FINALLY!  After years of poring over the Ballard Designs catalog and absorbing the pretty vignettes, the catalog has come to life right here in New England!  A new Ballard Designs retail store has opened  at the Natick Mall.  It is a breath of fresh design air after years of proliferating Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware stores.  While the quality level and prices are all similar, the ingredients are a bit more classical than Pottery Barn and a bit more varied than Restoration Hardware.