Reviews For Country Living Magazine


Budget Decorating? Not here!

As a poor military man's wife, I first discovered Country Living in the 80's. Looking at the pictures made me dream of the day when I'd be rich. Ha Ha, that day STILL isn't here! However, I can decorate my home as well as any wealthy society maven, thanks to Country Living.

Country Living was one of the first magazines to exemplify "cottage style" and to raise "eclectic" decorating to an art-form. This magazine brings you photos of homes that have been decorated with natural materials and with cast-off items from others. Of course, many of their contributors seem to have more money than sense. For example, one couple that was featured several years ago paid over a million dollars for a BARN! then proceeded to gut and renovate it into a living space. The finished product was stunning, to say the least, but, I always felt that they could have bought the falling down building much more cheaply and made it look just as gorgeous.

There are wonderful recipes in every issue. I first tried cooking asian food from Lucy Wing's recipes, and they are wonderful. Not only do CL's recipes give you the ingredients and the directions, many times they point out unlikely sources for finding ingredients cheaper. When Angel Hair pasta was a "new" product for most American's, Lucy pointed out that every Chinatown has tons of it for little or nothing. CL's recipes also often include substitutions that make the recipe more economical to make and variations that will bring a new taste closer to the American norm.

I first read of several new food trends in CL's recipe section: pierogies, knoshes, spaetzle. Can you tell that I'm from the deep south, where Country Fried Steak and mashed taters rule?

CL includes a set of house plans to order in every issue. Many times, they build the "House of the Year", then offer a pictorial tour through the fully-decorated home. These house tours are wonderful, especially for me since I have a hard time visualizing what a house will look like from a drawing. Each sample house is decorated in a warm and inviting way, and CL strives hard to show everyday life, rather than the model home builder's dreams.

Using the real owners, their children and their pets in the magazine also gives readers a view of what actual day to day life is like in the homes we drool over! It's much easier to understand that the people depicted by the articles are real, and it's easier to understand the sacrifices they make in order to have nicer homes.

Overall, CL is my favorite magazine, and it has spawned countless other decorating and "country" publications. If you are really interested in a good, high-quality magazine, I recommend Country Living!


Recommended:
Yes

Absolutely Excellent!

Country Living magazine is the magazine that I look forward to receiving most each month. Both my husband and I are avid fans. The quality of the articles is unsurpassed. The spreads on the featured homes are excellent, with lots of large, detailed photos and always a quality article on the owners and the background of the homes. They have excellent articles on collectibles, and their own little version of the 'Antiques Roadshow' in the "What is it? What is it Worth" article. The pages they dedicate to recipes will have your mouth watering and pen and paper ready for scribbling down your shopping list. And for those of you looking for some daytripping ideas or for journeys further afield, each month has the 'Country Calendar', which lists prominent festivals and events for all 50 states and Canada.

If you are looking for information on antiques, gardening ideas, a mouth watering menu or especially excellent decorative ideas for your own home (whether you live on a rural route or just wish you did), you need look no further than Country Living Magazine. This is a quality product which you will find yourself reading from cover to cover.


Recommended:
Yes

Shows why my heart is in the country!

This is just a dreamy, feel-good kind of magazine. Even if I were not firmly entrenched in the country, this magazine could convince that I should be! The pictures are gorgeous and make you want to pack up your picnic basket and head out for a lovely afternoon in the beautiful countryside. The articles speak to the soul of the antiques collector, outdoors enthusiast or simply the person who desires a taste of the simple luxuries of country living. This magazine will not disappoint. I subscribe to so many publications, and this is always a pleasure to see in the mail box each month.

Recent issues have had features on searching for flea market and yard sale treasures, and how can true country style be complete without various quirky happenstance finds placed here and there to add charm and personality to a home? The gardening articles are also inspiring and of particular interest to those who love a cottage garden effect. You will also find features on country antique collectibles such as ironstone, creamware, chintzware, and the list goes on. This is not country as in merely "hearts and cows"! It is more of a sophisticated country, if that makes sense!


Recommended:
Yes

Wow

The first time I got this magazine, all I could think was "Wow". The antiques, the beautifully decorated homes, the yummy recipes, they just captivated me. Unfortunately for me, this is like reading country fiction, rather than country living. I'll never find myself reclining in one of these homes, but I can dream, right?

From the gardening articles that make even this plant killer dream of planting a garden bursting with ripe tomatoes and sweet smelling flowers, to the visits of homes belonging to ordinary people that make me think that maybe *someday* I might have a place like that all to myself, this is a magazine I never throw away. I must have 12 of them piled up in the corner, and when it's rainy outside or I'm in need of cheering up, I pick up one of the well read copies and thumb through it again.

