HomeA note about Elle Decoration UK and lots of this and that (not necessarily in that order)
25. Feb, 2010 
9 Comments
Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. What a crowd! Well, well, well. Thank you for coming. It’s an exciting day. Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Louder! Woof, woof, woof!!!! Yea!
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Um, no. Actually I lost my words. And I’m sleepy. So please enjoy this very special Strange Closets episode. And if you need a drink but it’s still too early, try listening to the Family Ties theme song instead:
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That’s obviously a joke, but do you know what’s not a joke? When Family Ties ended in 1992, a fellow high school student and I had a long conversation during Yearbook period about how surreal it was that Family Ties had aired its series finale. She said something like, I felt sad when I heard the theme song for the last time. Sounds a bit silly, don’t it mate? Then again, re-runs aren’t quite the same thing are they? And she’s right, there’s something I’ve always loved about the TV themes more than the shows themselves. I loved Thirtysomething so much I bought the entire soundtrack and actually listened to it more than once.
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The whole CD’s like that. Only morose. It’s no wonder I turned out to be the kind of guy who writes about Thirtysomething on a Wednesday night at 2:30 a.m. But I can’t be the only one with embarrassing TV confessions and a theme song fetish. So spill. What’s yours?
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Please continue reading for a short blurb about Elle Decoration UK.
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For design blog readers that like a little design in their design blog, I picked up the new Elle Decoration UK Magazine the other day, and it’s ridiculously good. I appreciate many styles, but right now I’m most attracted visually to spaces that push the envelope with color, texture, shape and scale. I think maybe I’ve had my fill of polished and lovely for a bit. I live too safe every day. When I watch movies, I want to see the equivalent of Shirley Maclaine crying hysterically and banging on the nurses station, um, I mean explosions, and I want a happy ending every time. And so too when I look at design magazines, publications where style takes the precedent, I want over-the-top good or crazy bad spaces that get my heart pumpin’. Which doesn’t necessarily mean affluent, contemporary or styled (although it often does). And I think Elle Decoration UK and also Elle Decor do a pretty good job at that. What do you think?
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If you made it this far, I just realized you can play all three TV themes at once and doing so sounds nightmarish (although you don’t have to worry about coded messages)(I’m not warranting against them you understand). Speaking of groovy, I’m sure this is at worst a gross distortion, but I like the sound of it:
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Reading your blurb about Elle Decoration UK made me realize I haven’t seen an Open House in a long time. Is it too much to hope for one soon?
I’ve loved the theme song from “Bewitched” since watching reruns on TBS after school with my sister.
On more recent review, Samantha and Darren had fantastic taste in furniture! So many lovely danish modern pieces. Are there other television shows with great furniture? Maybe Elle Decor needs a feature with witches?
I confess… I love the “My So Called Life” and “Malcom in the Middle” Theme songs. I didn’t even watch Malcom so much, just sang along with the theme, and turned to PBS…
whoa…what a great way to go back. loved that music (thirty something) will relisten next time i need a lift.
thanks
Jan, I have more Open Houses waiting in the wings than you can shake a stick at. That was two cliches in one sentence. I’m working on one for either tomorrow or possibly starting again regularly next week.
Claire, that’s an interesting idea. The blog Design Sponge does a regular post about living like they live in different movies. And a few of my first Strange Closets posts were about the design in Alfred Hitchcock movies. You can still read them by searching for Alfred Hitchcock in the search box on the sidebar. I’m sure there are many great examples, but for some reason, I’m wracking my brain to recall another TV house with great style . . .
Malcolm in the Middle huh Bryn? OK, I’ll check it out. Diana, I’m not sure I’d recommend Thirtysomething music for a pick-me-up!
Mary Richards’ apartment in Minneapolis had style.
If you want to see two of the leads from Thirtysomething all grown up and in their 50s, watch “Brothers and Sisters”. Ken Olin and his Thirtysomething spouse, Ms. Wettig, play divorced parents of a fine young woman on that show.