apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i thought the first issue was interesting, and was looking forward to seeing more. But you're right, with issue #2 it felt house-wifey (no disrespect to housewives). Is it a decorating mag? A craft mag? A fashion mag? It can't seem to make up it's mind.

I - a true magazine junkie - am perfectly happy to live without it.

i prefer blueprint to readymade ANY DAY.

I really like it but feel it's a little light on content. I read the latest issue (pictured above) in about 5 minutes.

ah, so glad to see frontiersperson's comment as it's exactly what i was thinking. blueprint is the next step up from readymade, which i used to love, but tired of very quickly. i think the editors have struck a very happy medium between martha, readymade, and a shelter mag like living etc.
it is thin, though, and i hope they beef it up as time progresses. and, if you're reading this, blueprint editors, tell me how i can come work for you!

I think I am the target audience, because I'm a twentysomething but my style is traditional and I love DIY projects. I love Blueprint but I'm also a loyal MSL subscriber, so take that for what it's worth.

I agree with christinanyc that it's a little schitzophrenic. I think Blueprint is MSLO's answer to Real Simple, but with more of an emphasis on the "real."

I agree with the other posters, I've found it to be a very schizophrenic magazine and, unlike big sister MSL, I've yet to walk away from an issue feeling imparted with any truly great ideas or information. [shrugs] Sure is pretty though.

My biggest beef with the mag is that by the time I get my copy in the mail the ideas have already been plastered all over the internet so nothing seems new.

I have to compare the departments across the issues, because there's so much in them it all seems random. Not sure what you'll see on the next page.

Given a forced choice, I'd take Ready Made because it doesn't assume homemaking is primarily a girlie thing.

I agree with Kah...I really like it but it needs more. I want to continue my subscription but without more content, I'm not sure it's worth it.

Loved the first issue. Second issue was fine. Bored silly by the latest issue.

When I think of a "housewifey" magazine, I think of REAL SIMPLE, possibly because it posts sweet little rainy day anecdotes and quotes to inspire--very Oprah. Blueprint, although its layout is nice, simply doesn't have enough in the way of content. I like magazines I can read.

I continue to read it, but I agree with those who say that it is unfocused. If they got rid of the fashion content and upped the decorating content, I'd like it better.

I really like this magazine but the newest issue is the was the weakest so far. I did not like the fashion piece at all and felt
the story that inspired the cover was also weak (get rid of the models!). Seriously, I would rather see real people and more interior stories...
I think it is a pretty ambitious concept and overall a unique one, not easy to come up with anymore. I also think many of the items they showcase are way to expensive. I think the main audiance is on a mid level income and not about to spend 200.00 on a pillow or flower pot.

i agree that is a bit "housewifey" (and I say that as a young married woman). i think this has less to do with the projects and products they feature, and more to do with the "cute," wink-wink commentary on every page. the editorial tone is so casual that it FEELS like you're reading a blog run by a bunch of straight, preppy, just-out-of-college girls. the layouts are beautiful, but it doesn't have the overall polish that made MSL so successful.

I am most likely the target audience - a newlywed, new homeowner, 1 year left of my masters, making a 'home' with my husband.

Unfortunately, I am not the target in my bank account area. And it is a bit too 'cute' for me. I am also still annoyed that during the 'trial' period they billed me with nasty grams for the 'free issue' before I even got it!

Totally agree that the fashion stuff doesn't quite fit for me here, at least in the current form. The first issue had a really cute DIY dress that I have yet to make, but still have the page. Other than that, I really like the design ideas, the way they talk about spaces, etc. I'm guessing they're veering away from "real people" and adding beauty/housewifey content a) because they're Martha-every-hair-in-place and b) because they have to differentiate from Domino. I can hear their ed meetings now, "No, that's too Domino." But I do think they're carving their own little niche in a very competitive market by including DIY. Which, as they evolve, advertisers may press them to surrender. Don't! I like the crafty-cool DIY they have as opposed to a lot of the Ready Made stuff which is kind of that-would-look-hideous-in-my-living-room DIY....

readymade also assumes that the only folks interested in diy housemaking are white, middle class, hipsterfied, heterosexual couples (judging by their consistent choices of cover models)...i'm just saying.

i think blueprint takes the diy ethos to a more refined level. it gives you high and low pricepoints for products. it has its craftiness, but it's not suburban housewife style. true, it's not domino, dwell, or wallpaper, but i think it's going in the right direction. and i really appreciate the risks it takes with its layout. its still in its infancy. either it will bloom or it will tank.

