Janelle, I agree with you that it's about "modern". There's no argument there. One of the things I love about Dwell is the "how to make my home your home" section because it has a tendency to highlight a lot of the DIY aspects that a lot of lower-end modern homes feature (for example, poured concrete street number signs, etc). However, I somewhat agree with Suture that some of the homes Dwell features, especially those on the high-end, seem to contradict Dwell's Fruit Bowl Manifesto where they themselves say: "We understand the impulse, the desire to show rooms that are insanely perfect. There is something compelling about an empty room or a house in which no one has lived. Something virginal. It would be an awesome responsibility to be the first one through that door. Perfection is intimidating. You have to be on your best behavior to live with it." Some of the homes recently featured in Dwell tend to be of the trophy home, "insanely perfect" type as opposed to the "comfortable" ones they described in their manifesto. There's nothing wrong with that. I thoroughly enjoy reading about and seeing them featured in the magazine. I don't have any problems with the magazine but I do acknowledge the points that Suture was making in his rant. And you're right: some of the most creative things are derived from those withough budget constraints. Too much low-end and they would become Budget Living. Too much high-end and then they become....? Btw, this post was in no way meant to be a jab at Dwell. I'm still happy with the mix they present in each issue. I love the magazine and look forward to it's arrival every other month. However, I thought it would be interesting to note what others think of Dwell and also to encourage additional dialog on the subject. Thanks for commenting! :-)

As a fan of Dwell's basic philosophy of simple modern living I too have recently been frowning about how slick they are becoming. The H2 ads say it all for me.

i used to subscribe to dwell because it combined environmental responsibility with friendly modernism. i agree that it has shifted to the less interesting mainstream. i still read it. h2 is one of the more irresponsible consumer products on the planet and i applaud anyone who takes a stance against it even if it is just not buying a magazine. it's not bad to use your dollars to support your beliefs... although to be effective, you might let dwell know why you're not buying. recently, mother earth news stopped taking american spirit ads in response to reader protests.

For as much as it may be lamented the direction Dwell may or may not be headed, it would be good to consider the alternatives to Dwell. In my corner of the world (Jax, Florida), Dwell is pretty much the only mag that I have come across that speaks to an attainable Modernism. Without it, I would be SOL. I am not inclined to drop Dwell for their slide, but should things continue towards an unattainable focus of design, I would be hard-pressed to find an alternative. 'Elvis

I would support the advertising if it keeps a magazine around. Better slick and alive than "real" and out of business. The bigger issue is that the content is starting to suck. I think it is great that they have some longstanding passions - manufactured housing, eco-friendly, but I feel that they are starting to ignore just basic good, contemporary modern design. I don't need 2 "Wired" magazines. I really need a magazine that caters to me, an owner and renovator of a very modern house that loves to know what great, creative people are doing.

I for one am happy to see dwell publish the high end housing projects. As an interior designer that works with other people's money I think it is important to see inspiring design. The unfinished homes with no budgets do not inspire me for any future projects. I do however realize that value engineering will be a part of every project and some of the really nice or extravagant design features will have to be reduced to a much smaller scale or only used in focal points of spaces. Good design does NOT have to be unattainable by the masses, but I also don't believe that we have to reduce ourselves to unfinished products and call it "green design" to excuse our lack of creativity or ability to design within budgetary constraints. I do appreciate the articles concerning environmentally friendly materials and utilizing natures natural resources to heat and cool our homes. We all should be more aware of our environments and not be so selfish that we feel we must consume as much as we can during our life. Leave the hummer advertisements out. As a matter of fact I don't need any automobile advertisements, jewelry or clothing in an architectural design magazine. I do however appreciate the product advertisements in the back of the magazine. I am constantly searching for new products and innovative ways to use them within my budgetary constraints.

I love this thread. Even though Andrew Wagner seems to have silenced the masses here, as often someone from Dwell will step in and do, they have issues (no pun intended) that they've never fully addressed or finished. I used to frequent the Dwell forum for quite a long time. there were mostly GREAT people on there who would give free information for those of us looking. Greg L. is still a hero of mine and I love his designs. Christy is a wealth of link-knowledge. When they stopped their forum, livemodern.com took it over, and I've never re-committed to it. I'm glad to check out this site I just found today, but I miss all of the old threads we had at Dwell that were promised an archive by Dwell that never materialized. Livemodern is too....cumbersome in my opinion to navigate easily although I still lurk to read info sometimes. Also, I believe it was 2 issues ago (sorry, Andrew, I don't have it in front of me) that a reader wrote in to Dwell and complained about the lack of prices in the gotta-have-this-type-pages. editor empathized and replied they'd add prices. this last month? no prices. the editors at dwell were always kind to jump in on the Dwell boards and answer questions or qwell any paranoia that was happening when the archives disappeared. they were always very nice & eloquent. I think it has just slipped. I wonder if the prefab is a lost cause. they just refuse to admit it might be a flop. an expensive, unrealistic flop that has already taken so many down with it they can't admit failure. or maybe the rest of us are giving up too soon. I don't know. Dwell has seemed to lose it's fire. I wish them a re-kindling, and I wish they would take the forum back over again, regardless of how much of a pain it was to them, it made many of us loyal to the magazine.

