Catalog Living: Finding Humor in Design

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Several months ago I came across a cute little blog that blends my love of beautiful Potterybarn type images with a hint of comic relief and a dash of creativity. If you haven't heard of Catalog Living, it's a blog written by Molly Erdman who is a Actress, Writer and Comedian. She takes the everyday Shelter magazine and posts about how she sees the images on these glossy pages. She literally calls out the humor and silliness of each image.

She uses a fictitious couple named "Gary" and "Elaine" as she narrates each scene. As she says, it's 'a look into the exciting lives of the people who live in your catalogs.'  The thing I love most about her blog is that each post is literally a single image with a short caption beneath so it's a great, addition to my daily blog reading.

Reflections Of.....


With the enormous mirror directly in front of him, Gary couldn’t help but wonder if eating made him look fat.


A Twist of Something....


Elaine was not amused by Gary’s passive-aggressive response to her request to “garnish the cocktails.”


Third Party Intervention...



Oooh wine! Let’s see, a couple of antique door knobs, a bird, a rooster, a…ELAINE!!!

 

Flame On....



Grace was pleased with herself, having escaped being eaten by hiding in this cluster of trees. But why was it so warm, she wondered as her smile literally melted.


Outdoor Entertaining...


Sweetheart, the Turners will be here any minute now! Did you put the plate of figs under the table?



The Cigator Says...



Gary and Elaine still aren’t sure where the kids’ slow progress in learning animal names is coming from.


Everything In Its Place...



"Hi Nancy, it’s Elaine. I’m going to be a little late for lunch. I can’t find my hat or my back-up hat."



This last one made me laugh. How many times have we seen pieces like an ottoman or a couple nightstands and a few random accessories and greenery added to create a photo spread in a magazine, I like how she narrated this unfinished space:


Hostile Hosting...


Sick of out-of-town visitors overstaying their welcome, Gary and Elaine decided to make their guest bed a little less comfortable.



Isn't this such a cute blog topic? Molly has several months worth of funny archives, do check it out! You may never look at decorating magazines the same again. ;)

Happy Weekend!



*All images and captions belong to Catalog Living.