apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I've gotta say I like Elle Decor for the look of it..sort of BoHo, international chic without being too Babe Paley, way-too-expensive for mortals.

I'm also partial to Country Home, even though I'm not a country gal..it's really well-laid out, it meshes modern stuff with antiques well. Just don't read the fine print too much...they often have a very mid-western, way-too-traditional-values stance.

Cool! A substitute teacher!! Can we have class outside?! And Maxwell ALWAYS let's us go home early on Wednesdays!! :)

Welcome, Jen. Love this topic, as these two things are in my own personal top 5, bordering on obsession.

I subscribe to the standards (House & Garden, Met Home, House Beautiful, Country Living, Country Home, Canadian House & Home, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest) and pick up (occasionally) on the newstands Home, Traditional Interiors, Interiors, some UK or Aussie titles of the American ones, plus some of the BH&Gardens Special Interest pubs. My favorite of the lot is Canadian House & Home. Love the format, the tone, the features, the general style of things.

Also just saw a Chris Casson Madden magazine I sort of liked, and one of the entertainment titles just had a Home-themed issue that I really liked, with Andie MacDowell on the cover.

The best "reads" (not just picture perusing) of the lot are the brilliant bookending of House & Garden... Dominique Browning's always amazing and touching intros, Mayer Rus' always pithy and hilarious essays. And Country Home's Karen Weir-Johnson (I think??) has a farm-based monthly essay that is always remarkably relevant and moving even to this city boy.

My jury is still waaaaaay out on Domino, since it's apparent "girls' only" format and vibe was a real turn-off to me.

My mom got me a subscription to Country Home a few years ago, and I've been reading it ever since. I prefer it to Country Living, which is a little too country for me.

I also get a lot of inspiration from Dwell. Though most of that stuff is out of my price range, I get ideas for my fantasy future home.

Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on all the shelter mags.

US shelter mags are waaaaaay behind the times. To really know what's up, must reads are Elle Decor UK and World of Interiors.

I had pretty low expectations for Domino--thought it would be basically one of those shopping-list magazines. I was pleasantly surprised by the first issue; then again, I am a girl (albeit a girl who hates women's magazines). It has more substance than I expected--yes, there's lots of the obligatory "Stuff We Think You Should Buy (And Not Just Because We're Being Paid, Oh No, Not at All!)" but there is actually quite a bit of helpful, interesting comment.

I subscribe to Dwell because it's so purty...I tend to look at it more as an art mag than anything else, since I'm on a very tight budget (which is why I don't really read the other magazines...it's hard for me to get through an issue of, say, Elle Decor, and just enjoy it without the spectre of "YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO AFFORD ANYTHING REMOTELY LIKE THIS" hanging over my head.)

i still mourn the passing of Nest. sigh.

I am really partial to the shelter mags from the UK--especially Living Etc. I find them a lot more appealing than a lot of stuff in U.S. mags. Not much of it is usable for my tiny abode but we can all use a little eye candy right?

Sorry, but I don't like Domino at all (do I still get to be classified as a girl?)--but then I'm not a big shopper (unless its for books).

UK Elle Decoration is the shelter mag that best speaks to me. Love their mix-it-up vibe. (I jokingly tell friends that it's my design bible.)Close seconds for me are Dwell, Italian Elle Decor. I have a love/hate relationship with Wallpaper, but can occasionally find something of note in each issue. I agree with previous commenters that most domestic shelter mags aren't as adventurous as their European counterparts. I'll occasionally find 1 or 2 noteworthy things in Metropolitan Home or (US) Elle Decor, but for the most part find them to be very "safe." Finally, I usually look to Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure for design inspiration. Even though these aren't shelter mags, you get to see a lot of interesting interiors here. (Oh! And I like Real Simple--and only admit that begrudgingly since it's targeted to women.)