I find all the criticism of dwell unfortunately legitimiazed by two facets of Andrew W.'s entry. #1 Andrew W., senior editor of dwell, took valuable time out of his very, very busy day to try and ferret out "who gossiped about what type of car his office fellows were driving" without answering any of the legitimate criticism leveled at the magazine- I guess he did not really have time for that. #2 The senior editor of dwell is rather defensive about the cars his male creative staff drives when in fact the "vintage car tooling editor" is clearly identified as "Allison" in an entry six above his own. There seems to be an attention to detail issue that I wouldn't expect to slip past an editor- even a very, very busy one. I personally couldn't care less what car Allison drives, but I do expect the senior editor of a supposedly intellectual magazine to be more interested in legitimate criticism of his magazine's content than gossip around his staff's choice in friends (real or imaginary) or transportation.

I guess the biggest disappointment for me was when I realized that Dwell had moved away from any serious or meaningful discourse on design and more towards photo-based lifestyle posturing (like the holiday gift guide or the endless consumer products parade). I understand that most successful magazines are sold in that manner, I guess I am let down by thinking that Dwell was going to be different. I let my subscription lapse because I no longer am interested in what Dwell has to say. Dwell does indeed have an audience, though I fear it is becoming the same audience that also has a subscription to Lucky.

You know, after enjoying Dwell for quite awhile I too noticed a "change". I stopped subscribing but would pick up an issue every now and then at the bookstore just to see what was up. I just read sanspotash's post and he/she nailed it. Someone earlier posted that this is somewhat inevitable if we want magazines to be around. I don't disagree, but at what point do they all look & feel the same? To be fair, Dwell is qualitatively better than Lucky, though it seems to be moving more to that demographic. Is this really why? Do magazines that are of quality really need to pander so blatantly to any and all advertisers? If the answers are "yes", then all I have to say is YUCK.

shoe and bike tred is all that finds purchase with the fine designer KYLE BLUE of Dwell. can we talk bikes, gas, or shall we talk arch + editorial intent?

Maria, with all due respect, what a sanctimonious load of hooie. In reviewing all of the posts there are numerous valid criticisms of Dwell and its editorial content. These go beyond being judgments and accusations and get to the heart of the matter... Dwell has become yet another vehicle for SELLING PRODUCTS AND ADVERTISING. This is a sad turn in events for a magazine that, for awhile there, was breaking some serious new ground. Now... well, now it is those who are advitising within its pages that are breaking new ground. I will say this, though, your post gave me a good laugh. Good luck with your new magazine and your inspiring ideas! Best wishes to you (and your muse!).

I also agree that Dwell changed, but it was not so subtle and slow. Already in the second year I started complaining to my girlfriend about the projects they chose and the kind of advertisement it contained. Of course they are free to choose any editorial directon they want, but their "new" direction is definitely not one that I would subscribe to. We still buy it sometimes for the same reasons we buy other European magazines ie curiosity and conversation, not out of any emotional tie to its content. Where is the human scale comfortable modernism now? I mean just skimming trought the June issue, you can't help but notice that there are more human beings in the ads then in the articles. I also laughed when I saw the fruits and vegetables in the Perfect Kitchen article... still without a bowl, I'm releived ;-)

Is it just me or are Dwell and Metrolpolis hooked at the hip? Dwell has lost focus of its 'lived in' fruit bowl manifesto to a more museum-esque image delivery. With all those families and kids and not even a water mark on the table...how'd they do that? Its now become trendy, yes I said it...trendy...if my grandma has spotted the magazine and went out of her way to tell me, I know its time to move on...

here's a suggestion, that i'll send to andrew, too. i think dwell would do well to treat the new dwell home like the first one, with a thorough web page that features all of the designs and designers. i know the first dwell home had and has it's issues, but i know building a house is not as easy, quick, or simple as we'd like, yet... so that's my suggestion, put up a dwell home 2 page, so people can spend hours staring at the pretty renderings, like we did with the first one. it kept me connected to dwell, even when i wasn't at home with the mag in hand. i think that's what the message boards did when they were dwell boards, too. dwell was part of life then, not just part of the magazine stack.

I enjoy my Dwell subscription. There is always something that inspires me when I flip through it.

Flip thru lots of Ads and pick up one or two itemes at the Bookstore mag section. Less than 10 minutes so I can have some valuable reading time with other magazines!!

