We were going to let it pass at first, assume that it was just a phase, a brief flirt with the absurd when this appeared in the Pottery Barn catalogue last spring. (Click on image for the "big picture"). Then it was this, followed by this and then this and we knew they had gone too far.
We understand Pottery Barn may not want to endorse a specific book title or genre, we get it, but to use the books as props and display them page-side out is ridiculous. Why should we care what Pottery Barn does to books in a catalogue that is mailed to tens of thousands of homes every season?
Because PB is more than just furniture and overpriced fluffy towels, it's a lifestyle brand with far-reaching tentacles that include Williams - Sonoma, PB Teen, PBKids, West Elm and beyond. People who shop there are willing to pay $43 for a floral pillow, the same folks who will likely shell out cash for new release in hardcover—and then shelve it spine-side in, to show they have no need to ever find that book again.
PB designers actually sit around in brainstorming sessions deciding what the look will be for the next season—and this "look" extends beyond furniture, they're going for a total lifestyle feel, with storyboards and narratives to appeal to the broadest audience. Did a designer stand up one day and say: "I have an idea, let's turn all the books backwards, using the clean white pages as a design element, people will love it!"
Maybe you can get by with a butt-naked emperor once. But several times, again and again, over several seasons, in every catalogue? Come on!
So when does a Pottery Barn lapse in judgment turn into a "trend?"
Look at Mitchell and Gold, those upscale furniture design boys who single-handedly rescued the distressed-brown leather club chair from obscurity in a Paris flea market and then sold the idea to Pottery Barn inspiring a decade's worth of knock-offs. The same Mitchell & Gold whose furniture is often seen in movies and tv shows—they were the masterminds behind the slip-covered "chic" couches on Friends. These are designers accessible to middle class buyer and pocketbook and referred to as the "Gold Standard" in the industry.
These are also the folks who came out with this recent advertisement, an ad that was splashed across a wide array of glossy magazines this year.
" Styling had to be what we would want in our homes, we did not want to be silly with avant garde just to be different...rather we wanted styling that at once would look inviting, it would make a consumer feel that with this purchase their house would better become a home...warm, welcoming...an oasis of quiet and calm."
—from the Mitchell + Gold Mission Statement
Again, check out the bookshelves. Once Mitchell and Gold start turning their books backwards on the shelves, its only a matter of time before you'll see backward facing books on display at Target. Mark our words.
To forestall this disturbing trend, we offer the fine folks at M+G and PB a few suggestions.
First, you can always call these guys. Sure, they may care more about book binding than quality—genuine leather!— but don't let that stop you, they would be more than happy to set you up with as many books as you need. Buy them by the foot or yard, because, as they say, "nothing conveys a feeling of warmth like books." Especially when they're bought in bulk.
A better solution we offer is this:
2006 is the 60th anniversary of Penguin Classics. When you're casting about in design doubt turn to the black-spined book—see how nice they look all lined up on the shelf! And the titles aren't bad either. We think black penguins are the new white pages. Remember designers, a classic never goes out of style.
Another trend (started by my cleaning lady in Mexico?)-- books arranged from tall to small. I call it the Xylophone Look.
Posted by: C.M. Mayo | September 13, 2006 at 01:11 AM
How totally, as you say, absurd! I hadn't noticed that trend in the PB catalog or anywhere else. Ridiculous.
I'm reminded of an old New Yorker cartoon that I can only paraphrase. It shows an interior designer talking to a customer, and he says something like, "And on this wall I see books. Pink books, mauve books!"
Posted by: Billy | September 13, 2006 at 11:30 AM
Yes, it's the same idea: White pages, no distracting colors or images or titles on the spines to take away from the overall "effect" of the wall. It would be funny if it weren't so disturbing.
Posted by: thb | September 14, 2006 at 12:06 PM
Classic authors - bound in leather! The perfect accessory for the Happy Booker...
Posted by: Doug | September 21, 2006 at 07:41 AM