Welcome, Jen.
None of the shelter mags I've seen--and I haven't seen them all, unlike patricktoo--exactly hit the spot. Dwell comes closest, but it's a little too glossy, and I can never really tell how the spaces are laid out, because the pictures are too busy being art. An East Coast version of ReadyMade is sorely needed, for those of us without easy access to cars, pallets, gardens, etc. Domino's first issue was a disappointment--too girly, messy layout, and nothing really new. I'll have to check out the UK mags.

We get This Old House, Inspired House, House & Garden, and now Dwell. This site turned me on to Dwell. I always flip to the end of H&G to read Mayer Rus' column.

While on the topic of shelter mags, I have a stack (or two) of back issues of Architectural Digest that I'd like to get to a good home...

The UK mags are hit or miss for me (as are the US ones, but cheaper, given the extent of my "habit"). I find them all a bit long on produced-product features and short on "interiors stories". But wouldn't kick any shelter mag out of bed nonetheless.

In general, since after a year I go back to past issues, tear out the pages I want to keep and recycle the mag, I've found there is actually very little from ANY magazine that I actually end up saving. That actually surprised me.

From a graphic design/photography perspective, I think Country Home is one of the ones to beat, especially after their recent redesign. Mary Emmerling runs a nicely-designed ship over there!!

As much of a Martha fan as I am, I have to admit I only periodically (ha!) get Living off the newsstands... usually only October-December, since I love how they embrace and celebrate the holidays/seasons with such a passion.

re dwell magazine--i remember checking it out once many years ago & thinking, FINALLY! a design aesthetic that actually appeals to me! before that, most of the stuff i saw (on magazine covers, on hgtv, & especially in stores) just didn't "feel" right to me, but there didn't seem to be any alternative.

fast forward several years: i checked out a few recent issues of dwell & found myself not liking it quite as much. for one thing, it seems like they focus a lot on people fleeing not just the city but also the suburbs & exurbs as well, in order to build a modernist fantasy home in the wilderness somewhere. it also seems like they hardly bother to address mundane issues like practicality & affordability. (i understand that good design & eco-friendly materials are usually more expensive, but they could at least try to explore ways of dealing w/ this issue instead of simply ignoring it.)

can anyone tell me if dwell mag has changed over the years? the first time i saw it was so long ago that all i remember was that i liked it. now i'm wondering if that initial positive reaction was one of abject gratitude rather than a fair evaluation of the magazine's strengths & weaknesses.

Living Etc.!!

Sooj, I have to agree. I feel like Dwell is not nearly as exciting as it used to be, though I haven't been able to pinpoint why.

seema - I miss Nest, too. It was so richly textured and completely idiosyncratically flipped-out, that I found it beyond delicious.

In fact, I actually have every single issue of it, except two of them. When they went out of production, they sent me repeat back-issues to amount to the equivalent of the balance of my subscription, so maybe I'll try to trade some.

p(too)- I've been subscribing to Architectural Digest for quite a while now, and although at the moment I still have room for my backlog of them, I'm debating whether to bother to renew just because those kinds of budgets seem to have nothing to do with anything I'll be involved with.

I moved into my first home this past weekend, and have just discovered AT and the design world a few months ago. I've been reading Budget Living for about a year now, because, well, the title says it. Also, I find it more accessible than some of the other mags out there; am giving Domino a shot as well, although I'm excited to peek at (and upgrade to) some of the other magazines y'all have been mentioning.

Am I the only Wallpaper* fanatic here?! It was so much better before Time Warner bought it and filled it with Banana Republic ads, though!

Wallpaper really sounds like a fun thing, in theory. In a perverse way, I kind of like the idea of airbrushed people in artificial environments looking all artificially cazh.

Speaking of artificial; I decided that the blinding white spines of my Architectural Digest and the blinding yellow ones of Nest needed to look more reverential reference-book-like. So, this week I bought black cardboard magazine caddies from Container Store and carefully smeared Elmer's glue on the spines and carefully put som tissue paper on that and some pastel chalk over that and other layer of Elmer's onto that... and it really looks like spines of reference books, instead of magazines. Next -- my bunches of Met Home; House & Garden and House Beautiful.