Simply put the magazine is not what it was. Too many ads- no one can argue againts that truth! more than 50% is ads.212 pages in the latest edition plus backcover+ holiday booklet with ads. 93 pages of content- 7 of them have some ads on them. This includes the table of contents and the letters to the editors. 119 fullpage ads of some type- this includes the sourcing page because it is really filled with ads. In the postmodern world of no absolute truth surely nobody can argue that there are too many adds. Remember the fruitbowl manifesto? Cant see the forest for all of the trees. I am speaking of the editors. The content of the ads is important to note, especially if they make up 50 % of the magazine- Do the ads reflect the fruitbowl manifesto? The impression was given by dwell that one of the qualities of modern archoitechture was that it would be affordable by all. - they longer represent that in the magazine- 200$ a sq ft is not affordable- I guess we still have the metroshed we could live in. I originally bought dwell because it wasnt architectural digest or elle decor but if they insist on becoming just like them- why should I buy it? But then again I am no longer in their demographic or target market.

i agree that dwell has really thickened due to ads. i still like looking through a number of them, the architectural and home products. the H2? *not so much*. i can't rightfully figure out how a magazine that intends to prove that environmentally sound, modern architecture really can be made available to the masses can, in good conscience, advertise for a rich-man's tank which gets 8 miles a gallon. but i still renewed my subscription, as dwell is still the best modernist mag around IMHO. i just don't know how much longer i'm going to believe that. as to the editor's comments, i don't know who "some guy" is, but i don't automatically assume he's a liar. personally, i think that implication was pretty low-class. all these comments are showing me 2 things: first, that many dwell readers are noticing a trend in the mag that they do not like, that dwell is edging more and more towards selling out, and second, that the editors don't seem to care. that concerns me a great deal.

Just looking through this site again and was brought back to this discussion board. Again, can't get into everything here but wanted to drop a line to simply say that we (the editors) absolutely do care about what our readers have to say about the magazine and that all these comments and more are always taken into consideratiion. I hope we are not becoming fat and lazy! I certainly don't think we are. The battle we are always fighting is simply put, is it better to make no compromises and fold due to lack of funds or is it better to grow and learn to compromise without losing your voice? It is a question and conundrum we are constantly faced with. I don't think we've found the answer or perfected the balancing act that we seek to achieve daily, but we are constantly talking about it and discussing it. And from my end, if we can get people talking (like is happening here) then I think we are succeeding on some level - even if the talk is to criticize our work. I'm o.k. with criticism and actually appreciate well thought out critiques more than anything. So, with that said, thank you all for caring enough to post here and I hope that we can provide enough in the mag to keep you all reading. Anyhow, I'm also up for discussion so again, feel free to drop me a line at andrew@dwellmag.com and thanks again for thinking about what we're doing.

I have to say that these days i'm starting to put little emphasis on printed publications such as DWELL. The reason is the overabundance of online design sites such as LandLiving, Mocoloco, Joshspear, Cool Hunting, Designsponge and many many more. The wide array of design products and news is fantastic. Things that I come accross at any of these sites show up 6 months down the road in a printed publication which is quite sad. Looking at the latest 'Hot Products' section in DWELL was embarassing. It was a couple of uninspired chairs and a book which I had seen back in October on a few online sites. From what i've come accross these past few months online don't even compare. I'd have a serious talk with your editor that handles that arae and ask him if he actually likes design. I'd almost compare this trend to music downloading. Why bother with a tired medium when a universe of design is at my fingertips. DWELL's editor hoped they weren't becoming 'Fat+Lazy', which is true......they're actually becoming obsolete.

I used to work at a magazine. The 50% ad content is right on spot. Every page of advertising pays for a page of editorial. If its slightly over 50% (as someone suggested) that's pretty much average for successful magazines. Look at Vogue or any of the other big fashion magazines, do you think they have anything close to a balance between ads and eds? Nope, nowhere near it. So, if you want to complain about something, complain about content, not the advertising that pays for that content. (and no, the mag I worked for was not Dwell. LOL)

I am not against the type of ads that are in dwell, I am against the dwindling quality of the content (if it were ever considered good). I am also not averse to the lateness with which items are published-- that's the nature of the paper-media beast. I don't buy a magazine to be on the cutting edge, but to be visually stimulated at composition in a way that digital media doesn't stimulate the eyes. That said, I think dwell has lost its focus. I feel the same about Metropolitan Home! But I gave up on Metropolitan Home a long time ago. http://www.threelayercake.com/content/view/13/27/ I know where to go for the "eurodesigned" houses, and even though I have never considered dwell even in my top ten (for its weak content), I thought the idea was good and the largely American focus was good because I think there is good American design out there and it deserves its space. I know where to go (French, English, Italian, Australian, German periodicals, etc.) for the European furniture and accessories, but where do I go for American designers? It's not a question of "buying American" it's just a question of seeing what American designers produce, and for some reason, Southern Living and the like seem to be the best place to go to find what's going on in real America!!!! Even if those things aren't my style! Add to this that I just had the most charming experience with a dwell editor at a trade fair who was loud and rude and -shoved- me out of the way at the new designers counter to get Press materials, and that's all I need to never buy the magazine again, not to mention never watch any of its programming on TV! (I've actually only bought one copy in my life)

