Editor Brad Mee introduces the moods, colors and details of the Utah Style and Design Fall 2023 glossy pages.
Confession: I’m not big on drama. I don’t like it in my personal life and definitely don’t enjoy it at work—except, of course, when it involves the spectacular homes featured in our pages. Then, bring on the wondrous surprises, the moment-making moves and the grand gestures. So you can imagine my delight when designer Jessica Bennett introduced me to her client Angie Harrington, the fashionable tastemaker who graces our cover. Harrington—a former cast member of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City—certainly dealt with her share of drama on the reality TV series. These days, however, she focuses on her blended family, laudable causes and a home where she surrounds herself with personal, scene-stealing style. “I don’t like to dress or style things the way everyone else does—our house
is a reflection of that,” she says.
This issue takes us to drama class, where we explore bold style and its power to turn a space from ordinary to extraordinary. Harrington’s Provo home is a crash course packed with inspiration, including the living room, where figure sketches and posh furnishings take center stage like lead actors stepping into the spotlight. Leaf-patterned carpet, velvet walls and a hand-painted piano perform similarly in Edison House’s lounge . In St. George, massive windows deliver a daring narrative in builder Rob Wyman’s family home as does a four-story, glass-railed staircase in a must-see Park City house.
Of course, not all gestures need to be the main attraction to be meaningful. As taught in the theater, there’s no such thing as a small part. In Taylor and Kasie Safford’s Mapleton home, a subtle thread of brass elements serves as a quiet protagonist in their charming English-inspired decor, while in a southern Utah living room, muted autumnal tones and textures speak to visitors like whispered lines of a script. Even the simple addition of a single candle snuffer to a tablescape has the power to engage our emotions.
The lesson here? Dramatic elements have the ability to elevate any decor, and each possesses the potential to play the lead or a supporting role in a winning performance.
Flip through the digital version of Utah Style and Design Fall 2023 here.