Oops.

I started subscribing to Met Home when I was 12. This is probably the only place I can admit that and not feel like a home dec geek. ;^ )

Used to subscribe to ReadyMade when it first came out but got bored. Recently had a multi-year gift subscription to Jane that I exchanged for single years of Home, House & Garden, Met Home - think that was it (they had a limited list to choose from). Have been borrowing Inspired House and Budget Living from the library - get a few good ideas onece in a while. Picked up a copy of Atomic Ranch at the local bookstore - interesting but I don't know if I'd subscribe (I don't think I can commit to a single design look like that).

Best times - hitting the shelter mags at the international airport book & magazine shops. Half the time they are in a language I can't quite decipher, but there always seem to be oodles of great photos and ideas.

FIRST THE USUAL SUSPECTS
-------------------------
Elle Decor
House Beautiful
Metropolitan Home
Southern Living
House and Garden

GUILTY PLEASURES
--------------------
I LOVE the Italian and Spanish shelter mags but they are awfully expensive.

WHAT TO BUY FOR PRACTICAL AND USABLE IDEAS
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The best resource for ideas on apartments is Vogue apartments (Australia). Although the resources are Down Under, they show real middle-class apartments of smaller proportions with floorplans and room layouts.

UK mags are too... UK for me. Having lived on the outskirts of London for an extended time some years back, the mags just don't do it for me. I guess I have trouble reconciling my old reality with the glossy ones?
Martha used to be much better say, 6-8 years ago, when they (she?) ran articles re: the history of furniture, Duncan Phyfe biography, etc. Now its much watered down, in comparison.

I liked the Andie MacDowell InStyle Home referred to above (*hangs head in shame*). A good mix of celebu-bimbo distractions plus house porn.

The two I drool over are Dwell and Elle Decoration-British. I also get Met Home. I think I got subscriptions to both Dwell and Met Home through airline miles, where they offer magazine subscrips in exchange for miles. I also got a free trove of back issues of Dwell through Craig's list. Elle Decoration-British I buy (not cheap!) because I've never spotted a good subscription deal on it.

Elle Decoration-British has changed over time. When I first started reading it a few years ago, it had a different, more quirky, imaginative vibe to it. Lately, it's become more mainstream modern. I miss the quirkiness a lot. I'm hoping it goes back the other way. I'm not ready to give it up yet, but I do recycle them more often these days. I still like the stories about people in their spaces. I remember in one story -- I think this was Elle -- a woman claimed to not like sleeping, so she didn't have a proper bed, but a little loveseat sized couch that she "rested" on. What bull, but definitely outside the box.

I love Dwell mag as well as the Dwell show on Fine Living Network, in which they feature a lot of the same dwellings they cover in the mag. If I watch a rerun of one of these, I have to watch the whole thing, I can't tear myself away. I don't think so much about whether I can afford anything or not. It's more about the beauty and aesthetics - I think someone else already said it, kind of like an art mag. But, I also get inspired by it on a practical level.

No one has mention Old House Interiors, which is the Go-To for historic interiors. Really gorgeous examples and voluminous resources.

Natural Home and Garden is a great resource, and the homes are breathtaking. But it's a bit heavy on the eco-guilt trip for the casual reader.

I find Cottage Living really appealing, but flimsy on enough content to make it worth the money.

