Room for Improvement: 'Decorating porn,' anyone?
December 9, 2008
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Denise Holtby
SPECIAL TO YOURHOME.CA
It’s week eight of our 10-week project and work has actually begun on our bathroom. The old flooring, trim and hardware have been ripped out, we’ve got paint on the walls and soon the sink and new faucet will be installed.
An appointment with the Eco Countertop people has been booked, so it’s time to do a little more of the fun part of home renovation: the shopping.
This time, I’m going alone to shop for accessories and towels. If there’s no building supplies involved, both Dean and I are happy to head out in separate directions.
But before I get carried away with impulse purchases, I am going to pull out my stash of “decorating porn” magazines and pore over them for some inspiration.
“Decorating porn” is such a perfect term for these magazines, don’t you think? Of course, I can’t prove it, but I think I may have actually coined the term. I certainly never heard it before I used it to describe my own addiction.
It happened years ago, when I was working as a copywriter for a large home products retailer. That day, I admitted to a co-worker that I drool with envy over sleek photos of unattainable spaces.
Why I felt compelled to confess that I was hooked on home decor magazines in the same way that certain people were hooked on the other stuff, I don’t know. But it was a relief to finally share my secret.
Why is “decorating porn” such an adept term? Perhaps because, for those of us who are struggling just to get the family to pick up a few of the 142 items they each have scattered all over the house, those beautiful, airbrushed images of perfect kitchens and family rooms are just as far away from reality as those beautiful, airbrushed young women are for those who read the risqué stuff.
I never tire of looking at pictures of perfect houses, furniture, room layouts and appliances. Right now, there must be at least eight magazines piled on the end tables in my living room, and that’s just this month’s supply! (Obviously, I can’t blame the clutter solely on the other members of the family.)
I probably spend $40 or more a month on these publications. And I welcome the growing number of magazines and newspapers that feature products available in Canada. I know they’re just feeding my addiction, but I don’t want to stop!
I also love to watch decorating shows. Colin and Justin are old friends, even though we’ve never met. I confess, too, that I find the kooky team at HGTV’s Take This House and Sell It entertaining.
Back in the day, I loved my job as a home decor copywriter too. If it weren’t for our pesky mortgage, I might even have been willing to work for free, since I never tired of the thrill of finding out about a new home product before it hit the market.
However, when the job moved to a new location almost a two-hour commute away, it was time to move on. Now, instead of writing about tools, furniture and draperies, I write about architectural products such as soundproof drywall and metal pan ceilings.
As a result, my pile of magazines has expanded to architectural publications, such as the lovely and free Architectural Products magazine. I drool over that one too.
How about you? Is there any particular “decorating porn” you can’t do without? And when you read it, does it induce guilt or envy? Or does it inspire you to get up off the sofa and pick up a paint brush?
Remember, this is a safe environment, where we can all talk about our addiction to home decorating magazines, newspapers and television shows without fear of reprisal. So post a comment and let me know that I’m not alone!