Which home renovation/design mags to pick?

January 12, 2013 11:04 AM

If you were to pick 3-5 magazines for inspiration, which ones would you pick? This year I have a whole-house (1931) renovation (restoration and interior design) project starting up in the Hollywood Hills. My ultimate objectives: for romance to meet bohemianism flirting with old Hollywood, plus throw in some gothic, whimsy and modern touches for good measure. I think Architectural Digest is a classic, but Dwell is all wrong for this time period. The battery of websites I peruse regularly are great, but there's nothing quite like thumbing through a printed magazine when you're ramping up for the real deal.
posted by zagyzebra to home & garden (15 answers total)

World of Interiors
posted by Ideefixe at 11:08 AM on January 12 [2 favorites]

This Old House for sure. The current one has an amazing craftsman remodel in it. Plus they give you prices!
posted by fshgrl at 11:09 AM on January 12 [2 favorites]

Not so much about the look but Fine Homebuilding (and any book/mag from taunton press is pretty good) will show you how to do it right from the ground up (literally-they do a lot of articles about foundations). It is definately a DIY publication but even if you aren't going to do it yourself it will show you how to evaluate good/bad work and which building technology might be right for your situation. When they do cover something about interior styling they tend to choose classic/minimilist styles. But the techniques for doing it right are the same regardless of style. It is an invaluable resource for anyone fixing up a house or renovating one, for any reason.
posted by bartonlong at 11:39 AM on January 12 [3 favorites]

I think Fine Homebuilding is hands down the best, no contest. The articles are mostly contributed by working contractors and you get lots of cutting edge techniques. Their website is also excellent. It ain't cheap, and I think for the price of the subscription you should get access to the site, but alas you've gotta pay separately.
posted by PaulBGoode at 11:40 AM on January 12 [1 favorite]

No magazine recommendations, but I finally figured out that this is what Pinterest is for.
posted by cmoj at 11:50 AM on January 12

Nest. Unfortunately, it went under about ten years ago, but they put out a book called Every Room Tells a Story that's got a lot of great ideas in it.
posted by roger ackroyd at 12:05 PM on January 12

American Bungalow Magazine, and its Pinterest site.
posted by MonkeyToes at 12:13 PM on January 12

I used to work for a firm that did non-modern homes, and the subscriptions we had at the office were Veranda and Southern Living in addition to AD. The west coast version of Southern Living is probably Sunset - both magazines typically have a bit about home design/interior decoration every issue, but also have recipes and ideas for weekend getaways and restaurant tours and stuff.
posted by LionIndex at 12:16 PM on January 12

Also, Traditional Home.
posted by LionIndex at 12:47 PM on January 12

It sounds like American Bungalow could be a very good fit.
posted by Miko at 2:47 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

Seek out Old House Journal. I used to pore over it when I lived in a 1932 Sears house. Their website kind of sucks, in my opinion. Go for the subscription.
posted by scratch at 4:02 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]

Fine Homebuilding and all the Tauton publications are just the best for DIY and learning How-To.
posted by humboldt32 at 4:54 PM on January 12

There's Old House Interiors too, a spin-off from Old House Journal that focuses more on interior design.
posted by octothorpe at 5:34 PM on January 12

Elle Decor can be pretty good.
posted by sepviva at 6:00 PM on January 12

Another though - I am always blow away by how much more sophisticated UK design magazines are. I wish I could remember some titles, though I can't. My boss is always bringing us ones to page through. Try visiting a really good magazine store with Euro titles and browsing the British dwelling mags.
posted by Miko at 6:46 PM on January 12