I totally agree.
Years ago, when it first came out, I looked at the pattern package and, quite frankly, was totally put off by the picture on the cover. Looked really bland to me.
I've never made one - I like piecing a bit more involved - but I've seen some really good ones. It's ALL about the fabrics.
Here's one in Kaffe fabrics:
This is a bit more lively than the cover picture:
http://siterepository.s3.amazonaws.com/733_kq8.jpg