Dear friends, and you all feel like friends because I have been reading your posts for so long but this is the first time that i have posted a comment myself. i am a passionate reader of deco mags and blogs and subscribe to the US elle deco, love the UK mags and am a loyal reader of the South African mags such as 'House and Leisure'(i live in Cape Town, SA). The mags are all inspirational and aspirational (no budget and often products are unavailable on the southern tip of Africa) BUT do you guys ever get irritated when the same homes show up in the mags repeatedly...sometimes even in the same month! And then i hit the bookshops to browse/lust over the interiors books and over and over again I see the same photographs of the same houses. this probably just means i need to moderate my habit but i sometimes feel irritated by this...any body got the same problem?
Farzanah (sorry about the length, i will be brief in future)

Farzanah, as a matter of fact, I just noticed in the current issue of Dwell (Jul/Aug) there's a houseboat that I know I saw recently somewhere else, probably in Elle Deco-UK. I don't find it irritating, just curious. Why would homeowners want their places in multiple mags? Or is it the architects/designers?

Many of the US titles go to extreme lengths to get "exclusives" and there have been some pretty ferocious tales of the mag's courting designers, then the designers publishing elsewhere. It gets nasty.

Why WOULDN'T a homeowner want their home in multiple mags??! I wouldn't mind!

So exciting...someone responded!
I think its because a lot of the magazines just buy syndicated images rather than write all their stories from scratch or if they are in the same publishing stable eg. elle deco they circulate stories to the other editions...but they under-estimate how widely us deco fans read and how image hungry we are for fresh ideas...searching them out like the perfect paint colour.
farzanah

Farzanah - Cape Town is so beautiful! You're very lucky. I visited several years ago and remember some wonderful streets that were all bright colored bungalows. I don't remember the name of it but it was such a great mix of urban and beachy.

Farzanah-Do the editorials in South African shelter mags like Home & Leisure feature mostly houses and interiors from outside of South Africa (that you may have already seen in other imported publications)? Or do they feature more local homes and interiors? If that's the case, I'd love to see some of those images. I'm a sucker for ethnic furnishing and accessories, especially if they're made with indigenous materials--regardless of the end-product being more primitive or more artisinal in quality.

I admit, my tastes are bit more lowbrow than most of the ones here. I like O at Home, Natural Living, BHG's Budget Decorating ($100 and under, etc) special issues, Budget Living is not just houses, but they usual feature some great ideas. I also love Dwell, and I'm a sucker for anything at the checkout lane with floorplans and before and after shots. I love whole house layouts and find it rather annoying when some publications never provide this context for the images.

why can't they come up w/ a "budget dwell" type of shelter mag? seems like there'd be a pretty large potential readership for this. this is part of a larger issue i love to complain about, namely, the fact that there are almost no low-end options for people who prefer a more modern, streamlined look. (yes, there's ikea, but one cannot live on ikea alone.) and i like the idea behind readymade magazine, but i wish they'd break away from the milk-crate furniture look. yes, it's cool to reuse/recycle, but nowhere is it written that the end result has to scream "look ma i made it all by myself out of orange juice cartons!!" arghh!!

I'd like to give a plug to the burgeoning magazine Pop Life -- sooj, it's sort of a budget "Dwell" with a vibe that's a little younger and hipper. I think they've only had two issues so far (one just came out in late May and may still be on newstands). It's published by the magazine Metro Pop, which is a sort of rock/punk version of a fashion magazine. At the risk of being a self-promo whore, I'll also mention that there is a feature about my Brooklyn apartment in the latest issue! I think the magazine would be right down the alley of a lot of people who read AT

Since I'm in sydney we get the best of most mags worldwide and there's so mnay to pick and choose from!

In Love With:

- Modernism Magazine
- Atomic Ranch
- Elle Decor (Italian & UK Version)
- Vogue Apartment Living
- Vogue Living
- InsideOut

Abhor:

- Wallpaper
- Architectural Digest

Verdict is Still out for:

- Domino
- Metropolitan Home
- Belle

To reply to Sooj's comments. Actually I've noticed this too and it pisses me off. Even if I can afford any look in the mags I see, why does it seem as if a magazine will always show the item at the dealer who stocks it at the highest price? And why not more comparative shopping on where to find the same items for less? I swear I think they must be playing favourites with some of the retailers. I've seen glass water bottles with the swing rubber and cork lids advertised in mags like Elle Decor for 45 quid when we all know you can go to a reject shop or dollar mart and get the same ones for a buck. Rediculous.

