Lately we’ve received more than a few dozen requests for a post about our favorite remaining shelter magazines. After the sniffle inducing loss of favorite glossies like Domino, Cottage Living, Country Home, InStyle Home and O At Home, people wanna know what we’re loving, so here’s our rundown of the mags that we run to the mailbox for each month:
House Beautiful is always a super inspiring read. From paint color suggestions to high-end rooms, this magazine dishes out gorgeous 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 actually like that their primary audience is high-priced interior designers because it’s a great way for us to peek into their “club” and see what they’re loving so we can reimagine their spendy ideas on a budget.
Better Homes & Gardens is a more DIY 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 great 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 almost anything” and “build your own coffee table.” While it only comes out four times a year, it’s a great resource for tons of DIY inspiration and it’s super helpful to keep around for reference (since they routinely include tips and tricks for tackling almost every project from hanging art to painting fabric). And although we might seem a bit biased now that we’re regular contributers, we’ve always loved their thrifty hands-on approach to home decor- which is probably why it’s such a perfect fit for us!
Just like our house, our magazine selections are a nice mix of affordable design with the occasional splurge stuck in there for eye candy and inspiration. A few other glossies that we always devour at Barnes & Noble (we can’t subscribe to all of them!) are: ReadyMade, Traditional Home, Veranda, Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home, Sunset, Dwell and Coastal Living (there’s a new editor in town, so it’s looking much better these days). Oh and we really like the more lifestyle-related pubs like Real Simple & Martha Stewart Living since they touch on other important 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’re a local Richmonder (and even if you’re not) R. Home is a good read- and we’re not just saying that because we have a column. Honest!
So there you have it. A few of our favorite glossies. Are there any that we’re forgetting? Now it’s your turn. What shelter mags are frying your bacon lately?
Update: We’re also digging the recently released Lonny Magazine, an online glossy very similar to Domino (in fact it’s written by some of the same peeps).We’ve 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!).
Allison says
Thank you for this post! I’m moving in a few months and my fiance and I will be decorating on a budget. These magazines will be a good source of inspiration…well next to your blog!
DesignTies says
You should check out two great Canadian mags = “Style at Home” and “Canadian House & Home”. Canadian H&H is more high-end historically, but lately they’ve been working hard to appeal to the more average home/self decorator.
Victoria from EdinDesigns @ DesignTies
Tam says
I am still sick from Domino. Ebayers have made a good $200 I know from me on alll the back issues..I am missing 3 from 2005 and thats it…but those are just to much right now for me to buy them so I will be sad because the Nov 05 is just the one I need…I have not fallen for any others..I look at the magazine racks now with no hope.
Lindsay says
This House Beautiful cover remind me of your rooms :-) Thanks for the magazine recommendations!
christina says
I have recently discovered the Family Handyman magazine. It is focused more on DIY projects but also gives a lot of good info on maintaining your home and budget friendly ideas…
Michele says
Thanks for the good tips. I have recently discovered that the library has a TON of magazines and they can be checked out. I put a slew of them on our coffee table and my husband and I both enjoy a huge variety of reading material.
Melissa says
Better Homes and Gardens and all their special publications have always been on my top picks. I never could get into house beautiful or any others to much though.
Sarah says
I agree with DesignTies. The Canadian shelter magazines are fantastic.
Laura says
Thanks for your suggestions. I was brokenhearted when I received notice that Cottage Living was done – no warning at all! I thought they were doing really well! Unrelated question: when you painted things like your mirror and your sunroom table, did you use a brush or spray paint? I am considering painting a great kitchen table I got on Craigslist, but worry about ugly brush lines, as well as high use messing it up. I know you recommend a couple coats of polyurathane, but I’m still worried. Also, I’ve spray painted before and it doesn’t come out all great and even-looking like yours (too impatient and get drips). Any extra tips or suggestions? Thanks! And I need to take a break from your blog (I’m catching up on all the archives) because I went to bed last night with “easy-peasy” in my head!
Lauren says
I truly miss my O at Home and Domino subscriptions. I still love R Home and Better Homes & Gardens -which i am thankful that they are still publishing. I always try to find my inspiration for small projects from BH&G.
I will have to try some of these other magazines….might end up finding myself with a new subscription! How exciting!
Rebecca says
Sadly, my need for being thrifty includes not subscribing to any magazines. However, I was “gifted” with subscriptions to Cottage Living and BH&G and certainly stockpiled many ideas!
This website makes me want to buy a house and just spend my weekends painting and decorating. I even googled thrift stores in the area even though we are currently bursting at the seams in our condo.
