This must be what the world looks like to dogs or cats, who supposedly(?) can't see colors. Or to people who have the misfortune of being totally color blind.

Or it's like Dorothy's drab world before she arrives in Oz.

I wonder what Gary and Elaine will make of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Catalog Living

I see that they have already chimed in. Catalog Living featuring RH catalog

Justgotabme, what a wonderful observation! They are *definitely* the same column/table mocked up twice. Hysterical!!!

Flipping from back to front in a sea of greige.
I love griege, but moderation RH people, moderation!
I also had the Sears catalog in my thoughts as I hefted it.
Strolling past the store in our mall, one would have to know they love RH style to enter the tomb of doom. Very sad.
I miss the old RH.

Justgotabme, your comment reminds me....

I was helping a customer find a wallpaper she loved. She saw it in a PB catalog. I had no luck so I emailed PB requesting the source. Here's the response:

Please know many of our products are photographed in actual homes and we are not supplied with the brand of wallpaper or the name of the pattern. In other cases, the wallpaper may have been applied as a photographer's "prop" to coordinate with our products.

I guess in the PB and RH world, "prop" means Photoshopped. It kind of seems like cheating to me....

deedee-
I just had to laugh at your post. I got almost the same response from PB about a paint color request I made to them about one of their 'inspiration' rooms. They said, "Can't help you as most of our photography is done in actual homes.."..blah blah blah.
freaking useless...

Call RH and ask that your names be taken off the mailing list. Your mail delivery people and trees will thank you.

Call RH and ask that your names be taken off the mailing list. Your mail delivery people and trees will thank you.

awm03...LOL! (oops, sorry Edies)

terriks, my thought exactly. Catalog Living needs their muses. If RH folds, how will CL survive? ;)

(You can tell what I like better...)

I don't get that catalog, but my daughter's new Vogue arrived. All I could think of was what a waste of paper and postage. Ridiculous. She is away at college, and it went straight to recycling.

Texanjana - I think you're going to have one PO'd DD for doing that - I believe that's the issue of the yr. There was even a documentary film about the making of that huge annual Sept. issue.

As for the new RH catalog - I received it yesterday and I enjoyed looking through it. I wouldn't want to copy any of the looks verbatim, but I did like a lot of it individually

What I do not understand is how RH can proceed on this path, seemingly with no market research, focus groups, etc. If the response here is statistically significant, and I bet it is, there is no way this look is going to fly. It seems to be a step of great hubris on the part of the CEO, and one for the B-school books eventually...as a lesson in what not to do.

I tossed my RH as well. At least the old Sears "big book" had tractors and underwear in addition to tacky furniture you don't like or want.

I think this says it all. They are not afraid of the criticism and seem to be challenging the masses to go out on a limb with them. Me thinks this will be a massive crash & burn if our responses are any indication of public sentiment.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lunatic Fringe & RH Philosophy

Sounds like delusions of grandeur.

I don't know how many of you know this, but the previous incarnation of RH was in serious trouble and more than likely would have gone under - so a dramatic change--not just a tweak was needed to bring new life to the brand.

MY .02 cents
I miss the old store/look as well, but I'm not going to diss something that's trying to re-invent itself by keep people working and not adding another vacant storefront to the landscape.

In Houston, they are building a brand new store right across the street from the current one. I did see two people leave with packages, so they do have some customers.

I met friends for lunch near and stopped in to look around after getting the catalog, haven't been in one in over 5 yrs...

I give him credit for trying too. The consumer will be the final judge of his success (and profitability).

From WSJ:

So far, it seems to be working. As a privately held company" there have been rumors of an IPO" performance figures are not available, but Friedman says the company is "profitable." Epperson believes "it's doing somewhat better, possibly because it's comparing to worse numbers over the last two years than some others."

I am a purist when it comes to visual merchandising though. No cheating by using Photoshop in your ads!

Here is a link that might be useful: Restoration Rewired

Oh good Lord, I got an RH Baby and Child, and its the same monochromatic sepia toned rooms for kids! Who would want that for their child......right into recycling.

