Living At Home Magazine

Living At Home magazine continues to take small steps to push the envelope here in Germany, slowly getting away from its more old-fashioned roots and starting to feel a lot more forward and inspiring than ever before. I love the March issue because I think the spreads on Japanese tape and how to use it was really innovative and creative. My good friend Leslie did something similar with tape as wrapping paper last year and I showed the tape as frames in 2009 on decor8 but I hadn't seen the other ideas before and liked them very much! I especially loved seeing it applied to a regular brown kraft paper shopping bag - so pretty!

Living At Home


Jenny Levie, former editor-in-chief of the magazine, left in January and now a new one has taken over and she promises that change is at hand because she wants to make it a bit more modern while still maintaining their loyal customers from the German countryside while bringing in the urban hipsters from German cities who aren't following the magazine nearly as much as the those in smaller villages... Insider sources tell me that in the April issue we will start to see her viewpoint as an editor since it's the first magazine since Jenny left that she was able to work on herself.

Living At Home



I have great confidence in this magazine as I've been a reader since 1999 long before I moved over here and back then in '99, it was not my taste at all! But I had faith in it and kept reading and now I think it's the best it has ever been. But I still think they could push the envelope. I think that Germans are ready for change like never before especially with so many online writing blogs and being exposed to design and decorating magazines (along with digital magazines) and books from all over the world, not just Germany. I think the magazines in this country will continue to grow stronger, I've already noticed a huge change in Schoener Wohnen since their new editor took over, and I can't wait to see what direction Living At Home takes. I like it now, I can't wait to see what the new L@H looks like!

(images: holly becker for haus maus)

Comments

Jane said…
Oh, Holly, this magazine looks gorgeous. If only I could get it in Hobart, Australia without paying a fortune for it. Sigh. I'll just have to admire the virtual version. Thanks for the introduction. J x
Anonymous said…
That's a long time to stick with a mag that you thought was horrible : )
Looks like a gorgeous magazine that I'd love to spend the afternoon reading.
My Blog
Juliette said…
I'm also happy to see the changes in German magazines over recent years. I never used to really feel that inspired by them -or that I could relate to their decor/DIY stuff, but in the past few years I've been buying more German mags. Keep it up Deutschland!
Monica said…
I love the idea of putting it on the jam jars! I make my own jam and give away a lot, so this is the perfect touch.

I remember the magazine not being too fabulous, but will pick up a copy during my next shopping trip.

Have a fab day!
Monica said…
Just realized that it is March, duh I know, but that means that your book is coming out this month. Like in 3 weeks! =:o Exciting stuff and exciting times...
Unknown said…
I love the cover to this magazine. So fresh and happy...great colors. You will have to keep us posted on next months addition!
Chris :o)
GLENDA CHILDERS said…
Thanks, Holly, for the peek at these great ideas for using Japanese tapes. (especially since I can't get this magazine in the States.) So creative and easy.

Fondly,
Glenda

P.S. Hope the new BYW is going well. (those lucky students.)
Hausfrau said…
Cool! I haven't seen this issue yet, but I may have to pick it up since I do love washi tape.
MY8SHADOWS said…
Hey! Look's like a very good magazine :) I like the simplicity of ideas.
I also saw on this blog (which I just discovered resiliently) nice wedding invitations with japanese tape: http://www.ohhellofriendblog.com/2010/02/japanese-tape-sewing-machine.html

Enjoy, M
Muyserin said…
Long time reader, first time commenter. – The state of German lifestyle magazines has been bothering me for a long time.

It seems strange to sing the praise of a magazine which ceased publication all of ten years ago, but if you ever get a chance to get hold of old copies of Modern Living, you'd agree with me that it was the best publication to date, anticipating things to come by a full decade.

To my mind, Living at Home employs a lot of the features that Modern Living first introduced or at least established. Whenever I see Living at Home at some newsagent's now, my heart skips a beat and I think, “MoLi (as we used to call it) is back!”

But, alas … Oh, well! :)

It's fun to read your blog and see this country reflected through a different perspective. Keep up the good work! :)
Anna said…
I love the magazine and hope it doesn't change too much :-) The decoration tipps are quite lovely so far, but the recipes are really wonderful (and I like their foodstyling as well) - they always come out perfect and are soo tasty!
Nicole said…
i will watch out for the next issue! thank you for pointing out the coming changes! i used to buy the magazine sometimes as I liked the cooking recipes. but I never liked the deco styles so much. it often seemed a bit cold, not inviting. I never understood why it doesn't just copy martha, that would be a hit here! we don't have a good decorating magazine in this land, only architecture or food!
Laura said…
I enjoy living at home! I didn't know about the editorial change, so will be very interested to check out the April issue!

laura in Ludwigsburg
Eleanor said…
Hi Holly - Okay, I was totally confused! I tweeted you that this was my fave DE decor magazine, but I *meant* 'Living & More' (easy to get the two confused) In any case, I'll be picking up one of these and eager to see the updates!
Gabi said…
I have also read the march issue and loved the Masking Tape special to. I found in the shop-index a good Masking Tape shop in Germany: www.luiban.de they also have nice other paper stuff :-)
Sandra said…
You mentioned "Schöner Wohnen" has changed, which is something I noticed myself a while ago. I didnt buy the magazine often as it never spoke to me. I felt it aimed at a different generation. When I leafed through it in a waitingroom last year I was surprised at how much I liked it! Can you tell me when it changed? Have I been missing our for ages?

I have a subscription to MS-Living and always tell my hub to grab whatever british, french, scandi or dutch mags he can get his hands on when he passes through Heathrow. Learning that "Livingathome" is about to change gives me hope that the German interior& shelter mags finally are catching up with the rest of the world!

