On a happier note…

I was thrilled to thumb through the latest O at Home magazine – love that Nate Berkus! he's just so smiley! – and see that Sarah Gray Miller has just been named editor in chief of the title. Sarah is the former editor of Budget Living magazine, which is one of my All-Time Favorite Publications Ever (it was actually quite Blueprint-esque, though somewhat more quirky/clever). When it closed down years ago, I was pretty distraught (and yep, I have an arsenal of back issues of Budget Living that I revisit frequently). I'm glad to see Sarah back at the helm of a décor/lifestyle magazine.

For your reading pleasure: I've long loved this old NYT profile on Sarah and her bargain-hunting ways (she was one of my first Goodwill-shopping heroes).

And though Budget Living is long gone, you can still get (for an insanely cheap price!) copies of their books Party Central and the ultra-amazing Home Cheap Home, which I still reference for inspiration on a regular basis. You will not find a better decorating book for under $5, which is the cost of most of the used copies for sale on Amazon Marketplace.


In any case, Budget Living was the first place I came across the home of creative types Genifer Goodman and Benjamin Sohr (pictured here), which has moved a few times and been featured in several magazines since then , including Domino and BH&G. (Their first house, in SF, is also in Home Cheap Home.) It is one of my favorite homes ever for its gorgeously eclectic mix of vintage finds, bold patterns and bright colors – and I'm obviously not alone in my love for it. Here's just a few snippets from the BL era.



{Images cobbled together from Designer's Library and BL photographer Deborah Jaffe.}