hair out of place

If you read interior design magazines you know what I mean. The photographed spaces are impeccable. Impeccably clean and neat. Containing eye-dazzling furniture and decorations but empty of life. Is it possible that anyone actually inhabits these spaces?

I love the sneak peek feature over at designspongeonline, where homes of designers display that bit of whimsy that keep spaces from being too sterile. Yet even these can sometimes seem empty. But then I saw this neat profile of Roche Bobois at Apartment Therapy and was pretty impressed. Sure, there is still a sterile quality to the photos--hey, it's a high-end modern furniture catalog after all--but I love the little signs of life placed here and there. Have you ever seen children's toys left on a couch or strewn on the carpet? I'm not a fan of the matchy-matchy but I can see that coordinating the colors keeps the photos modern and classy rather than I-forgot-to-clean-my-house-for-the-photo-shoot.