A record of Go-to Home Magazines
Lately we have received more than a few dozen requests for a post about our go-to remaining shelter magazines. After the sniffle inducing loss of go-to glossies like Domino, Cottage Living, Country Home, InStyle Home and O At Home, people wanna know what we are loving, so here is our rundown of the mags that we run to the mailbox for each month:
House Striking is consistently a especially inspiring read. From paint color suggestions to high-end rooms, this magazine dishes out vivid eye candy on the regular. Are the prices reasonable to cheapskates like us? Heck no. Is everything easily accessible? Not on your life (a lot of stuff is only available to the trade- aka: designers). But we in fact like that their primary audience is high-priced interior designers because it is a strong way for us to peek into their “club” and see what they are loving so we can reimagine their spendy ideas on a budget.
Better Homes & Gardens is a more Hands-on focused read with a ton of applicable and doable ideas for the taking. From small projects to color scheme inspiration and gardening suggestions, this is a strong well-rounded read for anyone looking to spruce up their home in a weekend or even an afternoon.
Do It Yourself is another project-focused glossy with articles like “how to paint nearly anything” and “build your own coffee table.” While it only comes out four times a year, it is a strong resource for tons of Hands-on inspiration and it is especially helpful to keep around for reference (since they routinely include pointers and tricks for tackling nearly every project from hanging art to painting fabric). And although we might seem a bit biased now that we are regular contributers, we have consistently enjoyed their thrifty hands-on approach to home decor- which is likely why it is such a ideal fit for us!
Simply like our house, our magazine selections are a pleasant mix of affordable design with the occasional splurge stuck in there for eye candy and inspiration. A few other glossies that we consistently devour at Barnes & Noble (we cannot subscribe to all of them!) are: ReadyMade, Traditional Home, Veranda, Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home, Sunset, Dwell and Coastal Living (there is a new editor in town, so it is looking much better these days). Oh and we truly like the more lifestyle-related pubs like Real Plain & Martha Stewart Living since they touch on other essential home-related activities like organization and cleaning.
John also enjoys Men’s Health Living, but seeing as they’ve only put out two of them in two years, he might have to wait a while for another one. And of course if you are a local Richmonder (and even if you are not) R. Home is a good read- and we are not simply saying that because we have a column. Honest!
So there you have it. A few of our go-to glossies. Are there any that we are forgetting? Now it is your turn. What shelter mags are frying your bacon lately?
Update: We are also digging the lately released Lonny Magazine, an online glossy quite similar to Domino (in fact it is written by some of the same peeps).We have also been digging Coastal Living since writing this roundup a while back. It shows excellent promise at becoming the new Cottage Living (and has a lot of the same editors over there now- good stuff!).