Dwell is a consumer magazine, and the purpose of consumer mags is to make you a little dissatisfied with your old stuff and to go buy new, cool stuff. That Dwell readers feel such a personal connection with the magazine and the editors is a testament to the tone of the magazine, but ultimately the editors are going to let their readers down. Wallpaper is a little more smug but has far more of a sense of "Wow, this is so cool!--you've got to see this" wonder about it (it's also far better written), while Dwell--and this tone comes straight from the editor's notes ever month--is more interested in keeping people out than drawing them in. Dwell's a club.

Just wanted to chime in again because, as I've stated before, I think this conversation is so helpful to us as we move along. There, of course, are a lot of comments I disagree with (that we don't cover American architecture and design - what about our "Modern Across America" issue that we do every year and that we've done from day one?!?!?, that Wallpaper's writing is better than ours - this one I totally disagree with but obviously everyone's entitled to their opinion, that we're exclusive - again, we are founded on the idea that we want to break down the barriers that have always existed between the profession and the public, etc.) all of your points are well taken and I just wanted to reiterate that these are the same types of discussions we have on a daily basis. The more we hear from you all, the more we have an idea of where we need to be going. So, by all means, keep the ideas coming and keep the thoughts (both good and bad) flowing. Thanks for thinking of us becasue, believe it or not, we're thinking of you...

Bringing the Funk sounds great to us. So how about we chat about this. Can you please contact us. Cheers, LL

Man, I was at AptTherapy and saw the link back here in the midst of their own private Dwell firestorm. I posted my frustrations here like almost a year ago. I still look at Dwell, though only at the doctor's office or in the bookstore, and only for something to look at. Rachel said that Dwell is a club. As much as I wish that was not the case, I cannot help but feel the magazine has in some ways become elitist... but only in an entirely artificial way.

indeed, i really doubt you'd find such vitriol down at the arch digest or wallpaper boards. but maybe that's because dwell was founded with such a groundbreaking message: to make modern architecture and design accessible to everyone. i think that's what mr. wagner is getting at with "breaking down barriers between the profession" (i.e. designers, architects) "and the public" (those who are moved by modern design and want to learn about it). they're trying to handle a growing circulation and subsequent market demands while keeping their populist vision. and that's a difficult balance, one that say, a free design website doesn't have to grapple with. IMHO, public discourse such as this can help alert them to the fact that they've strayed from their ideals. And they seem to be listening.

I was really glad to stumble across this thread. I, too, have hesitated to renew my subscription this time around (especially since Dwell is particularly bad about sending any renewal reminders - Consumer Reports has sent me six at last count). I went through a similar struggle with Wired, and I ultimately held my nose and sent them $10 so they can pretend they're actually reaching my demographic with products I like or can afford. My wife and I earn within the top 20% of income in the US. We can't afford a $200/sq ft prefab any more than the majority of the other posters with this axe to grind. However, I do appreciate the need for economies of scale; and I do wish the industry luck. Choice is really what I'm about, and I'd like to choose affordable modern architecture. Here in Austin, however, there's an entire set of subtopics that would be equally worthwhile for Dwell to cover. The one truly affordable KRDB project they covered is in East Austin, an area that is rapidly gentrifying against the wishes of the current, mostly lower-income residents. KRDB and other architects are currently collaborating on another affordable set of homes 6 miles east of downtown at Agave. The problem is that the modernists with kids have a NIMBY attitude about the surrounding properties, prison, water treatment facility, etc. (see this thread: http://livemodern.com/forums/geographic/austin/275780496565). I'd have to agree, too - I've been out there to look at the sites. A lot of the more modern new construction in the more central city area is on scattered infill lots (see http://www.metrohouseaustin.com/, for example), and the neighbors in their "affordable" bungalows are now spearheading a backlash movement against what they consider McMansions and non-characteristic architecture for their neighborhoods. My point is simply this. Being a modernist these days certainly entails bobbing around the issues of class and race that most Americans have difficulties with to begin with. My wife and I (and our 2 year-old) would love to be able to afford a nice new modern prefab away from the 'burbs. We'd love to inhabit most of the properties that Dwell shows on its pages. We love that Dwell occasionally dips into the issues of sustainability and green architecture and materials. But there are bigger and meatier issues that modernists have to contend with to realize their visions besides cranky or unreliable contractors and flighty architects. I don't know if these discussions would take Dwell too far into the realm of urban planning for its readership, but it certainly would make for more meaningful reading. As for the advertising content - well when it gets as bad as Wired has become I'll probably drop the subscription or let Dwell pay me to subscribe. At least they're not as bad as most of the computer mags were during the dot.com bubble days.... dm

I knew Dwell was evolving into something I didn't like when a company called "Luxe Pillows" started advertising its genuine, luxurious animal fur (fox, mink etc.) products in Dwell's pages.