...i would say, however, that it is more PARK SLOPE housewifey style. don't pretend like you don't know what i'm talking about ;)

Well, but frontiersperson, if we want to go there, Blueprint also assumes white, middle class, heterosexual, coupling readers. I'd grant that the Blueprint gal isn't hipsterfied, but that's because she's cute, kicky, spunky, and at least 20% below a healthy, normal weight. (How many participants in this thread are now all set to take umbrage at that characterization? Once you start discussing the relationship between marketing and the dominant paradigm, there is no way to win, and organic tomatoes will be thrown.)

it's a double-edged sword, yes.
but, at least blueprint hasn't received letters to the editor consistently regarding their myopic choice of cover models.
and the models they use both on the cover in their interior spreads are "diverse".
maybe martha learned a thing or two in prison...

um ok the first issue sucked - too martha - they are trying to get a little more domino though. This is the first issue I actually thought was worth buying.

I think they are still trying to find their identity. The magazine has some nice graphic design within a generally busy layout. Fun use of type! But it does seem a little all over the place to me. Like they are trying to do so many things and don't really have a focus yet. I didn't opt for a subscription because I felt like the content wasn't really worth it (content-lite?). I'm thinking that they just need to get through the awkward years before I make a serious committment.

Wende - at least they'd be organic tomatoes!

I've looked at a few issues, and occasionally there's a project that gives me some inspiration to try a different technique, but that's about it and overall I think they're aiming for too narrow a target audience (20's, female) and if it's about designing your life... there's a far broader audience out there that needs to REdesign their life following a major life event (break-up, divorce, death) something that MSL doesn't cover in all its imagined perfection. Seems to me MSLO is missing the boat with Blueprint!

I was on board from the beginning and I'm still a big fan. Blueprint had me at hello.

I like some aspects of the magazine . . . mostly, it feels too disjointed. I think it would be better if they dropped the fashion pieces and focused more on the home decor.

"I really like it but feel it's a little light on content. I read the latest issue (pictured above) in about 5 minutes." - Kah

TOTALLY AGREE.

and its a little cute for me. i'll pick it up if im bored, but i'll keep my supscriptions to Domino, Elle Decor UK, and Readymade.

I'm not a DIYer at all... although Martha always makes me think that I can be!

Blueprint inspires me in other ways though. I'm a graphic designer and I get such joy out of perusing each issue, gathering layout ideas and admiring the overall good balance. Domino is great for reference, but IMHO, there isn't a magazine out there that displays ideas more beautifully than Blueprint.

i think blueprint is all those things because it is a blueprint for your life. for me some things are inspirational, but i see the magazine is beautifully executed, only the best from martha.

i completely agree with patrik. i think blueprint is meant to be more of a lifestyle magazine than a home magazine. so the content can't really be compared to domino. i think each issue has only gotten better. and so far blueprint has proven to be a magazine i really look forward to receiving, as opposed to domino which is losing my interest lately.

I'm surprised to see all the comparisons to Domino. Domino is a shopping catalog--don't the editors even admit that? Blueprint has actual content beyond just telling you what to buy and where to get it.

I got really excited about Blueprint. I'm in my 20s and in my second non-dorm, non-parental dwelling. Martha Stewart was as much a part of my upbringing as Sesame Street and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm crafty, I cook from scratch and I try to be DIY.

That said, I was excited by the first issue and underwhelmed by the second. I saw the third (and subsequent) issue(s) on newsstands and kept walking.

I don't like Real Simple's fluffy Oprah-ness or its recipes, but after every issue, I feel like I got real, concrete, useful information, which I never got from Blueprint.

If Blueprint could become useful, I think I'd really love it. Hopefully it can find a voice and turn into something good, because I think it's got great potential and a potential audience waiting for something good.

I LOVE this magazine, I think it really covers all the topics that I want to read about -- it's the perf mag for pre-martha stewart and real simple's....

I think it's too thin for a bi monthly magazine,love the styling,i think the editors should have a look at Real Living magazine from Australia,modern interiors,not too expensive,a few DIY projects and other lifestyle articles http://realliving.ninemsn.com.au/

I cancelled after the first issue, but have since re-subscribed (to use up unspent airline miles). I enjoy paging through it, but am turned off by the super-expensive clothes (something I hate in all magazines). Their "you can make this" pieces are always beautiful, but sometimes unrealistic - how many of us can easily get our hands on a bunch of leather to work with? That said, there's always one or two ideas that I pull out to save so I think in some ways they're on the right track. And their blog is pretty good. Mostly it just makes me miss Budget Living (waaah!).

After the first blah issue I had no interest in investigating any further. Before I received my complimentary premier issue, I was bombarded with their junk mail and spam wanting my subscription. I got so furious by their hard sell tactics that I emailed a complaint and told them to take my yet to be received comp issue and shove it. After all the fuss I received the damn thing, skimmed through it and was far from impressed. Love Domino, this doesn't come close. Was a loyal MSL subscriber for years, till I grew tired of magazine clutter in my life.

I'll admit to liking it, but like CMcB said, yeah - it does make me miss the late great Budget Living.

I cannot deal with the editor's writing style. She uses parenthesis in almost every sentence. It’s horrible -- so distracting. in the last issue - she wrote an article about her home renovation, and i couldn't make it through the story because i was so put off by her writing style. She did it again in this month's letter from the editor. in journalism school, our teacher would have nixed all of those parentheticals.