Sooj-Check out UK Elle Decoration. They're great because they often mix up lower-end/mass-market pieces like IKEA with other pieces--primitive, high-end, antiques. And they seem to get it right, more often than not. Plus, after each featured pictorial, they have a short "Steal this Look" feature with lower-priced options to mimic the look of the featured interiors.

Dear all-
A couple of weeks ago I discovered AT, and I have fallen deeply in love! I have recently returned to the US after living in Africa for years. Design magazines are so important to me that while working in Africa, I would have my parents and other people send Met Home and Dwell to my US-based boss, who would hand-carry the magazines over to me when he would visit our site every several months, since we didn’t have reliable mail service. When other colleagues visited our site and asked what I "needed," they were also instructed to bring design magazines. Met Home has always been my favorite. I love Dwell too, but am starting to wonder if each issue is beginning to look too much the same...and maybe a little too cold? I agree with Farzanah that the South African House and Leisure is good, as well as other South African magazines. I look forward to checking out some of the other magazines that people have mentioned that I am not yet familiar with.

Since I noticed there is already a Lori here, I will be...

I was just going through old shelter mags this week and Elle Decor is my favorite - the most-saved one by far.

In the UK, "25 Beautiful Homes" is interesting. They're not always beautiful or modern/innovative but they're real interiors and often done without any designer help. It's the closest thing to the way people actually live.

Architectural Digest is good but varies widely by issue. I love World of Interiors too.

I've bought the last two Oprah decor magazines (I believe they come out quarterly) and though they have OPRAH EVERYWHERE there were some interesting articles. One criticism is the pricing of the items - things are more expensive than I would have thought for the demographic.

It's somewhat like InStyle Home, which I buy occasionally.

Hi WavyBrains--
I will check out BHG's Budget Decorating on your recommendation. I am always looking for ideas that are inexpensive and doable.

I'm not familiar with Dwell, but it seems from everyone's comments that it is one of those mags that requires one have an architect on hand. Is this right?

The budget-Dwell magazine mentioned seems like a wonderful idea, particularly for all of you who like that esthetic. I'm not eddy at all -- I'm a middle-aged lady trying to get her NYC apartment to look nice and function better.

Thus the shelter magazines might show me nice color combinations, a way to use drapes differently, and so on, but the size of the spaces shown are not conducive to what I need to do. Even New York Magazine's occasional design issues show large apartments, lofts and townhouses with far more space that the average apartment in NYC.

Oh, for a magazine dedicated to small spaces with ideas that don't involve major renovations!

My favourite mag these days has got to be the Italian Case da Abitare. It's reasonably priced, and thick, plus it has the widest variety of styles of any magazine i've found. Very Wabi Sabi, very chic, arty etc. Highly recommended.
http://www.abitare.it/Case-da-ab/
Another great one is the dutch Elle Wonen, (I believe "wonen" roughly translates to decor...).
Hard to find, but fantastic, and always at the leading edge of trendspotting.

Dee--
A magazine is a business, trying to run as efficiently as possible (and with the thinnest of staff, like most businesses these days). Manufacturers and retailers provide them an ongoing slew of product/images trying to get showcased, and the editors (when they pick the product) usually credit the supplier (or one of their advertisers) of the tip, as the path of least resistance/best return.

Luckily, the internet has made comparison shopping a lot easier, but I'm not sure it's the mags' jobs to show us the lowest price. Unless the magazine has a budget-bent to begin with.

I've been subscribing to Met home for a few years and used to get Elle Decor and Architectural Digest but I let those two subscriptions slide. I also subscibe to Dwell and hit Barnes and Noble once a month for my fix of Living Etc (British mag). I haven't found a remotely affordable subscription for it yet. Has anyone?

