Caveat Decorator

Just a few weeks ago I was lauding the decorating virtues of matching in moderation -- emphasis on the moderation. And lo, this month Elle Decor has taken it upon themselves to beautifully (albeit unknowingly) illustrate the dangers of swathing an entire library or sitting area in a single fabric. In fact, I think the designer responsible for the spread in question deserves to stand trial for violating ordinary standards of good taste and style.

So who, precisely, stands accused of these decorating crimes? The alleged offender is none other than Lee Radziwill, international socialite and sister to the late Jackie O. In not one but two houses, Ms. Radziwill has elected to decorate the majority of her rooms in entirely one fabric. Walls, curtains, furniture: you name it, she covered it. The result is, in my opinion, too intense to be appealing, too "decorated" to be comfortable -- and, above all, incredibly dated. But I'll leave it to you to play both judge and jury. I'm just the prosecutor, ready to submit the following evidence:

Exhibit A

I'm with Decorno on her general hatred of skirted tables. While I'm sure this table cloth is hiding a table worth more than the entire contents of my house, I can't help but assume that any floor-length table cloth is only hiding some plywood and cardboard monstrosity that the owner purchased at Garden Ridge. I also have a bias against carpet in dining rooms, which just seem to beg for serious stains. On a positive note, I do love those chairs though, and the color scheme of pink and orange is rather fun. In fact, if we strip away the carpet and the table skirt and maybe ditch the coordinating roman blind, I think I'd like this room.

Exhibit B

To her credit, I actually rather like the fabric Lee Radziwill selected for this sitting room; it's very unique and rather lovely, in fact. But of course, I would've preferred it in a smaller dose -- an accent chair perhaps or just the sofa. But the walls, sofa, chairs AND curtains is just going beyond. Let's just call this one "too much of a good thing".

Exhibit C

I think this room looks especially dated. The fabric's color and motif just seem so "Miami hotel in 1985" to me. As my husband so succinctly put it when I showed him this room: "That picture is giving me vertigo." I really can't put it any better than that.

The prosecution rests as these pictures largely speak for themselves. So what's the verdict? Is Lee Radziwill guilty of crimes against design or should all charges be dropped?

All photographs courtesy of Elle Decor, April 2009.