Which brings me to my next point….have you ever shared (besides the bedbugs!) tales of your apartments in NYC? How did you decorate/organize with the little space that you had?!?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Rebecca,
We’re no strangers to cramped quarters. And we actually shared video tours/photos a while back to demonstrate just where we put everything (and what we lived without- like a couch and a dresser). Here are those links:
https://www.younghouselove.com/blast-from-the-past-part-1/
https://www.younghouselove.com/blast-from-the-past-part-2/
https://www.younghouselove.com/blast-from-the-past-part-3/
https://www.younghouselove.com/back-in-the-day/
https://www.younghouselove.com/what-a-catch/
Happy touring…
xoxo,
Sherry
Averill says
I agree with you that House Beautiful is probably the best of what’s left — Elle Decor kind of gets on my last nerve.
I’m also reading LivingEtc and Canadian House and Home, both of which are a lot more domino-esque than anything we’ve got left in the USA. While LivingEtc is way too expensive to subscribe to if you’re in the States, Canadian House & Home can be bought and viewed virtually, so the price is reasonable.
Tara says
You forgot an awesome magazine:
********Canadian House & Home*************!!!
Style at Home is also fabulous!!
Katy Wilson says
Hey Sherry, what month/year is the DIY mag you pictured in today’s blog? Thanks!
PS — I’m VERKLEMPT about the loss of Domino, Cottage Living, InStyle Home & O at Home. I agree that House Beautiful is a great place to go to see what the high-end designers are doing…my only complaint w/ Better Homes & Gardens is that I’d like to see more decorating, more room make-overs, etc.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Katy,
Good question. I actually pulled the image off of a random pop-up ad on http://www.DIYIdeas.com (Do It Yourself Magazine’s website). I clicked back over to try to find it again but it’s apparently just a random thing that only pops up some of the time. And I wonder if it will even says the date of the pub if it does pop up since it was pretty much just an image with subscription info under it. Fooey.
It’s a mystery! Does anyone else know? Check your archives!!!
xo,
Sherry
~~Melissa says
As mentioned above, Canadian House and Home. It’s the best. It’s like Domino and House Beautiful and a bit of Martha all in one.
Theresa Cox says
Dear John and Sherry,
This message I hope comes better late than never. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading your featured article in the Spring “do it yourself” magazine. I fell in love with your home and all the color’s you chose throughout. I typically do not use Glidden but I ran right out and purchased a sample of the “Gentle tide” and “Sand White”. I ended up using Gentle Tide in my bathroom. I loved sand white in your living room but it was a little to dark for my bedroom so I went with “Prism White” which was one shade away from Sand White. Thanks again for your amazing inspiration. I will definitely visit your site often.
Theresa
Anna See says
My favorite magazine is BH&G. Just consistently great, without being too stuffy or pretentious. Since Country Home, Domino, Cottage Living and Home have folded, I’ve been trying to get into Traditional Home and Elle Decor, but they aren’t a good fit for me. I like a mix of styles on a plausible budget. Maybe that’s why I love Young House Love!
I’m intrigued after hearing about Canadian House and Home!
YoungHouseLove says
We too are intrigued by the Canadian glossies! We’ll have to check them out and share the eye candy when we can!
xo,
Sherry
Joi says
Hi guys! I just wanted to say that I ? DIY magazine!
The issue that you posted is the Fall 2008 one. I buy every single one. I’ve gotten so many great ideas out of those magazines, from paint swatch art to homemade concrete planters {all on my blog}!!!
Joi says
Hmmm…that “?” in my above comment was supposed to be a heart symbol! Oops!
Martha McGlothlin Gayle says
Agree with you…love all of these and I agree with one of your readers above that I’m sad over the loss of Domino! Also love Coastal Living!
moderneve says
fyi-
if you still have a remaining subscription on any of the folding magazines, you don’t have to just take the one they replace it with.
i was able to e-mail domino and get my subscription changed to cookie instead of glamour
and midwest living instead of country living.
also, sunset magazine is one of my favorites, even though i don’t live in the west.
win says
Do you pay for these magazines?
I just signed up for the Richmond magazine because you recommended it. Tell these magazines that you should get free subscriptions. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Win,
We subscribe to BHG & House Beautiful (along with Wired and Glamour) but we actually get complementary copies of R Home and DIY magazine since we’re contributers. The rest of the mags that we mention in the post are great Sunday afternoon reads at Barnes & Noble… which not only saves us green, but actually feels pretty green since we can read them and put them back on the shelves to be enjoyed by the next person.
