modernmarvel's Full Review: Metropolitan Home Magazine
Metropolitan Home once featured its "Home of the Year." The living room had exactly three pieces of furniture in it and a rug. There were no window coverings. There was no coffee table. Just three pieces of furniture. I theorize it was a publicity stunt - even the editors of Metropolitan Home must know that no one lives like that. Even if you like spare, minimalistic and modern houses, this went to a bizarre extreme. Still, it gives a good idea of what Metropolitan Home is all about.
STYLE
Metropolitan Home focuses on minimalistic, modern decor. They show some architecture, gardens and exteriors, but you are primarily looking at interior design. All of the homes shown are clutter free and many are furniture free as well. There are lots of trendy colors (gray, citron) and some trendy furniture. This is interior design as art, not practicality.
If you like layers of accessories, or a warm, comfortable home in muted colors, or even lots of upholstery, this is probably not for you.
WHY I LIKE IT
The ideas presented are usually unique from other design magazines. Personally, I like the spare, modern look and, although it is not practical for me, I can vicariously enjoy the clutter-free houses. Plus, since this magazine comes closest to my personal style, I can adapt some of the ideas to my house.
WHAT YOU GET IN EACH ISSUE
Here are the contents of a typical issue:
Mailbag: Heavily edited letters from readers and pithy responses from the editor.
Editor's Page: Things the editor suggests you buy.
Take Note: Several pages of things to buy. There are small kitchen utensils, furniture, rugs, accessories, appliances and other sundry things. Of course, everything is expensive.
Travel: They highlight about seven cities from around the world and suggest expensive, yet stylish, places to shop, eat and stay.
Dr. Swatch: A one page column about five antique items that readers have sent in. The author gives a very brief history of the item and an appraisal.
Tomes: They review books about design.
Market Report: More things to buy, but this time it is furniture. The point of this section is to show you new things being offered on the market. Of course, the subliminal point is that your furnishings are out of date.
Weekend Garden: A brief article with a few pictures about a particular garden. This is garden as design, not gardening techniques.
My House: An article about the author's home. I actually like this column. The author never lives in the type of home featured in the magazine. Instead, the author usually lives in a starter home or an affordable home and the article focuses on learning to embrace the flaws in the home you live in.
Editor's Choice: More things to buy. They are usually tied together by some theme such as "things for your bathroom" or "things that are green."
Weekend Kitchen: A few recipes. I have never made any of the recipes in the many years I have subscribed to this magazine because they often feature one ingredient that is difficult to find. The recipes are usually complex and sophisticated.
Interior Design Trends: This is the heart of the magazine and the reason most people buy it. At least 4-5 homes are featured in detail with lots of pictures and an article explaining the decor. They tend to focus on living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens and baths. People rarely appear in the pictures and, perhaps, once a year, you might see children. Sometimes they also feature a garden or an exterior. You get more pictures of interiors in Met. Home than in most other interior design magazines.
Resources: They tell you where to buy the things in the magazine. Usually, you can get the things highlighted in the buy sections, however, a lot of the featured interiors are custom and would be hard to easily duplicate.
STATS
The magazine's pages are a bit larger than traditional magazines. They are on medium-grade glossy paper which is not as nice as Architectural Digest and better than Better Homes and Gardens. Each issue has just under approximately 160-200 pages.
Like every other magazine, there are plenty of advertisements. As I have said before, I don't mind the ads. They keep the cost of the magazine lower for me and I like to look at a lot of them. I get some good design ideas and also get to see what is currently on the market.
The magazine is published 6 times a year. Annual subscriptions are about $10 a year. The cover prices is $3.99.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
This is one of my favorite magazines. I like the idea of spare, modern interiors, even if I couldn't achieve it in the stage I am in now (maybe when my children are grown and move out). I have gotten ideas from the pictures, including color schemes and the straight, spare lines of the furnishings. And, at the end of the day, I just enjoy looking at numerous pictures in each issue. If this magazine is your style, you will enjoy it quite a bit.
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