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Warped Childhood, Restoration Hardware-Style

Posted by: Lindsay Ferrier    Tags:      Posted date:  December 3, 2012  |  60 Comments



I spent part of my Saturday attacking an enormous pile of catalogs that’s been growing in my kitchen for the last six or so weeks. I justified the time spent on this project by telling myself that it would certainly end in some kick-ass Christmas presents for friends and family members. When I got to one particular catalog, though, my industriousness came to a crashing halt.

blog link

It was simply too much to take.

The catalog came from Restoration Hardware Baby and Kids. As I paged through it, I was struck by its uber-luxurious bedding and furniture options, all cut down to dwarf-size for the 10 and under set. I also was struck by how painfully obvious it was that whomever was in charge of styling these rooms for the website and catalog clearly doesn’t have kids of his or her own.

Witness:

Realizing that playthings would certainly spoil the aesthetic of their daughter’s bedroom, little Emmaline Clothilde Sinclair-Murray’s parents wisely limited her to an iPad and one rag doll.

Nothing says ‘future a**hole’ like a $1599 mini Kensington sofa…

Oh, Anne Cox Carter, isn’t it quaint pretending we’re poor and sleeping on the floor, even though you have four beds in your room?
Hmm, what shall I do today? Maybe I’ll get out my vintage Monopoly game… It’s only missing four pieces. Or perhaps I’ll reread a selection from my antique book collection. Or, or… I know! I’ll write a haiku in German about how much I hate my parents!

Lest you were wondering whether this is truly supposed to be a child’s room, the stylists helpfully placed an empty soda bottle by the bed. DEAD GIVEAWAY.

 

Six-year-old Mary Keats Rothtorkington may end up wearing many hats in her lifetime, but there’s really only one that interests her.

 

Will you LOOK at that Macbook LEFT OPEN ON THE FLOOR?!  That EMPTY SODA BOTTLE?! And THOSE CLOTHES, CARELESSLY TOSSED ON A CHAIR? *sigh* Teenagers can be SOOOOO MESSY.

 

In order to help little Masterson Archer Reynolds IV and his nanny keep track of their whereabouts, jetsetters Arch and Bitsy Reynolds thoughtfully had their interior designer incorporate these world clocks into the design of their son’s room.

And let’s not forget the babies!!!

For the Luce-Romneybilts, life was one long, luxurious dream… until the night the chandelier in the nursery fell.

 

For the von Arpfels, life was one long, luxurious dream… until little Alexandra crashed into the armoire while learning to walk and impaled herself on a shard of  glass.

 

For the Billingsleys, life was one long, luxurious dream… until little Finley toppled off the changing table while their family photographer attempted to take his picture.

 

For the Van der Zuskinds, life was one long, luxurious dream… until little McHarperson began suffering from recurring violent nightmares of hungry wild animals waiting until nightfall to eat him.

Yes, this is the weird, warped world of Restoration Hardware Baby & Child.

I think I’ll stick with Target’s kids furniture aisle.

Images via Restoration Hardware. Obvs.

 

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  • http://twitter.com/paulaswift paulaswift

    Oh my gosh – I am laughing so hard right now!!   Not just the comments, but I actually KNOW someone who DOES decorate her kids room like this – to unspeakable perfections.  And yes, her kids are a bit odd.

  • http://twitter.com/TravelSavvyMom Jamie Pearson

    [slow clap]  Nicely done.  Very nicely done.

  • Jaime Barnhart

    HILARIOUS!  And I have always thought similiar things when I look at that catalog — sure, very pretty stuff.  And totally unrealistic!!!! 

  • Kristen

    Hahahahahaha!  Love it.  Your commentary, that is.  Not the decorating.  How absurd.

  • http://twitter.com/sellabitmum Tracy Morrison

    LOL – this was brilliant!

  • Pam

    Ha ha ha!! I usually like that store, but you are so right. Very funny!!

  • Maile

    this is hilarious + awesome. 

  • Nadine Petersen

    In the chandelier-over-crib photo, it would be wonderfully more interesting if the rocking horse had been positioned just a tad bit more to the left. 