I drool over these mags. We bought our first house about 18 months ago, just outside Philadelphia and we're trying desperately to get rid of the bog standard 1950's cape cod style. Currently we're replacing the worn out pink tiled bathroom. It's a complete gut job and we're using slate tile, some of that super expensive pebbled tile and a vessel sink! I guess you either love em or hate em!

Anyway, my main gripe about all the shelter magazines is that nothing ever seems remotely affordable for us mere humans. Dwell is full of people building custom homes costing millions in the middle of nowhere. How environmentally sound can that really be? What with the horrendous commuting these people must need to do? I'd love to see a modern shelter magazine full of apts/houses around the $300,000 mark or less. Occasionally these magazines will have a token article about one such house but a magazine full of innovative and affordable design would be more than welcome.

Reef

Dee,

Theory:
The higher-priced retailers give samples to mags, hoping to get their product and name in the mag. Often, it works.
The lower-priced retailers don't have the money/cash flow to give away alot of product to get in the mags.

Favorites:
UK Elle Deco
Dwell up until recently (as others have said it is getting repetitive)
UK Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom (not The Essential Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom which is OK but the original is better)
UK Living Etc
Italian DDN (Design Diffusion News? I can't remember cuz it's over $25 so although I browse I only buy the occassional copy)
Italian Domani

Impressed with:
Some South African decor mags that my MIL brought back from her visit
German decor mags

Disappointed with:
Met Home - I recall one great issue that I bought about 5 years ago but I don't really like the looks of most of the interiors they showcase now.
Wallpaper now - it used to be good in the earlier years
Metropolis - I always want to like it but never find enough in any single issue to justify buying it

Occasionally buy for DIY stuff:
This Old House
Fine Home Building (I used to sub to this)
Family Handyman

Never liked:
Most of the US mags especially the kitchen mags that only feature shaker style maple cabinets, SS appliances, browny/pinky granite
House and Home UK and US
etc

Original me, I know what you mean by the UK homes. I too was suprised to see so many cool, modern, expensive homes in the East End of London in the UK mags since moving to NYC from London. I couldn't believe this was the same East End I knew and also where was all this money coming from? when I moved from the UK over 10 years ago the incomes in the US far outstripped those in the UK but from what my friends and family have told me they are pretty much on par now. I would guess that a lot of what you and I are seeing as inconguous is more common now.

Then again, I guess I could say that by looking at my MIL's old rental in Queens (we've tried tio get her out by buying but she is too fussy - another long story) I cannot reconcile that with the interiors in New York Living mag.

WRT affordable design. Take a look at Fine Homebuilding. Although it is geared for the very handy person, the projects that they undertake tend to be of the affordable kind and do cover whole room "makeovers". Taunten press who produce this mag also do some design books that appear to be budget conscious also.

Another vote for Living Etc! It's my fave, the one house-y mag that I have. It is expensive, but I've found some newsstands at some times of the month have it for a slightly lower price here in NYC. Something about the first issues arrive by plane and then more come in later by boat.

I too buy the Martha stuff only around the holidays. It's their best work at a time when I am more willing to go to the level of effort she demands.

Elle Decor US has so many ads, so little content, but when I am looking for specific idease, their work tends to have the most real-life value for me.

Budget Living is $1 a year, if you tell them you saw the magazine promotion in Bed, Bath and Beyond. Then, almost every issue has a good coupon for BB&B. Worth it for that alone.

Along the lines of the comments regarding the re-use of photos, homes, articles in numerous publications... I received a gift subscription to Better Homes & Gardens. I mostly just look for home dec ideas. Once in a while I've purchased the BHG specialty dec mags aimed at a particular look or style. It is disappointing when all they contain are snippets of home dec articles from the magazine and nothing new. It should be labeled as a reader's digest version of the dec sections from the magazine. I feel ripped off when I think I'm getting something new and it's just recycled articles.

As for modern design and the cost factor. I get tired of seeing those high-low makeover room stories where the low-end version is still so far beyond my reach. I recently saw one where the low version was such a tiny percent less than the high that it didn't even make sense - and most of the items could have easily been found at less expensive sources.