Our Dwell sub is going to lapse soon. For good. Having slicked itself into fat new life as an upper class advertising boutique, it no longer speaks to us except haughtily. While there are still token gestures to the original broad social aims of modernism, they're crowded by the fawning over rich people's homes. And the ads... Hummers, in a magazine that preaches sustainability? So much for the modernism of the gentry!

Where does the old Dwell spirit live today? Online or in print? I wish it were Readymade, but sorry - too much kitschy kindergarten crafts for me. Recommendations for books of modernist diy interior design projects also most welcome...

dwell=metro home. no difference. it sucks now since innovation is gone and its all ads. i get more usefull info from fine homebuilding.

oy, I was in a hurry and never bothered to check. peace!

No, I'm definitely disappointed with Dwell, Steven. I can't imagine why you would assume that people who eschew excess do so based soley upon a lack of means. Dwell's reader demographics evidently now include people who would at least consider buying a Hummer. While plenty of people who have become disenchanted with Dwell could buy Hummers, few would because they're hideous, wasteful behemoths for insecure poseurs who, sadly, outnumber the rest of us. Dwell's certainly entitled to grow their brand as they see fit, but for me the magazine is unappealing and purchasing a Dwell-branded home is absolutely out of the question.

To each his own, and for those of us disappointed with the way Dwell has morphed, why can't we vent? Don't pretend to give us a lecture on business, we all understand why it happenend, just let us mourn what it was and what it isn't now.

UNCLE! ok ok ok...i give! After reading your comments/jousting a bit about business I was paging thru the lastest Dwell I realized their current months theme "Thinking Small" is precisely what they are doing w/ their customer base! LOL Do they sell alot of magazines to people that live on lots that are 12 feet wide? or 400 sq feet? I hardly believe that is their target audience. Those micro homes deserve a paragraph in passing and no more. This issue was way overboard on lack of any real content. The first article was page 100 or so of a magazine. There was no "how to" in the entire mag. Most of the homes profiled are architects' homes. Not really relavant to the millions that want modern in their regular lives. Thanks to your comments my eyes have opened a bit and Dwell is on probation! Where are the articles of the modern owner-builders? Where are the articles on the various forms of construction? ICF, concrete Sips, metal sips, post and beam, shotcrete sandwich, etc...I think there is a solid audience out there starving for this type of info. I don't feel betrayed or sold out but I do think if they keep up the current format they'll see a decline in circulation. Thanks for being patient w/ me everyone ;)

i purchase every copy of dwell...i will continue to do so. i would love to see a modern home built for $100/sq ft in the magazine, but until that happens(yeah,right) i'll be happy seeing what they offer. i for one am inspired buy the high-dollar gems. it makes me work harder at trying to design modern for less. i can find inspiration in anything, and dwell provides some of it....at least it's not the robb report.

I don't know about Wallpaper but I can give you some clues as to why Dwell’s writing is poor. Case 1: First of all your ethics aren’t logical. Your magazine plays lip service to “Green” building somehow oblivious to the fact that retail modernism is consumerist hell and represents what is wrong with this nation and its treatment of the environment and people. Anyone with any real environmental ethics wouldn’t and shouldn’t buy $30,000 kitchen cabinets shipped from Europe. What a waste of money and resources. Let’s stop pretending we care about the environment when we are just trying to fill that void with flashy products. Case 2: Rather than admitting that many different types of people enjoy modernism you try to paint a picture of what a modernist should be. You do this in your writing and in your pictures. Prerequisites for being a Dwell modernist: 30’s-40’s, some form of art related, college educated semi-hipster (even at semi, I use the term hipster broadly), drives European import car, buys clothes at banana republic, pays hipster lip service to ideas about the arts, design, ethics, politics, philosophy, etc. but has only a basic knowledge of any of it and would rather play elite than to have to actually think about anything. (This second case may seem incredibly mean spirited but is how I feel. My wife has never been able to read your rag because “The writers are so elitist and don’t really say anything”.) Case 3: When you do your product articles, the Dwell writer generally repeats what the expert writer says. How boring, Dwell can’t have an opinion separate from the experts? Next time you do one of these articles have the Dwell writer write their opinion without reading or commenting on the expert opinion so we can actually see some differentiation between the two, instead of... lip service. Also your briefs about new products don’t really say anything, why have words when you can just show us a picture of the chair and a link to the web site? Or you could write something interesting....nah... On the positive side I have noticed Dwell is trying to quote costs when they can. Since you have many readers who are still trying to reach “affordable” modernism maybe you should do articles focusing on low cost alternatives themselves. Low cost flooring alternatives, low cost window alternatives, you get the idea.

