House Beautiful Review

Overall 4.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

Cat
Charlotte, NC

As they said in 'American Beauty' -- Look Closer

not very organized, someone who hates to shop, not a designer, but wish I were, a magazine reader, a subscriber, adventurous, married, a frequent traveler

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Pros

great paint ideas, fantastic fabric ideas, not too many ads, showcases many styles and tastes

Cons

designs often seem unattainable, stretches traditional ideas

AUG

2007

House Beautiful —

I never considered flipping through the pages of House Beautiful until I found myself at the local YMCA with a thirty minute cardio session ahead of me and nothing to read but that or a men's magazine. I picked it up and was surprised at how much I liked it. Without a second thought, I subscribed a few days later. My husband also turned his nose up at the magazine, even though he's got a great sense of color and style and enjoys nice homes as much as I do. His attitude also changed as soon as he picked it up.

About House Beautiful
I don't know the specifics of the market segment that House Beautiful is trying to cater to, but to me it seems to target a very upscale reader, someone who is beyond middle age and who has plenty of money. As a thirty-something wash and wear fanatic who is guilty of buying "bed in a bag" ensembles, I'm almost positive I'm not their target market. That said, I really enjoy getting House Beautiful and reading through it each month.

The magazine has many features that I find useful. Each month they feature paint colors chosen by designers for certain themes in a room. These features include a swatch of the paint color (how accurate the color really is after its gone to press is questionable), along with some comments by the designer, the brand of paint and the exact color name. I keep each issue for these paint ideas alone.

Another great feature for the designer-challenged (read: me) is one where they show you how to mix different prints and types of fabric. Again, designers choose several fabrics in different patterns that will work together. I can barely match socks to my outfits, so this is very useful for me, and again, another reason to keep back issues. If I had to design fabrics in a room by myself, I'd be scared to choose anything but a solid and a coordinating print. This section gives me the courage to expand a little.

Beyond the standard features, I always find other good ideas in my issues of House Beautiful. An especially timely issue arrived just two days ago, and in it I found an idea for our kitchen that we had been stressing over for days - how to support the granite bar going in our kitchen. I cut out the picture for my husband, which showed using farmhouse legs under the granite bar, and he fell in love with it as well. It's a good thing the issue came when it did, we're getting our counters measured for the installation in just three days!

There Are Some Cons:
The main "con" about House Beautiful is that it's easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless, especially when you're looking at this month's featured kitchen or house. The affluent, perfectly coordinated rooms seem simply unattainable, and for me they almost certainly are. I don't have the money to hire my own designer to make my home House Beautiful perfect. But the magazine includes enough DIY tips (the paint, the fabrics and other items) that it's easy to get over that. Plus, I find that looking at these "unattainable" rooms, I can often find one or two things that we can do in our house, on the cheap.

Cat's Bottom Line
I really enjoy House Beautiful and we find it valuable for getting new ideas for our home. It's a great magazine for the wannabe-designer, and it's especially useful if you just want something to give you the occasional great design tip.

House Beautiful is recommended by Cat

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Comments about Cat’s Review

Totally agree about HB. I also really like the Q & A format of their articles. And of course, being a Barefoot Contessa fanatic, I love her column.

I too really like this magazine... :)

I used to get House Beautiful when I was young and could not afford any of the items listed even if I could do it myself. Your article was well written and thought through. I appreciate you writtings. Keep up the good work.

I enjoy this magazine also, and I always look forward to seeing the paint swatches that the designers use and their reasoning behind the choices. It's good for inspiration, and it's helped me think outside of my comfort zone.