Didn't Dwell feature an article not too long back about inexpensive modern stuff that was not IKEA? If I recall right, the items they showed were still out of my price range. I feel doomed to live in IKEA-land.

I read/love:

Elle Decor for seemingly realistic, but ultra cool spaces.

World of Interiors for fantasy 'this is the most beautiful room ever' escapism.

Western Interiors because it always surprises and they aren't scared to use a good set of antlers.

Brutus Casa because the Japanese always mix it up. (find it at japanese bookstores)

I just bought the latest edition of South African House and Leisure and wish that all of you could see it. the content is largely from South Africa, with only one of the features of an international house. The "house of the month" is fantastic, rich and almost baroque but still modern, apartment which has been created as the set for the local version of 'the apprentice'.

ps. I often abhor: Architectural Digest (ugh chintz), Met Home (pedestrian), & Wallpaper (bleah).

p.p.s. I also like Atomic Ranch, but I never see it. My guitly pleasure is Sunset magazine which is sort of geriatric, but often has knockout gardens.

Atmic Ranch is usually at the Barnes & Nobles book stores I've gone to.

Enrique-The South African decorating magazines generally have at least 80% local content with perhaps one or two features bought from international magazines. Infact i often come across images which i recognise as South African in the UK and US magazines. I am looking for web-sites that showcase some of the South African designers that I love and will post some addresses when I have them...i am really excited to be able to share some of the developments in South African design, things are really exciting here. We have to be innovative, no IKEA etc...and the imported stuff is REALLY expensive so people tend to have to use what is avaliable and be creative.Also the design is not necessarily ethnic or even overtly African, those influences are often subtle and sophisticated, but still there especially in the use of materials such as wood and particularly in using recycled materials.

Farzanah-I can't wait to see anything you come up with. I think tonight, I may head to a good newstand with a good selection of international mags in hopes of finding the titles you've mentioned. I'm really excited to see more of these interiors. Thank you! (Recalling my earlier comment, this is one of the reasons I look through travel magazines for inspiration. But interiors here are skewed more towards higher-end resort properties, like the Aman chain of resorts... I'm more interested in seeing how normal folks--not the super-rich--live!)

Met Home just did something I love, in the July/August issue... they showed two homes by one designer done for the same couple... a city house and their country house, both designed by architect Karen Jacobsen.

I like seeing the continuity and differnces among the spaces, and Met Home literally shows living room opposite living room, etc. in each spread. Nice photos by Katherine Tighe.

I love this feature (and these specific interiors, btw.... even though produced by Linda O'Keefe, who said I still had a clutter problem. See, I'm not bitter. Much.)

I said so in my AT post of the day earlier, but I'll say it again: I am totally blown away by your knowledge and enthusiasm for these magazines. Of course if there's a crowd that'd be interested, this is it, but still: WOW!

I have no budget for foreign magazines now, and even newsstand purchases of domestic titles sometimes feel like a splurge. I am going to going to make a list from the recommendations here and go to an international magazine shop as soon as I have a good chunk of time to do so.

A few comments on things said so far:

- The same house (or product) in several pubs is something that you see everywhere: fashion magazines, lifestyle mags, dare I say... blogs? Usually it's because there's a good PR engine behind the product. Of course, sometimes it's because the thing itself is of merit and interesting, but yea, how many angles can you come up with in the end? (Especially considering that each writer is working off the same press materials.

- I hate the fact that green living is synonomous with $$ living to most people. It doesn't have to be that way, in fact some green living solutions are MORE affordable, but they're not necessarily the ones magazines are going to promote. Which brings me to my next point:

- Magazines editorialize about shiny new expensive things because there are ad dollars connected to those things. They are all about moving new product for their advertisers. One simple way to be green is to recycle whenever you can - by recycle I mean, buy something used, vintage, secondhand, or refinish the thing you have already that you're bored with. Added bonus: older stuff is usually more well made. I could have spent the same amount of money that I did on my Heywood-Wakefield stuff on new stuff that wasn't the same quality.