Ok, so I picked up the latest issue at a news stand (feeling a bit guilty on my letting my subscription lapse) and I noticed that it almost resembled my Surface and Wallpaper mags (sans fashion editorials and hip restaurant and shops reviews, yet) all the ads were identical, BTW. anyhow, I liked the idea of showcasing small spaces but some seem pretty unreal.... dunno, it seems that @ Dwell they either feature "micro-quirky" ala Mini or "behemoth" ala Escalade when it comes to housing... the truth is most of us are some where in the middle (think Camry) Oh, I konw, Camrys are DULL you say.. well, why not make them exciting? why can't dwellings larger than 600sq feet but smaller than 5,000 be sexy and hip? I happen to luv my 936sq ft bungalow, I just wish I could find magazines that can inspire me to do something with it that's in scale with it's size. Huge 10K Moroso sectionals are fab but 1) can't afford one and 2) if I get one, I wouldn't be able to squeeze anything else into my living/ding room... It's nice that @ Dwell they've reviewed 10 burner cook tops (next time I open a restaurant I know which one to buy) but in my tiny kitchen I got room for ony a few burners.... reviews of walk-in refrigerators and wine cellars are nice but, some of us don't live in a chateau (even if our homes are our castles!). I like the coolest/latest/best but let's face it, often times the best ISN'T the LARGEST or most EXPENSIVE. Oh, I konw, in America EVERYTHING is BIG, BIG, BIG 'casue then it's better, right? I still hope to find content that jives with my, sigh, middle class existance... I guess I'll keep leafing thru magazines until I find one that resonates with me like Dwell used to.... (I still have hope that I'll be pleasantly surprised to find a small budget, eco-friendly yet stylish renov. in your pages...)

slightly off topic but, I found this interesting article about modernism in general: http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1749824,00.html

I really appreciate the comments being made here. I just subscribed to dwell. It is not likely that my husband and I will ever buy most of the items in the magazine because of the limits of our average income coupled with our philosophies regarding where we are willing to put our average income. My husband and I are doing major work on the interior of our 1908 run-of-the-mill 1 and 1/2 story midwest home. We both love mid-century/modern. I read dwell because it inspires me to be brave and creative within the limits of our finances. The articles and many of the ads challenge my long-held notions of 'safe' design and decorating solutions . So, I read dwell to dream, then my husband and I funnel that dream through our finances. We are finding that what we come up with as a creative team is fun, innovative, and very satisfying. The comments I've read clearly indicate that we need a mag that addresses the average income person, a magazine that is able to publish budgets, a magazine that tells us that we can get the hanging sliding door hardware over at Ace in aisle three, how to make a city lot more green and sustainable, ways to break the habit of using that second car, how to test solar power on a city lot, etc. Average income is not a dwelling place of mediocrity. It really is another birthplace of creativity. Anybody out there up for publishing an online mag that posts submissions showing how avg inc persons duplicate high-end products, features, green, sustainability? (Or is ReadyMade already the answer to that question?) Meanwhile, I will keep in mind the comments I have read here when it comes time to renew my subscription to dwell.

Amen to that!

i love your idea for a "knock-off" diy site!!! im not the most tech savvy girl but i can modify and redesign like nobody's biz. is there anything like that online already? i blog diy info but ive not found anything catering to "make it on the cheap", with details and resources shared. does this interest anyone else out there??? as for DWELL...i would always find it in my mailbox after having the worst day, near tears, feeling failure and frustration, and there it would be, curled up, corners poking out, i couldnt get in the door fast enough! id drop everything on the floor, do the dwell happy-dance all the way to my bed. for 1 hour, nothing came between me and my dwell. i would to start from the back and turn every page, until i reached the front cover, then go back and read every tid-bit, including the quirky ads. tears would flow while reading letters to the editor from like-minded, crazed individuals. well, at least i have my memories and every single issue. hey lori, we could name the site "swell" !!!

You may find my forthcoming book, "The Perfect $100,000 House" to your taste. It's published by Viking and will be out somewhere between August 17th (if you believe Amazon) and the 21st (if you believe the publisher's website). It's the story of a 14,000-plus mile road trip I took in 2003 meeting with architects, developers and builders, in search of the holy grail, the great, cheap house. It's kind of a compendium of much of what I learned editing Dwell for it's first few years of existence. Ask for it at your favorite independent bookseller. Also, the LA Times home section ran a feature on it today: http://tinyurl.com/g3jx7 (latimes.com) My own website, www.karriejacobs.com, should be up by mid August. I'm planning, among other things, to make it a resource for people interested in great, low cost modern housing. Cheers.

well, since it looks like many people in our country have very provincial views (architecturally, geo-politically, etc.) maybe Dwell can change its tag line to "At Home in the Provincial World". then, you don't have to worry about post-modernism... the dicussion then becomes about people who are open to new ideas vs. the ones that seek comfort in conforming to the norm.

