Goodbye House & Garden

House & Garden magazine very swiftly announced its closing, just as its December issue (its last) reached stands. This magazine was always my favorite, even before we began building our home. There was something so comforting about it as we began to build our life, since it was really about that, a well-lived life, as the tag line read, and they never disappointed. Thoughtful and beautiful, it will be sorely missed by me and scores of others. Even my husband (no H & G fan himself) called me from a business trip when he heard the news, wanting to be the one to break it. What will be missed all really came from the deft hand of the editor, Dominique Browning, whose letters themselves were a pleasure to read each month. Below an excerpt from her final one, published online at houseandgarden.com.

What she describes here is exactly the reason I've been working so hard on our new home, to make every tiny detail something that is much larger than the sum of its parts. This home is supposed to feel enveloping and faithful, like it has been there forever, steadfast, and ready to hold our hands as we pass through a series of unpredictable milestones ... (even if I planned it that way...)

Thank You, and Farewell

“Houses and gardens have inspired wonderful writing and thinking for many, many years—centuries, really. And the reason is that the most important things happen at home, and home shapes us as we head out into the world, to engage with the issues of the day, and we bring all those concerns home with us again. Our magazine showed beautiful rooms, perfect in their design, and what I wanted to talk about was how things aren't always perfect in those rooms—we make messes, and we ponder how to fix them, and we wish and hope that we can make homes in which we can let in only the good, and keep the bad out.”