Even if you are like me, stuck in an apartment in the middle of a never quiet city, you can still take a few moments with a magazine like this to kick back and pretend that the cars and noise aren't there any more, and that the concrete outside your doorway is now rolling fields of green interlaced with showy flowers, and that the smell of the exhaust has been replaced by the wafting aroma of fresh baked cherry almond muffins.


Recommended:
Yes

my favorite magazine of all

I love magazines, and usually manage to get my hands on at least a dozen--sometimes twice that!--a month, of all kinds--home decorating (we're building a house, so this is a topic of particular interest), family, women's interest... But I can't think of one magazine that makes me as downright HAPPY to read as Country Living. I think another reviewer was also saying this: it's not country in any campy, tacky, deliberate way. Neither is it pretentious, or prohibitively sophisticated and upscale ; it's an approachable magazine, even simple, in a way. The suggestions are simultaneously down-to-earth, aesthetically pleasing, fun. I feel so good--inspired--when I've finished reading this. This magazine is just a joy. If you're building (or remodeling, or just continually working on) a house, and sleek and modern isn't what you're aiming for , you might really enjoy this magazine. (I don't know that I'll be able to give it up even when our house is finished--I seriously doubt it!)


Recommended:
Yes

Antiques at their best!

This is the most wonderful magazine for people who love homes and antiques. We review this mazazine monthly - page by page - where we garner many interesting facts and facets of lovely homes. The layout of the pages plus the features are beyond belief. We also have ordered interesting items from Country Living. When you compare Country Living to other home magazines (we take others - namely Country Home), we always say there is none that compare. The first thing that we read in this monthly is the feature: What is it? What is it worth? It pictures items and tells the reader/owners what to insure items for - we have found an item or two that we also own - thus we have gained valuable information. The cooking section is varied and interesting. In our opinion, Country Living is tops in this category - followed by Country Home.


Recommended:
Yes

Country Living is one of the best decorating magazines!

Country Living is one of my favorite magazines! It is the best decorating magazine in the field, in my opinion! The articles are great, the pictures are fabulous.....everything about it is good...except, I personally don't care for gardening, so I don't like those articles. To each his own, I guess! Or, to each her own! ;) Anyway...I think this magazine is a great resource for anyone interested in decorating, and gardening! I especially love the antiques column...I've always adored antiques. I also love the letters from subscribers, and the articles about living in the country w/ children! I think Country Living is just a wonderful magazine for anyone remotely interested in decorating, antiques, gardening, cooking, & country life!


Recommended:
Yes

My Inspiration

Country Living has been an inspiration for me since it's first issue. I wasn't always able to buy one, but always picked it up in the store to look at it. I was the one who introduced my baby sister to her first Country Living
Magazine. I even advertised in the newspaper for the older
issues. I was able to get some, and gave them to my sister
for Christmas. I have a list of the issues that my sister needs, and my own list. Whenever I'm at the flea market or a yard sale and I see Country Living Magazines ,I get real excited.
My favorite Country Living is the Christmas issue. They always seem to have good articles and pictures that show a variety of ways to decorate from informal to formal. There is always an article that shows a collection of things usually associated with winter , and Christmas. I remember
the sleds,snowmen, and lets not forget all the beautiful trees.
I've always been partial to Christmas but each month of Country Living has many beautiful photos and articles pertaining to the season at the time. Some of the photos may be unrealistic to you but a reality for others, and some may be more for you. The magazine has a good variety of ideas to get all imaginations working.
I feel that Country Living has grown old gracefully. They have made changes with the times. I especially like the last page of "Simple Country Pleasures." It is hard to please everyone as we all know from our own lives, but Country Living has come about as close as I see possible.

Recommended:
Yes

Updated and Fresh

This is a magazine that changes with age, yet still keeps age old traditions alive. I love it. If you like charm and updated old world ideas, don't hesitate to grab this one off the shelf! I've lived on a farmette for all of my life, and I can't tell you how many useful ideas my family and I have ripped from the pages of this magazine. I used a bamboo pole bean trellis I saw in here last year and it adds so much charm to my garden!
I keep a lot of old copies just to use the ideas for years to come. I love it!!!


Recommended:
Yes

I was "Country Living" when Country Wasn't Cool!

Yes, I was reading Country Living when country wasn't cool. Friends were decorating with Victorian lace, tussie mussies and ruffles while I stuck to my country crocks and red checked gingham.

Like all classics, Country Living has never gone out of style. It still inspires me to get back to the basics. With every issue I feel the urge to grab a tall glass of fresh squeezed lemonade and head out to the front porch to spend the afternoon languishing in a white (cracked & peeling paint, of course) adirondack and contemplate the size of my hollyhocks.

I may never grow that "Fragrant Field of Bluebells" or "Build a Brick Terrace" but a country girl can dream.


Recommended:
Yes

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