    • suburbanturmoil

       HA HA HA HA. Great spot.

      • Nadine Petersen

        You’re welcome. :0)  Love your blog and snark!!

    • http://www.facebook.com/lisa.martin Lisa Martin

       I had to scroll back up.  That is awesome.

    • http://twitter.com/digimegaphone Digital Megaphone

      hahahaha!!!  too funny.  

    • Kathy

      Bwahahaha!  It took me a few seconds, Nadine, but that cracked me up!  Lindsay, you never fail to make me laugh, cry, or spit my coffee out.  Thanks for always making my day.

    • Shannan Younger

       That’s hilarious! I had to go back and look, and wowsers. Yeah.

    • Melissa

      OMG!!! Ha ha ha ha haaaaa!

    • Bwahah

      Somebody likes horses

  • dedejohnson

    Thank you so much for this. When I saw this catalog I was stunned at how out of touch it is!!  Yuck!

  • Mmcham12

    BEST. POST. EVER. 

    !!!!!!!

  • meaganfrancis

    The best part of this whole post is the names. von Arpfels! Arch and Bitsy! 

    • Nancy

      Meagan, I totally agree with you!!  ~LOL~

  • http://twitter.com/miguelina Roxanna Sarmiento

    I am convinced that there are no female stylists at Restoration Hardware.

  • http://www.facebook.com/carolyn.k.mcclelland Carolyn Kuhn McClelland

    CLEVER. FUNNY. Loved it

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=582421452 Frith Barbat

    This former interior designer is laughing out loud. Thank you so much. Remember – children love beige.

    • Nancy

      Frith,  Your comment made me laugh out loud!!!   It’s common knowledge, Children adore beige!!!    ~LOL~

  • Nancy

    Wow!!  You hit the “Restoration Nail” on the head!  A $1500 couch in a kids room??  Seriously??  They will learn early on, they are superior, elite and special…. What everyone else will know early on??  These boys will probably grow up to be arrogant douchebags… Yeah, that’s right, I said it!  ~LOL~

    • Louann Blocker

      It’s fun to poke fun, but the assumption that any child whose parents have money and choose these furnishings will grow up to be a d*bag is pretty cruel. Lots of wealthy kids grow up kind and generous. One thing I’ve noted about a kid I know whose parents have a very nice house is that he takes care of things, unlike some others I know who write on walls, randomly leave toys outside after finishing playing, etc. What’s better or worse? A house so full of plastic junk that a kid can’t even decide what to play with, or one with some empty space in it? Not that I like the RH aesthetic, but I feel sick when I enter many of the uber-cluttered homes of my fellow 99 percenters. When is enough cheap stuff ‘enough’?

  • Condo Blues

    The only thing that would be better in the Chandelier over the crib room is to play The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack nonstop. 

  • http://www.callherhappy.com/ Jenna @ Call Her Happy

    I’m dying! I think I woke up Ellen laughing. Yeah. Stick to target…or garage sales and hand me downs. Anything that I can clean with a butt wipe thank you!

  • dixie t

    the word pretentious doesn’t even begin to describe these “children’s rooms”
    would love to know if these “rooms” are walking right out the door.

  • mcjen

    I really enjoyed this post! Granted, I don’t have a kid… but its a pet-peeve of mine when I see people try to take the ‘kid’ out of the kids room… they have the rest of their lives to conform to Restoration hardware’s boring beige design, let them live in color!

  • Sgoldey

    Re:  Chandelier over the crib.  Symmetry is so important in an infant’s life, and ready those document repro’s (literally, illuminated manuscripts) will put bebe in the little Einstein category.

  • http://stephanieklein.com/ Stephanie Klein

    Very clever. 

  • Gertie

    Yikes!  These look like rooms out of some sort of creepy haunted house.

  • S.

    This is SO GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Superbly funny. Your comments are awesome and the pictures are seriously unbelievable. Rooms obviously designed for robots, not humans.