A few observations:

Most notably: Greg (the VP of Creative Affairs) from Calico Corners chimed into our thread. That right there shows me that somebody really cares about their product and doesn't turn their nose up at the 'eceryday people' who don't have billions of cha ching. Where's the guy from RH? How many RH conversations have we had?

Next: That guy from RH is always dressed the same, looks the same and poses the same. Based on his appearance how could he express or lead creativity for RH?

Of course: I am still reminiscent of the original, original RH from 10yrs ago that had the catalogs w/ the red border on each page and all of the cool gadgets.

Lastly: justgotabme - I agree w/ the Steampunk look and analogy. At least that style shows color, individualism and creativity.

Steampunk Treehouse at Dogfish Head:

That guy from RH is always dressed the same, looks the same and poses the same. Based on his appearance how could he express or lead creativity for RH?

Well, it seemed to work fairly well for Steve Jobs, after all. :)

From RH's Lunatic Fringe page:

"And we ask that you hang on to it, as we do our part to support conservation and won't be sending you another one until next spring."

In 6 months? They must be levelling a whole forest for it as we speak.

Yup, chijim is right -- they were not doing well at all as they were. Like, verge of bankruptcy/couldn't pay their bills. So they had to do something. Only time will tell if they will soar, or crash and burn. (My vote is for C&B, but stranger things have happened.)

I've never been a fan of RH but even more so now. With all the efforts people are making these days to conserve and go green, the idea of a catalog that size is repulsive.

The Baby and Child catalog is just plain bizarre, imo.

"I've never been a fan of RH but even more so now. With all the efforts people are making these days to conserve and go green, the idea of a catalog that size is repulsive."

The catalog does have a PEFC seal on the back which promotes sustainable forest management.

Also, the printing of a catalog of that size gave a lot of work to an industry and people that need it.

chijim

I don't care, it's still resources that could have been better used for something more useful than a stupid 600 page catalog that most people either don't relate to or have no interest in. And I doubt it alone would create sustainable jobs. Most likely it's a collaboration from several departments by people with lots of other responsibilities. That's how all of the publications were done where I used to work.

Maybe it's just my opinion, but I think it's just one big fat 600 page waste.

Geez,let it go already! I think we all get the picture that a small percent of people on this board don't like RH. Do we have to really rehash it every time a new catalog comes out?!?!? I guess we can count on people who like RH and decorate their home with pieces from their catalog to NEVER post pics or ask for advice on this board?!?! Really sad......
~Des

deserae, I don't think a small percentage of people on this board don't like RH- I think a large percentage of people here don't like RH. Of course I could be wrong- it just seems that way to me.

Well nancybee there are quite a few members on this board but only a handful post on a regular basis. There are 50 replies to this post and compared to the amount of members of this board that is a small number! The point was not really about the number of people who like or dislike RH but about droning on and on about how much they dislike it. Must we really re-hatch it every single time a new catalog comes out? Move on already! @@

Deserae, no one is forcing you to read these posts. Feel free to skip them. This is a public forum, we all get our say, however insignificant or repetitious it may seem to you.

Well chispa you are aboslutely right. I guess I'll move on and not waste my time on this board anymore. I like to see diveristy.......
~Des

I like to see careful spelling but I don't always get my way.

LOL mclarke!

Did anyone else receive an RH ad/spam in their email this morning? I did, for a sale. The ad announced Labor Day Event in big black letters on a dull gray background. It looked *exactly* like the death announcements that are placed on public bulletin boards in some countries. I thought about this thread and literally LOLed.

For awhile it looked like Ballards was going in the RH direction of everything in muddy sepia, but lately color has been creeping back into their catalogs. The same with PB, which is showing some sprightly, colorful bedrooms and especially pretty picture frames. I think that RH is being widely discussed within the "decor crowd", and that competitors are paying attention.

I thought we were the "decor crowd"! lol!

