TheDesignFile

Q&A: Genevieve on the HGTV Magazine, design 'geekiness,' & a behind-the-scenes special

The long-awaited HGTV Magazine will launch Oct. 4 but you can get a behind-the-scenes look at its creation Saturday night when one of the network’s star designers – Genevieve Gorder – hosts a one-hour special about the publication.

Genevieve – host of Dear Genevieve and a judge on Design Star – promises the new magazine will fill the niche left when Domino and other fantastic shelter magazines ceased publishing.

And Genevieve (shown below taping the special) says the magazine will provide “beautiful, accessible design” with all the tips and tricks to help readers achieve it.

“In the magazine, you really can get the nuts and bolts of what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and how to get it. It’s a resource guide and it’s a behind the scenes story,” Genevieve said. “It’s basically the conversation you don’t have time for on television. It can really unfold and proliferate into the pages of a magazine.”

“HGTV: The Making of Our Magazine” is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. ET/PT this Saturday. The special is documentary style and “captures the energy and excitement” as editors at Hearst Magazines (which is producing the publication) brainstorm ideas, plan photo shoots and interview the network’s biggest starts to create the magazine, HGTV says.

I’m breaking my interview with Genevieve into two parts. I am focusing today on what Genevieve had to say about the magazine and the TV special – and including a number of photos from her show and Design Star.

Stop back tomorrow for Part 2, when Genevieve talks about Design Star and her new love of Twitter.

Question: Genevieve, thanks so much for talking to The Design File. Tell us about the new HGTV Magazine.

Answer: Well, I think the magazine – in my personal, humble opinion – is filling a huge void in the market right now of offering accessible, approachable design to everybody. We have had some amazing magazines that did this awhile ago but when the home market folded, a lot of them disappeared. So that left this vacancy and I feel like what we’re doing is a really natural and a very simple progression of our brand and what we’re already doing. Why shouldn’t we have a magazine?

I’m really excited.

It’s an in-depth look at everything design, at all the design geekiness you can stand. And of course, it’s about our designers, what they do and how they do it. It’s a behind the scenes look at everything – television and design.

Q: So many great shelter magazines have closed. How do you think HGTV Magazine will survive?

A: Throughout this big crash in the home market and our advertising market and our economy in this country in general, the shelter magazines were the first magazines to go. They were supported by the economy and the home market and so they got a double whammy.

What’s different about our magazine is that we have a very powerful brand that’s lasted through this enormous recession because we’re offering exactly what people want at this time – and even in wealthier times. They want to know how to get the beautiful things for their homes, how to afford the beautiful things and do beautiful things in an approachable and accessible way.

Upscale lifestyle magazine expands to Indy

I had fun last night at a swanky reception at the Indiana Design Center in Carmel to welcome the upscale Sophisticated Living magazine to the Indianapolis area.

For me, it was a great opportunity to check out the design center, which I hadn’t had a chance to visit since a number of showrooms and offices started opening there. Plus, the entire building was open, including the second floor that is typically open only to design professionals.

I’m going to save most of my photos of the Indiana Design Center and its showrooms for a future post. Today, I’ll focus on Sophisticated Living, which is based in Louisville and publishes editions as well in Lexington, Nashville and Cincinnati.

The magazine’s founders – Eric & Bridget Williams (see above) – have had Indianapolis on their radar screen for awhile. But they saw the opening of the Indiana Design Center as a great time to launch.

The magazine publishes six times annually and includes features about fine homes and gardens, wines, antiques, dining, travel, motoring, fashion, art and society events. There’s a core section of the magazine that is the same in each city’s edition, but the home, dining and society sections will be customized for the Indianapolis area.

The first issue, above, includes a feature on a home in the Geist Reservoir neighborhood that was designed by Julie O’Brien.

Bridget said the magazine will differ from Indianapolis Monthly because it specifically targets affluent households. In fact, the magazine is not so much subscription-based (although you can subscribe) but instead is simply mailed to the most affluent families in the region.

“Rather than covering timely city issues, we’ll be more of a lifestyle publication,” Bridget said. “The issues will be timeless. Our readers keep their magazines like some people do Architectural Digest.”

You can also access the magazine on your iPad or iPhone (see above).

Trad Home is a virtual twist on upscale mag

Traditional Home is trying something a little, well, non-traditional.

The magazine has joined up with online shelter publication Lonny to create the new web-based Trad Home. You can see the May issue online and the “cover” at right.

Traditional Home and Lonny plans an October issue as well and will feature 100 percent original content “intended for the next generation of design lovers.”

Trad Home was created to capture a new "evolved traditional" design aesthetic, the editors said. The launch issue will be centered around the "New Traditionals" -- one of Traditional Home's signatures -- the annual "hot list" of designers to watch.