  • Lilash051

    My sister-in-law works for RH B&K (yeah, I did it, I abbreviated) and it is obnoxious. Am I a terrible person for delighting in the scene of my nephew spitting up on a $200something quilted throw in his nursery? I am aren’t I ….

  • http://bitchinwivesclub.com/ Amy @ Bitchin’ Wives Club

    Ha! Restoration Hardware kills me. I can’t imagine living in any of their “adult” spaces, either… so cold.

  • Kellylytle

    Brilliant. I am sharing this with everyone I know. Unfortunately, we’re all very firmly established in the 99% – and on the end where we have to SAVE to hit that Target kids’ furniture aisle! :-) Thanks for this – FABULOUS!

  • Karen

    I love you, Lindsay Ferrier, I WILL be your friend. (great post – this is being “shared” all over the FB-o-sphere, btw)

  • Jenny Holcomb18

    I am laughing so hard Im crying!

  • Mel

    Oh my stars…….my sides hurt!  HILARIOUS!!!

  • catdance

    This is the absolute best thing EVER!

  • bereccah5

    And this is why I love you. Fabulous post. 

  • Anna koroneos

    you are funny loved your comments its so true i dont know what is wrong with people today.

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  • Dani_elle

    This post reads like a bitter, poor person’s rant against parents that are able to afford such pretty things. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the naysayers live in hovels and have dirty and quite possibly badly behaved kids! Open your minds people, it’s a catalogue advertising a lifestyle! Gah!

    • suburbanturmoil

      OMG. How did you find out about my hovel? I thought it was a secret!!

    • Kathy

      Exactly, Dani_elle! A lifestyle that will assure the parents that their kids will grow up to be obnoxious, pretentious, unmitigated assholes. Or spend their lives on a psychiatrist’s couch. Or most likely both.

    • Nancy

      Oh Danielle,
      You sound like a pathetic wanna-be…….

  • http://twitter.com/JeanneSager jeannesager

    All. That. White! 

  • http://www.facebook.com/amy.g.koss Amy Goldman Koss

    Thanks for that.

  • To Center

    It’s sad, but my favorite is the swinging chandelier and the baby sitting on the dresser! And I thought MJ was crazy…

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  • Andi

    I absolutely love your blog! Your thought provoking when I need it, but most importantly-freaking hilarious! Thanks so much for sharing your wit, talents & family. If only everyone had a friend like you in their life :-)

  • Judy in KY

    They look like rooms for Donald Trump’s kids!  His rooms really look like that!  LOL. 

  • Glowplanet

    Haiku in German.. that is my favorite part.  Hilarious!

  • Karamarkusen

    I laughed out loud so many times at this…hilarious–and so true!

  • Sdkcccowens

    LOVED IT!!! Please write a book!! 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000570436710 Dianne Friedl

    We have been moving and I wondered into an RH Hardware B&C store recently and I had been feeling horribly inadequate about myself as a human being until I read this!  Seriously, may be one of the funniest things I have read in a very long time!!

  • Dieselenergie

    You clearly, have nothing better to do with your time Linsday and cannot appreciate a well designed space in  MAGAZINE… It’s not real life, it is clearly a source of inspiration or somewhere to gain ideas. I’m sure if it fell in to your middle of the road life in the Target flyer and it looked so prestine, you wouldn’t say the same thing!

    Looking at your track record of the ‘not so perfect life’ in your introdcution, it’s easy to say you’re a sad case of someone who likes to tear people down to build yourself up. The fact that you are someone ‘who still hasn’t decided what she wants to be when she grows up’, says alot about your character. — Now, reading that, how does that make YOU feel?

    It may seem entertaining and profitable for you to belittle how some people may actually live, but it really isn’t something I see as a Christ like attitude ;o)

  • Lori

    Well I happen to be in the 1% and I smell at bunch of haters bahahahaha!

  • Linsday Ferrier

    Hi! I'm Lindsay Ferrier. I'm a wife, a stepmom to two college girls and a mom to 4 and 7yo's. I'm deeply flawed, often insecure, at times defensive, snarky on Tuesdays, and I put my foot in my mouth on a regular basis. Let's be friends!


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