Hope you enjoy Richmond magazine! We’re already planning our next R. Home column for the May/June issue and it’s fun, fun, fun!
xo,
Sherry
Nicole Greene says
Sherry~
Glamour is celebrating its anniversary with a 1 year subscription for $1.50 – the price that it was when it was first published. I ordered it since I am a magazine junkie and you cannot even buy 1 issue for that price. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Nicole,
I actually heard that a few days ago and thought it was a super cool promo! I think it’s some big anniversary for them so they’re celebrating by offering the subscription price that they used to charge when they first came out (how funny is it that it used to be $1.50 for a year of magazines!).
Thanks for the tip- hopefully a bunch of other Glamour readers will benefit from it!
xo,
Sherry
Tiffany says
Even though it isn’t a DIY house/decor mag- per say-, I am in LOVE with Food Network’s new magazine. Not only are the recipes fabulous, they have some great suggestions and ideas for easy entertaining decor, and show off featured chef kitchens!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that sounds fun Tiffany. We’ll have to check it out. Maybe we’ll learn a thing or two about cooking while we’re at it…
xo,
Sherry
Lisa says
I like Metropolitan Home and Southern Accents (which I get for free by filling out questionnaires at freebizmag.com). Both are usually full of way-too-pricey stuff, and I’m not sure I would be willing to pay for them, as MetHome skews a bit modern (even though I generally prefer modern) and SA tends to be overly traditional for me. But they are definitely fun to look at, and they get the creative juices flowing. Wishing I had more space here in the Big Apple…
Bethany says
Though it’s not only house related, I love ReadyMade Magazine. It and Better Homes and Garden are great, and Country Living is good also. I don’t love the country look that people think of when hearing the word country (picture “that” pink and blue, too much lace, excessive “cutesy” stuff), but cleaned lines and simple, modernized, bright and airy country appeal to me a lot hence Country Living. :)
Erin says
I loved looking at your website. I came across your site by accident and ended up spending more time looking at it than what I was originally setting out to find. Okay, so the reason I ended up here was because I was trying to find out what type of flowers those are on the front cover of the March 2008 Better Homes and Gardens magazine (lol, don’t even ask! I find things in a very round-about way!). Anyway, I have been trying to figure out what they were since I saw them on the cover of BHG magazine over a year ago. I think they are absolutely beautiful! If anybody knows please tell me! Thank you!
Erin says
Got to this post through your link today. I miss Cottage Living so much it hurts, so I was anxious to check out what you guys were reading. I’m checking out Lonny now, and while it seems like a nice magazine with a lot of potential, I have to say I’m finding the whole concept of reading a magazine on a computer screen to be an incredibly hollow experience. I need to feel the pages (and the quality of paper … I ended up getting rid of BHG because I couldn’t stand the paper) in my fingers. I enjoy curling up on the couch with a my favorite new mag. And how in the world am I supposed to rip out the pages of stuff I like?
Anyway, thanks for pointing me to it and for giving me a reason to check out some of the mags I shelved a long time ago.
allie says
I’m interested in your comment about Coastal Living. I, too, am sorely missing Cottage Living. That darn magazine just made me happy every month. (And I agree with Erin about loving to curl up with the latest magazine, not always my laptop). I thought about Coastal Living, but seeing as I don’t actually live on the coast, I was worried that the decor and focus would be too, well, nautical and beachy. I while I’d love to have a house at the beach, it’s just not in the cards. So really? Can the average homeowner get something out of it? (And seriously, I kind of thought Coastal Living would’ve folded before Cottage Living seeing as there’s quite a lot of populated land between the coasts here in the U.S. Ah well, c’est la vie.)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Allie,
Why not visit Barnes & Noble and leaf through an issue or two before subscribing just to be sure it’s your cup of tea. We love light and beachy interiors so it really speaks to us, but it’s certainly not themey (no sailboats everywhere or anything) – hope it helps!
xo,
s
Victoria says
Hi
Have you seen any of the British magazines? The two I subscribe to are Ideal Home and House Beautiful UK. Both have lots of before and after house tours and some really funky and cheap design ideas. Since moving to the US I really love BH&G and Real Simple and really miss Domino, still cannot believe its gone.
Thanks for such a wonderful website. I get so many inspirations from you.
Victoria x
YoungHouseLove says
We have actually gotten our mitts on a few issues of House Beautiful UK and Ideal Home… and we love them both! Thanks so much for the suggestions.
xo,
s