HOUSE BEAUTIFUL 2016

Since the creation of PINTEREST I find it difficult to purchase decorating magazines.  There's so much visual now on line that fuels my interest but I wonder if my pins and boards are getting too one sided because of my own taste.  Locally, I visit spec homes in Naples and find they are all clean, modern and sleek.  Yes, it's less expensive to keep it stage that way - but it looks so cold and uninviting. Even some of the finishings in the new homes are lacking - so without the warmth of an eclectic mix - and then slap a price tag that's thru the roof - I don't get it. 

I went on line to find one of my favorite go to magazines... how can you not like House Beautiful.

HISTORY

In December 1896, Chicago Civil Engineer, Eugene Klapp created The House Beautiful, a women’s shelter magazine that catered to architecture, interior design, and gardening. The House Beautiful was first published in Chicago, Illinois with the financial help of Klapp’s friend Henry Blodgett Harvey (Mott 155). The original title of the magazine was The House Beautiful: Building, Planting, Furnishing, which remained the official title until 1925 when it was shortened to simply House Beautiful. The title was initially inspired by the poem “The House Beautiful” by Robert Louis Stevenson:

                      The House Beautiful

                      A naked house, a naked door,

                      A shivering pool before its door,

                      A garden bare of flowers and fruit,

                      And poplars at the garden foot;

                      Such is the place I live in,
                      Bleak without and bare within. 

JAN 2016

Slightly modern with the black rattan chair but then it's toned down with its traditional stripes and embroidered Mongolian tufted ottoman.  

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FEB 2016

Bright and bold modern colors but with the warmth of dark woods and a traditional sofa design. 

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MAR 2016

Clean, modern, and white but with hints of gold metallic for newness and an antique garden stool - best is it's topped off with an antique crystal chandelier. 

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Starting out as a strictly architectural and decorative magazine, House Beautiful was void of the usual contents of domestic magazines such as recipes, parenting tips, pets and animal care, etc. Over the years, the magazine adapted to readers’ interests. Certain departments were added in order to influence wider readership: furniture styles for certain style houses, housekeeping, and do-it-yourself house projects. Due to these changes, “by 1900, the size of the magazine was increased to 64 pages, the price was doubled, and it claimed a circulation of 7,000” 

APRIL 2016

There's modern artwork on the walls and maybe in the bedding.  But the addition of the antique lamp brings it all back.

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MAY 2016

Here it is all warm and cozy with the traditional blue and white (one of my favorites) - but a slightly modern twist on the tiles,  toned down with the black lanterns and brown rattan wicker.  The table could go either way - but it is black metal vs anything shiny. 

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JUNE 2016

More modern design on the coffee table with it's sleek metal lines - and the striped rug - but again a retro throw back with a traditional floral tufted sofa mixed with a yellow leather wing back chair.   Very eclectic on the color combinations. 

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The magazine survived the Great Depression and in 1934 was sold to the International Magazine Company., a magazine division of the Hearst Corporation (Endres 161). This change brought House Beautiful’s editorial offices back to New York.

The Hearst Corporation continued Stone’s editorial style and the magazine flourished well into the years of World War II. In 1941, Editor Elizabeth Gordon came on and spent 24 years successfully steering House Beautiful with the same simplistic philosophy as Stone (Endres 161-2). Circulation increased from approximately 200,000 to 700,000. By the mid-1960s it ran 200 pages in length. By 1964, the magazine’s circulation was at 900,000

“Country chic” design philosophy was a new trend in home décor and design for House Beautiful throughout the 1970s and the 1980s. Under the visions of editors Wallace Guenther, Doris Shaw, and JoAnn Barwick, House Beautiful made “combing flea markets and rural antique shops, an appetite for homegrown food and gardening”. Up until the end of the twentieth century, House Beautiful remained largely unchanged in design. In 1991, the magazine underwent a makeover that redesigned its cover. Under the new editor, Louis Oliver Gropp, more sophisticated aspects of decorative design was implemented which afforded a broader success rate for the magazine. House Beautiful was “awarded the Interior Design Magazine’s Hall of Fame Award for outstanding achievement in professional magazine design” in 1992.

JUL AUG 2016

Here's a modern chair, modern striped rug, modern sofa design - not seeing much of old and eclectic except the tree stump coffee table which again warms the finished look. The bead board ceiling and white shutters also bring it back to traditional. 

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SEPT 2016

Wow! what a mix of color - Very Palm Beach - modern lines in the sofa, coffee tables and chairs but the fabric is a throw back.  The shaded chandelier also brings in a traditional touch. Note how the round pillows repeat the circles in the artwork behind it.  Don't think that was just an accident. 

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OCT 2016

Colors of pale turquoise, with white sleek counters, modern chairs and light fixtures - but warmed by the use of the wood that plays off the range hood. The use of nail heads on the banquette also brings in a traditional flair. 

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Today House Beautiful continues the philosophy in simplicity with their promise to “always be warm and welcoming, to inspire, to surprise and delight, and always be engaging and fun” (hearstintegratedmedia.com). Circulation as of 2014 is 800,000, with newsstand sales at 109,346 and an average median age of 53.3 (hearstintegratedmedia.com). The magazine now utilizes popular multimedia and interactive apps for easy access to its publications. After 118 years in publication, House Beautiful still has the same philosophy on which it was founded: construction, design, and decoration should be tasteful, simple, and useful.

NOV 2016

Surprise! I actually own a pair of these garden stools. 

The coffee table has the look of burl wood but with a sleek modern design.  The sofa is traditional and enhanced with trim around the edge. Their is a modern eclectic touch to the tiles used around the traditional fireplace for punch.  But I do see an old antique chair sitting next to it. So...

THE MIX 

DEC 2016

Actually not enough to see or say here except to say 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

and stay all mixed up.