The "New Trads" will be featured in both the May print edition of Traditional Home and the May digital edition of Trad Home, the editors said, and the latter will greatly expand on the franchise by featuring a multi-page project by each designer or design team.

Also, Traditional Home is partnering with online shopping destination One Kings Lane to create a series of Trad Home Tastemaker Tag Sales, beginning in June and running through early fall.  Each "New Trad" designer will personally curate a room for their own "Trad Home Tag Sale," offering consumers both design inspiration and the ability to buy every item in the room.

That’s pretty cool. I’m a huge fan of One Kings Lane and I’m pretty excited to see these new offerings.

"The launch of Trad Home coincides perfectly with the vast resurgence we're seeing in traditional design in the marketplace," Ann Maine, editor in chief, Traditional Home, said in a statement yesterday. (See a spread from the May issue of Trad Home above.)

"Everything traditional is desirable right now, and we see classic, heritage brands in every category of business re-establishing their presence, and celebrating their legacies."

The May issue of Trad Home launched on www.tradhomemag.com this week and will also be featured alongside Lonny editorial at www.lonnymag.com. The issue will be live for six months. See another spread below.

"The launch of Trad Home marks a major milestone in the growth and expansion of Lonny magazine," Michelle Adams, editor in chief of Lonny, said in a statement.

"This is an exciting time in the industry as larger corporations like Meredith begin to recognize the relevance of online media, allowing collaborations such as Trad Home to come to light,” she said. "We're looking forward to redefining the meaning of 'traditional' and sharing our vision with our current readers and the millions of new readers this collaboration will attract."

HGTV Magazine coming this fall

If you’ve been worried about what seems to be the disappearing world of shelter mags, you’ll be interested to hear that Hearst Magazines and HGTV are coming together to test a new publication.

HGTV Magazine will debut this fall and will explore themes of the network’s programming – but also go beyond it with additional lifestyle content.

Sara Peterson (at right), formerly editor of Coastal Living, is HGTV Magazine's editor-in-chief.

The magazine has been rumored for some time and it appears ready to come to fruition.

According to the companies, the first two test issues will feature HGTV talent throughout its pages, offering readers personal tips, tricks and expertise, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at their shows, the companies said in a joint release last week.

Content will include real estate, decorating, home renovation, gardening, entertaining and food.

The debut test issue will hit newsstands nationwide in October, followed by a second test issue in January 2012. Hearst and HGTV will use the test period to gauge consumers' interest in the concept ahead of a possible full-scale launch in 2012.

"We're pleased to be testing this new magazine in the market, once again partnering with Scripps Networks. Our first joint venture, Food Network Magazine, is currently the #1 selling food magazine on newsstands," said David Carey, president of Hearst Magazine, said in a statement. "Hearst is known for its successful partnerships and HGTV's enormous fan base and rich lifestyle content dovetails well with our expertise at delivering entertaining and compelling content."

HGTV President Jim Samples said the companies have ben encouraged by Food Network Magazine.

"We expect that HGTV's collaboration with Hearst in the form of a lifestyle publication will resonate with our millions of viewers, as well as with new consumers who are passionate about their homes and the lives they live in them,” Samples said in a statement.

Sales up in 2010 for several top shelter mags

Newsstand sales of Elle Decor were up 26.3 percent in 2010 – the largest increase among shelter magazines, despite a $1 increase in the cover price.

House Beautiful ranked second with a 16.1 percent increase in newsstand sales. That’s not surprising. I think there’s been a huge jump in quality at the magazine.

Newsstand sales of Architectural Digest, Veranda, Traditional Home and Dwell were all down in 2010.

Overall circulation was up for most of the shelter mags. Here were the numbers:

Elle Decor +10.2%

Traditional Home +1.8%

House Beautiful +0.8%

Veranda +0.4%

Dwell -2.3%

Architectural Digest -3.8%

It’s good to see that circulation is up or fairly steady for a number of shelter magazines, especially after we’ve lost so many great ones in recent years. Here’s hoping the good news continues!

A traditional room redo with a modern look

I don’t see myself living in traditional decor – although I do have a few traditional antiques that were passed down to me through family.

Instead, my home is pretty eclectic.

But I am really drawn to a room redo (see one of the photos at right) created by Traditional Home and Ballard Designs and featured in the Ballard catalog I just received. It is really gorgeous!

At 16-feet long by 13-feet wide, the room is not particularly large and so it really struck me how much furniture and accessories ended up in the room – without it seeing cluttered. I think the tall ceiling really helped.

The Traditional Home folks started with two leather chairs and a guitar, plus some amazing architectural detail on the walls of the home owned by Ina & Randy Gill.

