Blog - cobistyle

online inspiration

Posted by Cobi on Monday November 21, 2011 at 07:00 AM
decorating • Comments (3)

After spending my career editing magazines, I’ve been very interested to see the online magazine industry unfold over the past couple years. But personally speaking, when asked if I like reading online magazines - my answer to date, is no. Never say never, but so far, they just aren’t doin’ it for me. It isn’t the content - they often carry wonderful stories and beautiful visuals. And it sure isn’t the price - they’re free! But for some reason it feels like monotonous work to turn the electronic pages and they usually lose my attention after a few short clicks. And so unfortunately I have yet to lose myself in a story, the way I do with print mags. I know electronic images don’t fade, yellow or stack up and collect dust like paper, but I also can’t tear a page out and put it in my “some-sweet-day file”.

Have a look at the online decor magazines I’ve been flipping through and let me know what you think! Maybe you can change my mind.

cobi

Lonny was launched in October 2009 and is definitely the top dog, at least on this side of the pond. It’s a bimonthly, online home decor and lifestyle magazine that highlights “extraordinary interiors, innovative bloggers, and the latest market trends”. The magazine’s name was formed by combining London and New York - the hometowns of its two founders. To date, Lonny has published 14 issues.

click here to check out Lonny

cobi

Trad Home is collaboration between Traditional Home magazine (print) and Lonny magazine (online). Trad Home was created to ‘capture a new “evolved traditional” design aesthetic’. I think that means - people who like traditional looks but still want to be current. To date, Trad home has published 1 issue and I read somewhere that there was suppose to be a second issue out last month but it didn’t happen, so now I’m confused.

click here to check out Trad Home

cobi

Rue magazine covers homes, entertaining, recipes, trends and products. It’s put together by two well known American bloggers based in San Francisco and has an eclectic, global feeling. It comes out bi-monthly and so far there are 6 issues of Rue.

click here to check out Rue

cobi

I didn’t realize until I wrote this blog that High Gloss magazine - which used to feature “inspiring interior design, fabulous fashion, fresh entertaining ideas and swoon-worthy travel destinations” - no longer exists. There were 3 issues created of High Gloss before its demise last summer. It sounds like things went south between the bloggers who created if if you read this entry by one of the editors from Elements of Style and this one from La Dolce Vita. Anyway, there are three issues to breeze through if you’re interested and who knows, maybe someone will recreate it. It all seems very ‘easy come, easy go’, in the online business.

check out High Gloss magazine

cobi

Dabble is Canada’s only online magazine covering design, travel and food. At the helm is designer Kimberley Seldon whom many of you will know from HGTV, Cityline, Chatelaine, etc. To date there has been 1 issue of Dabble but it looks like there will be another one soon. Good luck Kimberley!

click here to check out Dabble

cobi

Adore Home magazine is Australia’s first online-only home and lifestyle magazine. It covers “shops, hotels, homes and food. Adore Home invites you into inspirational homes, looks at the latest products on the market and whisks you away to gorgeous holiday destinations. Adore Home’s mission is to bring you beautiful homes from across the globe, tips and design advice from interior experts, as well as easy online access to the latest home treasures.” The Aussies sure know how to make a decorating magazine in print and so lets hope things go the same online.
Adore has published 6 issues to date.

click here to check out Adore Home

cobi

Ivy and Piper magazine covers “homewares, fabrics, home decor and design accessories”. It’s an online Interiors magazine from Brisbane, Australia. “Welcome to our design journal where we share and inspire our clients to embrace colour, pattern and beautiful home decor, which is what Ivy & Piper is all about!” So far there are 6 issues of Ivy & Piper.

click here to check out Ivy and Piper magazine

After having a look, perhaps you feel differently from me and enjoy reading online magazines? If so - please comment and tell us why. Or tell us about another online magazine that I’ve missed! It’s a big internet out there…

decorating by the book

Posted by Cobi on Monday November 07, 2011 at 07:00 AM
display • organizing • Comments (2)

I once read about a study that was done on how to get your kids to read. Was the key, reading to them every night? Making them read to you? Starting them young? What was the key to teaching kids the joy of reading? The scientists were very surprised to find that none of that mattered as much as one very simple thing. Having books in the house. By simple virtue of having books in the house - not even kids books - children turned out to be the biggest readers. The adults in the house didn’t even need to be huge readers themselves - it was simply the number of books in the house that made the difference. That being said, I can’t imagine a house full of books without an owner who loved to read. I imagine it’s just another life lesson of ‘actions speaking louder than words’. Kids or no kids, books are a wonderful addition to any house.

cobi

They not only add depth and character, but beauty as well.

cobi

I’ve always loved the idea of a ‘dining room/library’. It’s a great way to give a seldom-used dining room more purpose, and what a rich atmosphere in which to dine!

cobi