Dwell really is just the home section of wallpaper nowadays. There really is a need for people to push for good design at more reasonable prices and it would be better if they just took companies like Muji, Target and CB2 for advertisers rather than Knoll and Vitra. I would love to see a focus on inexpensive modern design that is environmentally responsible and sustainable. Feature young designers who are up-and-comers but have stuff available now. Do fix-up articles "Queer Eye" style but with a bit more mod of an outcome. Karl- there are plenty of high end magazines, there are plenty of "low-brow" magazines, there is no low-end high-brow magazine out there right now.

As aan architect and charter subscriber to DWELL I always felt it provided the real-life alternative to other architecture magazines....unfortunately thatreal-life portion of the magazine is largely gone........the projects and budgets of much that is featured is way beyond the reach of most....($250,00 construction cost for "affordable prefab??!!) there is little for those interested in learning to do modernism on ther own and worse yet...the resources area does not provide the reader with the information to build their design solutions..........even with these shortfalls it still remains better than most...that is why DWELL will never go back.

i find the literature appalling.

i stumbled across a magazine called innovative home when i was at barnes and noble the other day. i picked up the winter 2006 issue and it has intellegent content without being too heady and explanations of projects without being snobby. plus the green overtone is nice as well.

Since we live in a consumption-driven society and, the advertising brings in much needed revenue to the magazine, I think the adverts will win out in the end and Dwell will drop all mentions of "green/renewable/affordable" from it's pages and become a magazine dedicated to modern, luxe exclusivity. Let's face it, we Americans are obsessed with being rich/living rich and aren't content, like previous generations, with just being middle-class and living with "less". Being in the middle means that, most likely, you live within your means and wont be buying extravagant, luxury gadgets, furniture, lamps, cars, whatever. It also means that you are content with not having all the latest and greatest new "it" must-haves since you realize that you can't afford them. But, if you were content with what you have, then you probably wont be going out to buy crap you don't need simply because "everyone else is doing so" (like a 50" plasma TV for 4K to watch endless commercials in HD). Here's the rub, our economy depends on us to go out and consume incessantly and magazines and adverts create a fictional need to spur our spending sprees. All the adverts around us sell us this ILLUSION that we CAN have it all and live like we're rich even if we can't really afford any of it. (Yes, just rack up debt to keep up with the people next door!) Dwell, like most magazines is selling an illusion. I guess the issue is that they're changing the illusion they are trying to sell. We used to connect to their illusion because it seemed more obtainable and, yes, a wee bit crunchy. Now, that illusion, glossy and beautiful as it is, is just too damn $$$$ for a middle class existence.

Hello everyone, the Dwell offices are closed today, but mentally, I'm back at work. I wanted to add an update here since it's been a few months since you've heard from Dwell staff. I am one of three people on the edit staff to have started at the magazine as an intern-- the epitome of scrappy, budget-concious, design-hungry, DIY, idealists (there is a stipend for interns, but no salary). I think I can speak for my two co-workers, and say that having started at the bottom of the food-chain has given all of us an interesting perspective. As an intern, you are, equal-parts Dwell employee and equal parts average reader-- enhanced by the fact that you are in constant contact with readers, but essentially a pro-bono, part-time employee, not "staff"-- very much an outsider. Believe me, the pangs of desire for Eames chairs, literally in-your-face every day are understood. I am going to suggest a one-off article on how to make your own versions of design classics-- thanks to the reader above. But back to the point: starting from the bizarre liminal position of intern has been utterly invaluable to me and my other two co-workers. I am grateful and excited to be a bona fide member of the team, but I don't take my position lightly, and feel that the magazine's future WILL be decided by our readers, not our advertisers. As you may have noticed through newsbites, there has been considerable flux in the creative team in the past year. We are starting 2007 in a new office (bye bye bad juju), that is an open, collaborative space that we have already seen stimulate better communication and creativity. Our new editor-in-chief, Sam Grawe, was the magazine's first editorial assistant under Karrie Jacobs, and in that way, shares a similar bottom-up perspective (see his editor's note in our up-coming March issue). Although Andrew Wagner is now in New York as editor-in-chief of American Craft, he was a mentor to many of us, and had a great humanity-- a spirit we will continue to foster. Along those lines: I hope you have received your February issue on Craft. It was a somewhat risky venture for us on several levels (and superficially, I'm sure you will see that in the cover image), but it seemed an important niche to explore. In addition, it followed its new year's resolution to lose some weight. I too, look at my book shelf and stare longingly at the early issues, whose profiles look like records. An imbalance with advertising, I would personally venture, is perhaps our biggest struggle, although if you break it down into edit:ad ratio, we are in the top of the shelter market (but perhaps our competitors do not set the best example). However, more important are gripes about content. I am happy to report that we are initiating a rentals feature this spring that profiles the ways in which people have customized/modernized their apartments/homes while living under a landlord. There will be a submit link on our website soon. Also on the web: We finally have our own community, hosted on our site, as well as a dedicated on-line editor, Christina Amini. As alluded to: The staff is very different than it was a year ago, although many important lynch pins are still with us, there is a definite feeling of a changing-of-the-guard. I would like to promise that this will be a new, and exciting era (not just a return to the old, for that is impossible), but leave time to tell. As always, feel free to contact me personally. I, as well as Amber Bravo, and our publisher, Michela O'Connor Abrams, also review and respond to all emails sent to letters@dwell.com, ideally within a week's time. I understand people's personal reasons for not renewing, however, I would like to gently say that constructive criticism is the best criticism (even if you're canceling)-- send us your ideas or specific projects you'd like to see in print, and never forget the nice modernists! You may submit those nominations to me directly. Cheers, Chelsea chelsea@dwell.com Join us on the new Dwell Connect: We need passionate people like you guys to bring it to life: <http://dwell.leveragesoftware.com/>