“The Gills wanted a room where they could entertain both family and friends – not anything ‘stuffy’ just a comfortable room where they could swing open the French Doors and party on the front porch – a keg of beer for the neighborhood – lots of fun – a place to hang out and relax, the Traditional Home folks said.

The challenge? The room does not have much wall space. There’s a window wall, French doors and a large foyer opening.

It took the designers a few tries to get the floor plan just right. But in the end, they came up with a fantastic layout and a beautiful look.

There’s a great overall photo in the Ballard Designs catalog but I couldn’t find it on the web site – at least not large enough to use. But it’s worth checking out. It’s very inspirational!

Instead, there are a few other detail photos:

A peek at Sheryl Crow’s Hollywood Hills estate

It’s hard not to be fascinated by Sheryl Crow, an amazing singer who has kept an impressive career alive for more than 20 years.

Now you can get a peek beyond her musical self into her 11-acre, 3-home property – a “romantic Hollywood Hills estate” as Architectural Digest calls it.

The estate includes a 1926 Spanish Colonial hacienda – her primary residence with her two sons – a 1909 Craftsman bungalow, and a picturesque 19th century cottage.

Crow tells Architectural Digest that she “grew up in Missouri, where you don’t really see architecture like this.”

“The culmination of this personal, hand-selected design aesthetic is distinctly Crow,” the magazine says in a preview of the March issue. “From the lush landscape visible through the windows and doors to the tepee and swing set on the lawn, her estate serves both family and serenity.”

The Architectural Digest feature “ives a rare glimpse of a different side of Crow, who says “there are a lot of people who think of me as very straight… so I imagine this place will come as a surprise.”

Check out the magazine’s online gallery for more photos of Sheryl Crow and her amazing homes. The photos are also featured on the always inspirational Hooked on Houses blog.

Pink can be sophisticated and modern

The September issue of House Beautiful really caught my attention because of the striking, colorful room on the cover.

But this is not just any colorful room. It’s one grounded by a pink and white striped rug!

I love the stripes and the bright pink pillow. Plus, I love the way House Beautiful really went for it and put its title and much of its cover text in pink.

It was a great idea and the magazine just jumped out at me on the newsstand.

The room reminded me of a post I did early this year about pink rooms and inspired me to look around for some more!

It was surprisingly easy to find some great rooms. Pink is hot!

I found pink in cottage style decor, modern rooms and sophisticated ones like the living room below I found at Better Homes and Gardens.

The pretty dining room below is from the same BHG home.

I love the eclectic nature of the room. It has a traditional chandelier, a white cottage table, the pastel covered chairs and the modern art on the left wall. How fun!

But of course, pink doesn’t have to be a pastel to be sophisticated. Check out the room below from Southern Accents and MyHomeIdeas.com. It’s really fun of energy and yet still chic.

Pink can also be modern.

The Design File in Indianapolis House & Home mag

I’m so honored that Indianapolis House & Home magazine turned to The Design File for help on a story about how empty nesters reclaim and redecorate the spaces once the kids have gone.

Thanks to writer Teresa Nicodemus for calling and quoting me in the August issue.

The magazine also included four tips The Design File provided for helping empty nesters make decisions about their space. Here they are in brief but you’ll have to read the story to get the details:

• Don’t act too quickly. Get used to your life without kids.

• Think about your hobbies and interests. How might they change once you have more time?

• Consider your budget. Is this a cosmetic redesign or major renovation?

• Will you stay in the home into retirement and beyond? If so, make accommodations for aging.

Country Living goes larger -- and more expensive

Country Living magazine will debut a new look, a bigger size and a higher price when it hits newsstands on Tuesday.

The magazine’s pages will now be 20 percent larger and the cover will feature a new Country Living log.

The price goes from $3.99 to $4.50 and it will be interesting to see if the magazine remains the largest selling shelter magazine on newsstands.

“We’re always evolving and thinking about new ways to satisfy our readers,” said Sarah Gray Miller, Country Living’s editor-in-chief. “The larger format makes the experience of reading the magazine so much richer. It’s amazing how much better the photography looks now. As for the logo, it feels fresher, friendlier and more contemporary.”

Country Living has in fact been migrating to a much sleeker, more contemporary look. So even though the title may read “Country,” it offers much for anyone who likes things even a little rustic or just relaxed.

The magazine has been researching the higher size – and price.

“Our 11 million readers are incredibly engaged with our brand," said Chris Allen, VP/publisher. "They look to Country Living for service and inspiration, and our research has shown that this will very much enhance the reader experience. It is also a great opportunity for our marketers to showcase stronger visuals for maximum impact.”

The September issue is packed with before-and-after ideas including an inspirational makeover of an abandoned farmhouse, a versatile one-weekend makeover for your living-room, and 22 clever changes that make a big impact.