| Product: |
Ideal Home |
| Date: |
03/11/07 (330 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: see review
I don’t have many vices but can’t resist buying home magazines. I have been buying Ideal home magazine for as long as I can remember and still get pleasure from opening the cellophane wrapper and turning the first page of this magazine. Well I don’t get out much these days!
Ideal home magazine is published by IPC media, a huge company who also publish several other magazines including homes and garden and country life. Ideal home magazine is published every month and 1 month in advance. It is widely available from supermarkets and other retailers selling magazines. It retails at £3.10 in the shops but if you read Ideal home regularly it pays to take out an advance subscription. For example in this months December issue 6 months subscription is being offered at £11.99 as opposed to £0.50, a saving of 41%. Some loyalty schemes also allow you to exchange your points for magazine subscriptions too.
What’s inside?
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Ideal home comes in a cellophane bag, often with several other catalogues. This month there was a Cotswold company catalogue in addition to several other flyers. Most of these go straight into the recycling bin!
The magazine is, as the name suggests a home magazine containing lots of ideals to inspire you to create the ideal home. There are over 200 pages of articles, shopping recommendations, decorating ideas in addition to numerous adverts!
This months issue features 6 real homes and tells you about how they have been transformed by their owners. The article has lots of pictures of their rooms and tells you how they achieved the look and where to buy the items featured. This month 6 homes are featured. I enjoy reading this section and have found some of the ideas inspirational. I like reading what was paid for each home and how much it is valued at today.
There is also an article showing homes abroad. This provides me with a much-needed dose of escapism!
Another regular article is the best buy section. This month there are 18 pages of best Christmas buys to inspire you. I’m not sure I will be buying a hand-decorated bauble for £12 however! Staying with the shopping theme each month a selection of top of the range products are shown alongside a very similar cheaper version. The article tells you where to buy both versions. I find this useful and in the summer purchased a steamer chair from Tesco after seeing it featured in Ideal home.
There is a best buy section, again useful to have. This month sideboards and T.V recorders are featured.
This month there are 19 pages devoted to kitchens and bathrooms. There are lots of ideas about how to plan your room plus style ideas and where to buy the items featured.
As you would expect from a Christmas issue there is an article telling you how to prepare for Christams, as if you needed telling! I found the list of web sites selling unusual gifts useful. Each month there are recipes featured. Again this month all the recipes are based around the festive period. There is a yummy sounding recipe for orange and cinnamon butter that I fancy trying.
There are often free gifts and vouchers giving money off various products for the home. This month there was a pack of Christmas baubles, not that wonderful but they were free! I was more impressed with the voucher to claim a free set of Christmas baubles from Marks and Spencer!
The verdict
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I think Ideal home is one of the best home magazines on the market. It is great to read casually with a cup of coffee or to take your time reading some of the more in depth articles. I have found lots of useful decorating ideas and keep back issues for when I need inspiration. I like the layout of the magazine and the numerous glossy photos. The layout makes it easy to simply flick through the magazine when you haven’t the time or inclination to read a full article.
On the negative side I do think there are far to many adverts. This months copy has over 50 pages of adverts, some of them double page spreads! In a magazine of just over 200 pages that’s a large proportion!
I will definitely be renewing my subscription to Ideal home when the time comes!
Summary: A popular home magazine
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