Home Beautiful, March 2013

In a new regular feature, Jacqui Greig reviews the latest interiors magazines.

I know this is terrible, but with the sheer volume of magazines I purchase each month, I sometimes struggle to remember if I’ve bought Home Beautiful already – their covers tend to get a bit ‘same same’. Don’t get me wrong, obviously they’ve hit the nail on the head when it comes to branding… maybe it’s their use of colour? This month they’ve gone with a gorgeous blue teal on their masthead, and a charming rustic country outdoor setting.

Highlights

1. The quirky cool home of Charlotte and Philippe in Odense, Denmark (story by Eckmann Studio and photography by Bjarni B Jacobsen). The bright pops of colour have me itching to pick up a paintbrush (the purple velour furniture is insanely fabulous), and the bathroom is brimming with character thanks to panels of ‘Paperback Stacks’ wallpaper by Tracy Kendall (available from The Collection). The house is actually a villa, called ‘the church house’ because of its distinctive architecture. 

2. The ‘Country Feast’ entertain pages – delicious photography and peach and rhubarb pies that look divine.

3. It must be kitchen makeover time in Interior Design Land, because House & Garden mag also has a kitchen special… I particularly like the variety of kitchen styles that Home Beautiful has shown, and they’ve included handy budget breakdowns too.

What I loved

I adore the fonts that Home Beautiful uses… love love love (incidentally, one is the same as the ‘Interiors’ in the Interiors Addict logo. Great minds think alike!).

The photography is always top notch. I particularly loved the photos by Amelle Habib of the sewing studio of Amelia Church, of Mantel & Church. Amelia’s tip? “Don’t skimp on cushion inserts – feather all the way!”

The Shop {trend} page by Sami Simper titled All that Glitters. Especially the octagonal metal and glass mirror in gold $620 from One World Collection (very similar to the mirror Phil & Amity used in their first room on The Block this week.) 

Things I’m coveting

1. Love stationery and photography? You could break a fingernail in your haste to click on the Moleskine Photobook website. Yes, that’s right, the iconic Moleskine notebook is now available as a ‘Print on Demand’ photo album, from $50.
   
2. Have you ever tried painting with chalkboard paint? It’s hideously expensive and super thick (which requires multiple coats to get rid of streaky brush strokes), so I’m loving Frost & Co’s genius idea of removable chalkboard stickers, $45/set of 5 
3. I’m not usually a huge fan of pink, but I could definitely find a space for the Walter G ‘Pink Check’ kerosene lantern with vintage turban shade in my home. Even better, it’s on sale, down from $320 to $256.