Geek that I am...

...I was very excited to learn that House Beautiful has a new editor--Stephen Drucker. Many years ago, House Beautiful was the first magazine that truly got me excited about interior design. Under editor Louis Oliver Gropp, HB was full of informative articles that taught me and many others about interior design, architecture, furniture styles, and landscape architecture. I always felt that HB was the most intelligent of the popular shelter magazines. When I recently began to cull my collection of back-issues--almost 20 years worth--I found it hard to bring myself to get rid of these magazines. Some issues I will never be able to part with, as they are chock full of information that I still find valuable; they are great design references for me. However, after Lou Gropp retired from the magazine, I was disappointed when successive editors either tried to copy the formula of competitors, or just got downright bland. I felt that the magazine lost what had made it distinct. While I enjoyed the features, I no longer felt that I was learning something every time I opened a new issue. Apparently I'm not the only one sensing the decline--judging by the extremely thin recent issues, it seems ad pages are down too. So I am happy to see Stephen Drucker at the helm now. I remember him for his great work at Martha Stewart Living. I hope he can bring back House Beautiful. Geeks like me want brains as well as beauty.