Congrats on the promotion, Chelsea. Kudos for posting your thoughts, and for the excellent Freudian slip -- but I hope editing actual copy isn't part of your new job!

The magazine Dwell has evolved. If their mission statement, if they have one, stated what the person ranted about and the magazine changed then I understand his concern. But if the magazine is still true to their mission statement then I kindly suggest that the person who complain form a magazine of his own that is strickly the things that Dwell use to be. Tell us and I'll buy it. Most likely I'll by his magazine and Dwell; depending whether I like the issue or not. :)

I just stumbled on this page and read a few comments. I subscribed to Dwell in 2003 (I think) and stopped a year ago. As the magazine got thicker and thicker with ads (kind of like a Vanity Fair mag), the quality of the content went down the drain. I collected the magazines, but once the issues became half the size of a phone book, it didn't make sense to keep 300 pages of ads for the maybe 10 to 15 pages of ok content. I have to say that I don't miss Dwell that much. Whant I hope to find one day is a magazine that covers affordable modern design, and DIY ideas. I am now subscribing to "Fine Homebuilding," which is 1/3 the thickness of Dwell and has tons more useable content. Of course it's not an all modern(ist) mag, but you'd be surprised how much good design you can find in it. I recently also stumbled on the "Modernist" magazine. I only read one issue so far. It's probably not geared towards affordable modernism, but at least it seems to have useful content and much fewer ads. I sent an email to the Dwell folks explaining why I cancelled the subscription. Of course, nobody responded, not even with a form letter. I'll read more comments later.

Interesting choice of Geoff Manaugh of BLGBLOG as a new senior editor: http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/movement.html

The idea was to use design to create great looking furniture, architecture, lighting, etc. that was affordable. Back in the day money was extremely tight, as is for myself. Architects switched to furniture design. They needed and wanted to design affordable things that looked good. They used inexpensive materials in new ways. Now the design has become an expenive fashion statement. It's still good design, but extremely expensive and the idea has faded away. Take a good look at House Beautiful these days. Dwell has become one of those where I feel like I want to see it before I buy it. It is still probably one of the better ones out there.

re: "It is worse than that Posted by Toomuchremodelin" Archigram only ran for a few issues and had very little in the way of written content but is now legendary. remember the old saw about Quality versus Quantity?

I picked up my first copy a few months ago, and being a modern-housewares aficionado, I was hooked. The mag appeared to support minimalism and displayed furniture and accessories with strong design qualities. I would certainly like to see more hand-made, studio-type furniture.. however I being rather familiar with the periodical industry it is apparent to me that satisfied advertisers are so very crucial to every magazine's survival. Lost their way? No I would say they're right on track, following in the path of every other magazine that caters to a high-brow yuppie audience.

. . . with the notion that Dwell is going downhill. I've been subscribing since it debuted; I liked that it detailed modern life in a way that I could relate to. Whereas it used to feel like a design magazine written for fans of modern design, it now feels like a design magazine written for elitists and other designers only. I used to take an hour or so to read it, and I now go through it in less than 10 minutes. It is out of touch. I just cancelled my subscription.

I agree that Dwell has taken on a more elitist approach in the past couple of years, but really the magazine always had a pretentious tone. I recall reading letters to the editor which were published along with very condescending editor responses. The "road trips" that discovered modernism in "unexpected" (read: non-coastal) locations always had an undercurrent of superiority as if finding Saarinen buildings in Michigan was like discovering life on Mars. All and all a very San Francisco perspective (speaking as a former resident).

They are getting a little predictable with all the green stuff - this is similar to what they did for several years with pre-fab. I keep seeing Dwell in the airport mag racks - I swear I will not buy it - then I do and as usual - I am disappointed with content and all the ads.

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