- Another aspect of the expensive stuff: I look at these magazines mostly for inspiration, and try to come up with less costly ways to achieve a similar look. I'm also a huge fan of mixing higher-priced things with stuff from Target or IKEA. It's true: one cannot live by IKEA alone, and increasingly for me, the wastefulness of all the crap new stuff is something that nags at me.

The blog Treehugger has a lot of great ideas and tips for green living for the average person (www.treehugger.com).

I love all the thoughts and ideas here, it's so cool to see such a vibrant community percolating online, and from every corner of the world.

Met Home is usually not so inspiring but every once in a while they have something so fabulous that it's worth (for now) subscribing and slogging through the less fabulous.

OK, these security codes are getting annoying.

it is nearly 4am in South Africa so I really need to get to bed but here are some web sites that show an eclectic and unscientific sample of South African design, unfortunately most of the magazines don't have great web sites so I have not included them.

www.earthcote.co.za (paint company)
www.podo.co.za (furniture, slick and expensive)
www.haldanemartin.co.za (furniture i lust for)
www.designindaba.com/expo/prev-pics.htm (some general images and a good showcase of SA design)
www.milaco.co.za (furniture, great rugs and props)
www.piece.co.za (craft and beadwork)
www.goneruralswazi.com (craft)

and there is a shop called Mai-Mai (251 Smith Street, Brooklyn) which I think specialises in South African art, design etc...which might be worth a look. have any of you been there?

Farzanah! My goodness, thank you so much for all the links. I find myself lusting over so many things... the ZuluMama chair and much of the Weightless line from Haldane Martin, the dyed/patterned cowhide rugs from Mila, the natural and black floormat from Gone Rural, the telephone wire bowls from Piece, the Stella cocktail cabinet and many of the zebrano wood pieces from Podo. You are certainly not lacking in fantastic homeland design! I especially love all the rich textiles--the rug! the floormat! I have yet to find a good resource in Los Angeles for modern African design, but I'll be sure to let you know when I do. It's to have these images as a frame of reference. Thank you so much for staying up late and sharing those links.

yeah, i particularly liked those telephone wire bowls (from the Piece line)--amazing handicraft! and the gold/natural/black floormat from Gone Rural was also my favorite.

Farzanah-Could you email me please? (I tried to email, but no luck.) I have a question for you regarding Gone Rural's pricing. Do you think 1558 rands is a good price for a 3-meter Lundtinsi grass mat? Seems like it is to me, but wanted to double-check with you. Thank you!

Enrique-did you get my email?
ps did you see that Gone Rural has a supplier in San Diago...you are in California right?
the store is called Scattelings of Africa:
chris@scatterlingsofafrica.com
www.scatterlingsofafrica.com

you should probably see if it would work out cheaper through them.

I quit subscribing to shelter magazines several years ago. After a massive decluttering, I realized that mags came into the house but didn't leave. After filling many bags of mags for recyling I decided that it was easier not have them arrive than to try to get rid of them. However, I just subscribed to Domino so I may be on another cycle...

Hi guys

I chance upon this website from surfing. I had just purchase an small apartment around 107 sq m on a 39 storey. was think of a designing it into a loft design with an feature wall in every room with very dramatic wall paper, such as big blossoms from osboune & little. Sadly i can't find information or help in magazine to do a fushion theme for Modern cosmo Contemporary & a good mix of old english vintage. Any good recommendations guys?

Hey Kenji
welcome to our little community!

I can't make specific recommendations (hopefully patrick - the other one will see this and chime in) but I can tell you that (and this has been posted before - perhaps by ptoo - to givr credit where it's due) that the UK edition of Elle decor usually showcases older Victorian/Georgian/etc homes with modern design elements that retain a lot of the historic detail in a very successful way.

Check it out in an international magazine store.

BTW, where do you live?