Romantic Interlude

We’re sitting in the office of Romantic Homes, around a laminated table with a box of bagels as the centerpiece, hashing over the contents of upcoming issues. “No more Princess Di roses. I’m Di-ed to death,” sighs editor Eileen Cannon Paulin as she peruses photos pulled from a fat file of story possibilities.

How hard can it be to fill a magazine with rooms that represent her vision of “a special haven from the pressures of the outside world”? The rejections are flying.

“Too eclectic,” Paulin says of another home featuring gingham and roses in one room and hints of China in the next. She passes the images to managing editor Cathy Yarnovich, who hands off to the art director, until the idea circumnavigates a circle of six.

“Too black and white. We did black and white.” Pass.

“Here’s one for Photo Shop,” she notes, pointing to cottage cheese ceilings. “So few people have camera-ready homes.” Pass.

Never mind that Romantic Homes’ headquarters in Orange--three desks and shelves in one narrow, windowless room--is about as inviting as the inside of a cereal box. “We’ve only had the magazine a year,” explains Paulin, a former book publishing executive who first spied Romantic Homes on a newsstand. Where most would have seen a slim, fussy shelter magazine, she saw a niche publication with promising advertiser support. She persuaded Y-Visionary Inc. to buy it, a stretch for the parent of Knives Illustrated, Drag Racer, Bow and Arrow Hunting, Gun World--you get the idea.

“Now, this is very us,” Paulin says of another idea. It’s a master bedroom in Atlanta. Painted bluebirds carrying blue ribbons in their mouths flit about the walls of an interior decorated in blue ticking and blue plaid with yellow accents. “Suite Dreams,” Paulin says, delegating it to the bedroom department.

Then, amazingly, another keeper: “Cute. Let’s use this,” she says, handing off a kitchen with a hand-painted cookie recipe coursing the top of the wall. The recipe reminds them of the bagels, which reminds them of how much they like food, which reminds them of how much they detest photo shoots where food gets ruined by the liquid soap slathered on to make it shiny, which reminds them of Islands, where they’re going for lunch. Mmmm, curly fries.

Which brings us to the least appetizing part of editing Romantic Homes. “It’s so scary when we get these fabulous letters from people who say how much our magazine inspired them, then we see their pictures,” says Yarnovich.

Visuals editor Holly Rich-mond nods. “How do you write someone and say, ‘Thanks for all the photos of your home, we really like your porch?’ ”