Decorating with West Elm: The Painter, The Baker, and the Moped Speed Racer

We’re all on a budget these days. (If you’re not, then you’re rich enough that you’re about to be, suckah.) So when it comes time to liven up your bedroom or dorm room, you probably aren’t prepared to take on extra after school job or sell your eggs for that adorable $1000 beside table from Anthropologie. Luckily, there are a few stores that carry cute, affordable furniture you can buy without dipping into your education fund. The obvious heavy hitters are Ikea and Target. But our favorite is West Elm, which is sort of like the love child of Pottery Barn and Ikea.

We love West Elm. We’ve even been known to get kicked out of stores for rolling around on their showroom beds. (They just look so dang comfortable!) But when we received their latest catalog, we had to bite the insides of our cheeks to stop ourselves from laughing. Apparently the marketing whizzes at West Elm have come up with a new way for consumers to “relate” to their products: fictional characters who just LOVE throw rugs and side tables. That's right: meet the painter, the baker and the moped speed racer. (Not to be confused with the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker, although they may be featured in the next catalog.)

“Mike” (page 2, if you’re following along) is a pensive and devastatingly handsome moped racer who wants you to know “there’s something sexy about living low to the ground.” Because “it feels like you’re in another world,” see? He likes to go to Morocco. Unfortunately, the souvenirs he bought in Morocco must have gotten lost in transit, because he’s buying his Berber Rug, Medina Mirrored Sconce, and Ceramic Elephant from West Elm.

There’s also Meegan (p. 33), the painter who finds that the extra "e" in her name distinguishes her from all the average Megans with mediocre taste. She luvs poufs (who doesn’t, Meegan?) and pronounces, with a haughty gaze, that “style is nothing without comfort.”

And let’s not forget our baker, Pauline (p.78). She’s very eco-conscious (not so eco-conscious she would get yucky recycled furniture from thrift stores, but her sheets are organic cotton!). Her motto makes no semantic sense—“train yourself to sustain yourself”—but is inspiring nonetheless. We want her Mongolian Lamb Pillow Cover in stone white.

Each persona has inspired both a spread of gorgeous interiors and a wave of laughter around our office. On the other hand, if everyone who furnishes their rooms with West Elm looks like Mike, well...in the words of Liz Lemon, “we want to go to there.” Well done, marketing gurus. Well. Done.