COTE DE TEXAS BLOG

Photo by David Duncan Livingston

I recently received my latest Western Interiors magazine...and it is yet again a great issue. I also received some news that will no doubt have an impact on one of my favorite publications:

NEW YORK, NY (March 18, 2009) -- Sandow Media, publisher of high-end consumer magazines NewBeauty, LUXE, InSync and Worth, has acquired Western Interiors &Design, a leading national design and architecture magazine, as a key component of its continued expansion strategy.....

.......An additional key driver for this acquisition is the opportunity to combine the highly proprietary controlled circulation of LUXE with the ABC-audited 275,000 paid and verified circulation of Western Interiors. According to the June 2008 MMR Subscriber Study, the Western Interiors subscriber has an average household income (HHI) of$329,000 and an average net worth of $2.8 million dollars. Almost 60 percent of the subscribers have a second home and 33 percent are design professionals. Western Interiors is also prototyped in MMR and ranks in the top ten of all consumer magazines in median HHI.

"With Sandow Media as our new parent company, we will no doubt have a superior ability to better serve our advertising partners as well as our readers. Our combined strengths will greatly increase our impact in the luxury shelter market and leverage the vital industry relationships we have established over the past seven years at Western Interiors & Design," said Publisher Jennifer Matthews......

I truly hope so. This kind of news is always a little nerve wracking given the recent demise of so many of our favorite publications. I look forward to the continued success and fantastic quality of Western Interiors!

LUXE is a high-end residential design and architecture magazine built around the philosophy that each geographic region of the country has its own unique design style and culture. In creating a national publication that focuses its editorial content and industry partnerships on a region-by-region basis, LUXE has built a powerful resource for the design trade as well as affluent homeowners. With a distribution of over 400,000 copies quarterly, LUXE reaches deep into key markets nationwide and has established itself as the largest and fastest growing network of high-end luxury home magazines.This unique approach to building a national shelter brand has proven extraordinarily successful; ad pages have grown from 240 in 2005 to more than 5,700 in 2008.

I hope that with their growth in ad pages, LUXE can be a strong parent to Western Interiors . I am crossing my fingers that this will be the start of great things for the magazine.

In the latest issue, I could not take my eyes off of the beautifully layered cosmopolitan apartment of Designer and showroom owner Dan Marty.

Living Room, Western Interiors, April/May 09, Photo by Tim Street-Porter

Mr. Marty describes his style as a British Colonial feel with a mix of French Indochine. "The antiques I buy tend to be on a casual level versus fine museum quality pieces. It's a beautiful and elegant furniture, but also has a laid-back attitude."

Dining Room, Western Interiors April/May 09, Photo by Tim Street Porter

Dan Marty's use of color and texture along with his many wonderful collections acquired during his many travels to Europe (at least five times a year) make for a truly inspiring and beautifully personal space.

Master Bedroom, Western Interiors April/May 09, Photo by Tim Street-Porter

In this photo, he has combined an antique French mirror, a chinoiserie box, African beads and an antique apothecary jar on an antique sea-grass and bamboo dresser. A master at work here!

The Study, Photo by Tim Street-Porter

The apartment is located in the Los Angeles landmark Villa d'Este built in the 1920's in the Italian Renaissance style. Certainly the perfect backdrop for Mr. Marty's aesthetic. The study is seems the perfect combination of European panache and California laid-back style. The perfect retreat.

Master Bedroom, Photo by Tim Street-Porter

The aesthetic of this Master Bedroom takes one away to another country. It would seem one would feel on vacation in Spain or Italy. "Sweet dream" is an understatement.

Here is just a tease of the talent to be found on Dan Marty's website:

To see more of the amazing images of Dan Marty's work, please visit his Pacific Design Center Showroom website here.

Western Interiors, I wish you the best and I truly hope to hear that satisfying "thunk" as your magazine hits the floor just inside my front door for many years to come.

By now you have certainly had the pleasure of pouring over the fantabulous home of Peter Dunham featured in the latest Domino Magazine. (He is definitely in my top ten design crushes at the the moment.) Then I opened my Western Interiors magazine and was excited when I saw another one of his design projects in the same month.

I curled up on my freshly made four poster bed with some Dove chocolate Easter eggs to settle in for a relaxing read with my pile of magazines. The more I looked at the Western Interiors spread, the more I realized I had seen some things before.

Now we all know the Peter has opened a beautiful new shop in LA called Hollywood at Home, so some of the things are from his new line of furniture and fabrics. You can see a couple of his spool chairs in the photo above.

And this pretty nook has pillows made from Peter's Star Burst fabric.

But then I realized there were more than just a few items in common. And the hunt was on. I saw this Ikat rug in Peter's own Dining Room.

Many of the fabrics in this Master Bedroom are from Peter's collection as well: "Fig Leaf" on the pillow and "Indian Chintz" for the window treatments.

All photos above, Western Interiors magazine, April/May 2008, Photos by Grey Crawford

Now here is Peter's Living Room. So livable and cozy, but also sophisticated. The African Shield on the back wall had shown up above the fireplace in the top photo as well. Now how do you all feel about this? Personally, I like the fact that Mr. Dunham has been using his home as sort of a revolving showroom of objects that he finds, gets to enjoy for awhile and then passes on for others to treasure. This is the lifestyle of many an antiques dealer. What better way to share your life and passions!

These chairs are another of Mr. Dunham's designs. You may remember them from Jennifer Garners home. And the Ikat rug ended up in the kitchen above.

Here are the spool chairs again. And if you read down, you will see these cork lamps are for sale through the Hollywood at Home website. Please don't forget to take a look at the wonderful things here!

In Peter's Guest House, you can see his Fig Leaf fabric as well as Star Burst on the pillows. His mix of found things really makes his interiors so personal.

Again we see the Indian Chintz fabric used for the draperies in Peter's bedroom, and I found the green glazed bedside lamps for sale on Hollywood at Home.