I recall as a child our household being inundated with huge catalogs from Wards and Sears twice a year. The spring and fall catalogs. At their peak they were about 900 pp.
I eagerly awaited the x-mas toy catalog that Sears bestowed on us each thanksgiving-tide. It was over 300pp.
Anyone getting the hardcover Cabelas catalogs?
Casey

I have to admit I was giddy when I received it - it made me nostalgic for the big Spiegel catalog when they went upscale.

re deserae's "droning on and on about how much they dislike it"... I like the droning on and on!

I don't think anyone would be (or has been)verbally attacked if they chimed in that they liked it, please do.

Drone on, imo

I spent a bit of time on the RH site last night. Nothing I wanted to run out and buy, but the baby/kids section had some nice pieces that would look good in a kid's room if you added some more cheery accessories.

DH walked by as I was looking at the caged chandeliers. He doesn't usually comment unless he really dislikes something and he said "don't buy those, they are realy ugly" :-)

Deedee - We *are* part of the decor crowd!

Oh my gosh, no wonder they changed black boards to green boards in schools. Such dislike for slate gray and black.

I use to love getting the large Sears & JC Penney catalogs. I even paid for Spiegel catalogs a few times. I will admit I am in favor of internet shopping in order to save our beautiful trees.

RH is probably loving all this attention.

I used to love the big Spiegel catalog! My mother and I would pour over it...

I loved the Spiegel catalog too ... back when they featured a lot of home goods. Still have a few of their lamps.

I am not in the sales / marketing field but honestly don't you think if the previous RH look was so popular / doing booming sales, that they' d still be around doing the same look and making profits? I have been in enough homes to see that those of us that post on garden web aren't like the average person when it comes to care about decorating and design :-) My take is that RH must not have been doing very well - some other companies must have been better at giving the same look either at better quality or lower price? Like other posters said previously above, I don't think they changed their formula look just for $ hits and giggles....

My theory in the Analysis thread is that a lot of the merchandise is the same as before, it is the presentation that is so dramatically different.

I like a certain amount of it, just not the presentation, but of course they can't mix it in with other things that they don't make--its a catalog, not a magazine. Pottery Barn always has accessories that I find interesting, only to also find that they are not offered in the catalog, they are unique vintage items. (They have started selling them off on the website)

I read the bio of Mr.Friedman Restoration Rewired and something about it really depressed me. His father died when he was young, he was a D student in Community College and he worked as a stockperson at GAP, and was 'discovered' because he had a talent for merchandising. I think it is obvious that he is an intelligent business person. There have been complaints that he has turned the merchandise into a very personal vision.

I think that deep down this is Gary Friedman's vision of how "rich people" live--overscaled and over the top, and too busy to track down the genuine article. Now that he is rich, he is creating his vision of what it is to live rich. This reminds me of the pre-Martha Stewart days of K-mart when it was determined why an odd assortment of items --particularly waterbed sheets and king sized bed sheets--may not be readily available in their stores in white, but they were available in deep blue, burgundy and hunter green. The reasoning behind this is that these three colors were the most popular colors for certain luxury cars of the day including Jaguar. Sampling of the demographic who shopped at K-mart at the time revealed that they thought these colors "looked rich" and also that while they could not afford a Jaguar, they could afford things in Jaguar colors.

On another blog it was called *Graveyard Chic for giants.* LOL

I didn't get the catalog in the mail but all of the catalogs I do receive are put directly in the recycling can. I don't have time to look through them and if I'm shopping for something specific or just browsing then I'd rather visit the store websites or do a google search. I definitely do not want to look through a 600 page catalog.

I do have an RH dining table and entertainment unit and many visitors to my home have admired them and asked me where I bought them. The dining table is one of my favorite pieces of furniture (second to my refurbished CL hutch!).

didn't get it but assume they are still on their mono chromatic everyone loves them some grey and more grey look.

Yawn.

A look back....

Here is a link that might be useful: RH discussion from a year ago.