consult. Â Thanks in advance.

 

[AAA]

I have several pieces from both DWR and Ligne Rosset.  I love what Linge Rosset has to offer, but everything takes 4 months to deliver as it is all custom made in France.  Total pain **********.  What are you looking for in the magazines?  Advertisements?  Photos of various people's rooms to inspire you?  Design tips and techniques?  I recommend checking out Dwell and Metropolitan Home.  You can also look at Architectural Digest, but that is totally hit or miss when it comes to having any modern inspired spaces.  I just got an ad for Interior Design magazine in the mail, and it looked like it might have some cool stuff in it, but I suspect it is also hit or miss.

On another note, how hard was getting past the co op board?  One reason I would never buy a co op is that I don't what to turn all my financial information to some random crotchety 70 year old lady.  What part of the city did you buy in?

Edit: Oops, I see that you are in DC, not NYC, sorry about that.....

 

[LabelKing]

I suggest WallPaper, i-D, and Surface. I rather like Minotti's furnishings.

 

[LabelKing]

This website has a fine selection. Furniture

 

[Mike C.]

I too recently moved into a new place, a loft in NYC, though I'm here for the summer in LA in Dean Martin's old pad, which is awesome. However, I need to decorate. I really like the look of the Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona collection. Is there somewhere I can buy it for cheap? I don't care about knock-offs.

 

[LabelKing]

Here is something from the Barcelona collection. Barcelona

 

[Lomezz]

congrats on the new coop.

When we decorated, I went to one of the international magazine shops here in NYC and picked up a couple of  italian publication - there are quite a few that are dedicated to the modern/sleek style, ala ligne roset. They look more like coffee table books than magazines - sorry, don't remember specific names.

For home grown stuff, Architectural Digest, I believe, is the big cheese in decorating magazines. It's good for flipping through and getting info about new prodcuts and retailers.

 

[Mike C.]

What would be the best resource to sample painting schemes? My furiniture is a natural beech wood color. I'm thinking painting the walls navy would compliment it well. Maybe some red/navy bedding. I'm not really good at this, I don't know.

 

[faustian bargain]

speaking as an architect, i have to recommend hiring a professional to help with interior design / decorating. think of your home as a suit, on a much larger scale. when you are entertaining guests, you want the place to look well-considered.

just as in clothing style - even more, i would say - there are traditions, fashions, and trends in environmental design. a good professional designer is going to be able to help you distinguish between what is stylish and what is faddish, and what is just plain tacky.

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for the bargain hunters, there are numerous vintage modern furniture shops online, as well as in most metropolitan areas.

for the well-to-do, herman miller is a good company to look at. they were responsible for manufacturing many of the great modernist classics. if i'm not mistaken they did all of the eames' furniture, for example.

/andrew

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

speaking as an architect, i have to recommend hiring a professional to help with interior design / decorating. think of your home as a suit, on a much larger scale. when you are entertaining guests, you want the place to look well-considered. just as in clothing style - even more, i would say - there are traditions, fashions, and trends in environmental design. a good professional designer is going to be able to help you distinguish between what is stylish and what is faddish, and what is just plain tacky. --- for the bargain hunters, there are numerous vintage modern furniture shops online, as well as in most metropolitan areas. for the well-to-do, herman miller is a good company to look at. they were responsible for manufacturing many of the great modernist classics. if i'm not mistaken they did all of the eames' furniture, for example. /andrew

Your advice is well-taken, although I think the more apt analogy is to a stylist who will let you know what color and item combinations work. Â Part of me wants to decorate my place myself, the other part realizes that I will end up committing a design faux pas, like matching a Noguchi coffee table with Wassily chairs. Â Where would I find a good interior designer aside from picking one from random from the Yellow Pages?

 

[imageWIS]

I am amazed that no one mentioned Florida Design magazine (ok, so they are on the 3rd floor of my office building

). They are one of the best interior design magazines in the world. You can reach them via phone @ 800-523-3327 or via their site: Florida Design Jon.

 

[TCN]

Quote:

(faustian bargain @ 06 July 2004, 12:01) speaking as an architect, i have to recommend hiring a professional to help with interior design / decorating. think of your home as a suit, on a much larger scale. when you are entertaining guests, you want the place to look well-considered. just as in clothing style - even more, i would say - there are traditions, fashions, and trends in environmental design. a good professional designer is going to be able to help you distinguish between what is stylish and what is faddish, and what is just plain tacky. --- for the bargain hunters, there are numerous vintage modern furniture shops online, as well as in most metropolitan areas. for the well-to-do, herman miller is a good company to look at. they were responsible for manufacturing many of the great modernist classics. if i'm not mistaken they did all of the eames' furniture, for example. /andrew
Your advice is well-taken, although I think the more apt analogy is to a stylist who will let you know what color and item combinations work. Â Part of me wants to decorate my place myself, the other part realizes that I will end up committing a design faux pas, like matching a Noguchi coffee table with Wassily chairs. Â Where would I find a good interior designer aside from picking one from random from the Yellow Pages?
Approach an older but stylish "Lady who lunches", and ask her who her decorator is. Don't say "designer", she'll just look at you quizzingly.

 

[faustian bargain]

a good way to find decent decorators might be to contact the local professional organizations. for architects it's the AIA, but i don't know what the name is for interior designers or interior decorators. they probably won't give you any recommendations, but they might have a directory and possibly a type of 'firm profile' listing.

for what it's worth, interior designers typically have a bit more formal education than decorators. and architects typically have even more, but don't say that to an interior designer.

this is not to say that decorators don't know what they're doing. however be warned that any Joe Lightloafer can just hang up a shingle and proclaim himself a decorator - not so for architects (nor interior designers really, but they don't have a licensing requirement like architects do, as far as i know).

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another idea - if you have a 'Design Center' type place nearby in a metropolitan area, you can typically go in and browse, talk to the people, and make some contacts that way. it's like a shopping mall for interiors people.

---

there are two more magazines you might look at: Interiors, and Interior Design. both have some modern stuff inside, although they run the gamut.

/andrew