I last bought a copy of "Living at Home" before the holidays (to impress my inlaws with my knowledge of German cuisine - haha!) but was not overly inspired. I certainly will keep my eyes open for the changes. Thanks for the wink.
Nadia L., said…
my englisch is not so good when i am writing that's why I never comment, but I know this blog from my sister in law who is also americain and sees many things like you! I do not know why in Germany there are not so many nice deco magazins, but I think living at home and living and more are the best here. i read these ones and find some ideas for my home. at living at home there is always lots of fotos that are not real homes, that is not so nice. but I love the flowers they have, that comes probably because I am a floriste myself. maybe it will become even better now? living +more show more real houses, I like that and you find lots of ideas to do at home. I think these 2 magazins dont loose against other countrys too much!
Angela said…
Holly,
I am totally on your side. I have been buying the magazine since the very first issue. I have been noticing a positive change lately - finding here and there some ideas I have seen on different blogs around. How exciting that there will be a new editor, although I think that Jenny Levie has made very positive changes already.
Katrin said…
Well this German here is definitely ready for a change in the magazine department. Funny you mention Schöner Wohnen. Yes it has changed and I like it better than a few years ago, but I feel they still don´t get it right. One can see that they try hard but they fail most of the time. I was so frustrated with their March issue that it landed in the bin...
Leslie said…
Hi -this tape article looks really nice! It is interesting to watch the evolution of some of these magazines isn't it? Hmmm. Now I am thinking about tape again!
jja said…
I love Living at Home. But what does this mean "I still think they could push the envelope. "

Any similar saying in german?
Thank you.
opera glass said…
What happened to this blog? I thought you were going to share with us the process of decorating your apartment but we haven't seen anything for months. I suppose you're nearly finished now. It would have been nice to share the journey with you and I'm sure it would have increased your readership substantially as people love to see the step by step process. Kind of a bummer, really.
ich bin auch schon gespannt... :)
Anonymous said…
As a Dutchie I've never picked up a copy of Living At Home. But It sounds really nice. So I'm definitely going to look for it here in Holland! I'm a big fan of japanse tape/masking tape/ washi tape and always looking for new ways to use it. (paper can be so limiting! ;-))
I found some brilliant ideas in the Marie Claire Idees, a French magazine. I don't know if you can find it in Germany. But I also did a little post about it on my blog, here's the link so you can get a quick look: http://middleclasswhitegirl.com/2011/03/01/washi-tape-everywhere/
Your blog is so beautiful, I love it! I am also a haus maus :) living in Germany. I am trying to find some way to GFC but I don't think you have it. Will have to subscribe. Don't want to miss another post! Hope you had a beautiful weekend. I am glad the sun finally decided to come out here.
All the best,
http://texagermanadian.blogspot.com/
Hey Holly, I am back from the states and a couple of days in Soho, the Upper West Side and Tribeca absolutely filled my senses with newness in design. I am happy to hear that German design magazines are coming around (I actually connected through Munich this time but did not have time to peruse magazines at the airport). I used to buy SWohnen in Germany occasionally and felt every time like "man, this is just like the last (boring) issue". The sameness and not-pushing-the-envelope was annoying. Living at Home was better, and I think Zuhause Wohnen was ok (just ok) with half the issue dedicated to food. But to be honest, there was alot of sameness. That was always my biggest gripe in Germany. I would go to Ambiente every year and then see only those "most popular" things from ths show in shops. Everyone seemed scared to take on individuality. Which is why I am placing such high hopes on you to transform Germany (but don't feel any pressure or anything, ok? HAHA). I will be interested to pick up a copy of LaH soon when my German guests start arriving and leaving them for me :)
jja, pushing the envelope means -- noch mehr tun, mehr Risiko eingehen, agressiver sein, mehr Initiative zeigen...
haus maus said…
Opera glass - Sorry to disappoint you but I work 7 days a week right now and haven't had a lot of time to show my home and decorating process here. In the Spring and Summer but this winter has been long and I've been working way too much!
glitzkrieg said…
I used to love Modern Living, a German home decor & style monthly, and was heartbroken when it was axed in 2001. I had a subscription to it at the time and the publisher started sending Living at Home issues instead- didn't like it at all. But it's good to hear it's gotten better!

The only magazine I've read regularly since then is German Elle Decoration, but I miss the Elle Bistro that used to come with it in "doppel-ausgabe". I started buying it for Elle Deco and in the end, what I'd devour and keep were the Elle Bistros. Lots of beautiful design items featured, gorgeous styling and photos, and interesting recipes. I really miss it.
Looks great. Love reading magazines online. Goes great on my ipad. Love that blogging has made the world so much smaller.
Looks great. Love reading magazines online. Goes great on my ipad. Love that blogging has made the world so much smaller.
mooi hoor... said…
hmmm, yes..German home decoration magazines...I like Elle Decoration best, although it is not as good a the UK version. For anything crafty I know of no better magazines than Marie Claire Idees and 101 Woonideen (Dutch). And I quite like AD (but that's not decoration anymore, is it ;)

P.S.: Hope you'll be able to take a break from work now and then!
opera glass said…
No problem, Holly. Glad to hear that you're busy and I look forward to more posts later this year. opera glass xx.
jja said…
Danke Diana für die Erklärung :-)
Daydream Living said…
Hi Holly,
I know this magazine, we have it here too, and it looks indeed better. I noticed that you are one of the organisers for the Meet the Blogger Amsterdam, perhaps I can be there, it sounds like a great event! Have a good start of the week,
Maureen
(happy follower nr. 1151)
Daydream Living said…
..oh, and I miss the Hema, my favourite Dutch store!
Maureen

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