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If I had my ‘druthers, I’d be sitting in that twig chair, sipping an iced coffee and reading interior design and decoration magazines. But not just ANY interior design magazines. Make it one of my four favorites, and add a fudge drizzle to the coffee, K?
After scouting multiple issues of a dozen or so home and garden magazines picked up at the bookstore or grocery checkout, I eventually fell in love with these four. Here’s a quick-and-dirty peek into my favorites and why I subscribe to each one.
1. HGTV Magazine
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Interestingly, this is the LAST magazine added to my subscription list, but it has become my #1 favorite. Partially, I think it's because we don't have expanded cable (we're Roku streaming buffs), and the only time I get to watch HGTV is in the dentist's office. Haha!
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So when the print version—which, in all honesty, is completely different from the TV network—arrives, I drop what I’m doing and flip to the tours at the back. This issue, the magazine featuries the home of one of my
favorite bloggers, Lindsay of
White Buffalo Styling Co., which I told you about in a
previous post.
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HGTV Mag tours are my favorites because of their scale. Occasionally a home may belong to a celebrity (HGTV host, probably) or is professionally decorated (more likely owned by a decorator or stylist), but most are not. Generally they’re small- to average-sized homes lived in by people more like me, whose hobby is playing around with how their home looks and functions.
In the case of the White Buffalo team—blogger Lindsay and husband Chris—the couple buys fixer-uppers on the small side, renovates, decorates, sells, and buys another. If you give the blog a gander, they’ve sold the hold pictured here and are just beginning a new reno.
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And if great, down-to-earth tours aren’t enough for you, each and every one comes with a “now get the look” feature, complete with sources and prices.
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I also love the magazine because every issue SHOUTS color...
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…and FUN! My two favorite things!! And they never leave you wondering what paint color has been used. But in case you miss it on the page where it first appears…
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…there’s always a handy chart at the back of EVERY. Blessed. Paint. Color. In. EVERY. Blessed. Issue.
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I always enjoy the recurring features, too.
2. AD (Architectural Digest)
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Talk about going from A to Z! (Or should that be A to
D?) Where
HGTV Magazine is down-to-earth,
AD is out of this world. It’s also a magazine I didn’t subscribe to at first. I thought it was probably too high-end for me, but I was wrong.
We all can dream and should. Am I right? You bet I am!
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There’s a WEALTH of information in
AD that is a joy to read. For instance, features on designers who created legendary products…
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…as well as new designs and emerging trends.
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And the tours are TO. DIE. FOR.
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Though out of my league and always professional designed and styled, what better way to learn about great design than to study it, month after month after month after month?
Each issue of
AD is chock FULL of ideas, and if you overlook one or two (it’s easy to get distracted with all that gorgeousness going on), you’ll eventually get reminded of it if you sign up for online access that comes FREE with your subscription.
AD clearly has the best online content, which includes current articles, information and photos from its archives, and new material, just for online subscribers.
3. House Beautiful
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HB tours are terrific, too.
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Again, the scale here is greater than HGTV, and the spaces are always professionally designed.
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But the ideas
HB keeps pitching at you are always adaptable to a different scale. And you can learn so much from reading the interviews with the designers!
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The magazine also has great recurring features that scope out trends and favorites, as well as color. A particular color is featured each issue. This time it’s “Matcha Green,” as in tea, pictured bottom right.
And there’s always a “Name This Color” feature, which, I have to admit, I have entered once or twice (but never won). I’ve always thought naming colors would be the ultimate dream job, so this gives me a chance to live the dream, right?
4. Elle Décor
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Elle Décor has a lot in common with its sister publication
House Beautiful format-wise, but it’s a tad more erudite. I don’t say that because I’m into the whole nose-in-the-air thing OR making fun of it. It just is what it is, with in-depth features about art, artists, and art history, as well as interior design and sometimes fashion, and how all kinds of design connect.
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Like my other faves,
ED’s tours are always stellar. Homes featured are always professionally designed and styled, but, like with
AD and
HB, reading about the process and studying the pictures make for great lessons and scaled-down ideas for my own home.
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Recurring features include a hefty dose of trend reporting—what’s in the offing, as well as what’s hot right now and where to find it.
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But my absolute favorite part of
ED (because I’m a pattern nerd) is the “Endpaper” feature, which includes a pattern taken from fabric, wallpaper or art.
Yes, if asked, I’d have to say HGTV and AD are my two favorites, BUT…
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House Beautiful and
Elle Décor were the first interior design magazines I subscribed to, and I still wouldn’t want to be without them. You see, I subscribe not only to get ideas for my own home, but also ideas to write about for this blog.
So the more magazines the better, right? Well, kinda sorta. The name of this blog is BoHo Home after all, so publications like Country Living and Traditional Home usually don’t have material that interests me and that I want to share with my readers. But I have subscribed to both at one time or another.
Others I’ve looked into are
Veranda (too prissy),
Coastal Living (too beachy), and
Better Homes & Gardens. BHG I miss, sometimes, so maybe one day, in a weak moment, I’ll add it back. But I can only read so much, you know, and four magazines, along with the 90 or so blogs I scan daily, keeps me plenty busy.
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Gotta save time for relaxing on the porch and doing
nothing, at least while the weather cooperates, and you should, too!
In the meantime, if you want more…
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- Subscribe to one or more of my favorite magazines by clicking on the (affiliate) links below. I’ve found Amazon to have the best magazine prices around, and auto-renewal is a breeze.
- Shop (and follow!) my new Etsy store, BoHo Home By Susan, for vintage finds and a few of my boho DIYs. I have home décor items for sale on eBay too! New merchandise gets added daily, so check both places often. You might even want to make it easy on yourself and give me a follow in each spot, K?
- And by all means, don't miss a day of BoHo Home. Sign up to have posts sent to your inbox using the subscription link in the sidebar (top right). Or follow with Bloglovin, a social-media platform that allows you to set up an account and access all the blogs you want to read in one place.
- Find additional content from BoHo Home on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and Houzz, and give me a follow EVERYWHERE!! The more the merrier!
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