Five to follow
Favorite spots on the internet for all things house related. (Ok, it might be more than five.)
In the 2000s, in the early years of the explosion of internet content, I found myself in a world awash in food and design blogs. I spent my time clicking around my favorites: Design Sponge (RIP), Apartment Therapy… I was even obsessed with Brownstoner, which is mostly about real estate in Brooklyn. A place I have never lived. What can I say? I have always loved a good house tour.
The internet landscape has changed, of course, with much of that content now on Instagram and Substack. In no particular order, here are a few of my favorite design, architecture, history and artifact related places on the internet.
Curbed - this NY Mag site just brings so much heat on Instagram. I love scrolling through their carousels of decrepit townhouses that hide rooms filled with books and art. Real estate for “well-off creative types” with “really deep pockets and a lot of time on their hands.” Swoon. A girl can look!
Circa Houses - basically an instagram account to market historic houses. And I love all of them.
Cup of Jo House Tours - can’t get enough of a Cup of Jo House Tour. I love love love them. Some of my all-time favorites have been photographed by one of our featured photographers, Lyndsay. Maybe it’s because most of these houses are in New England or it's the creative people who own them? Lots of inspiration and real life here.
J. Courtney Sullivan House Tour - dreamy library and wonderful details
Homerun Ballerina House Tour - the colors! The creativity!
Catherine Newman House Tour - one of the most popular on the site. I think it’s because of the sense of realness, humor, and the presence of the laundry chair.
Just leaving this one here, because I can’t resist — I love the colors in this Swedish home.
Abbey Goes Design Scouting - Here’s a fun, related twist: I “found” Abbey via a Cup of Jo House Tour photographed by Lyndsay. (You can see it here.) I am now a subscriber to her weekly substack newsletter, which brings me a ton of joy each Sunday morning. More about objects that bring joy than anything else. I just adore it.
Abbey is an expert in objects and artifacts - and so is The Heirloomist. I love Shana’s work with recording personal family heirlooms as pieces of art. The Heirloomist definitely serves as inspiration for what we are doing with Housecraft Books.
I follow so many creative people on instagram, but right now I really love what Katy Elliot is doing with her feed. She’s digging deep into her coastal New England town of Marblehead and sharing all sorts of things that make me want to explore the North Shore.
The Downeast Dilettante posts wonderful Maine house content, while Richard’s House Plans Galore is just that: houseplans galore. Seriously though, I really love a good floor plan/architectural drawing.
I also like to check out the architectural adventures of the Streetscape Curator here in Boston. Matthew Dickey, formerly of the Boston Preservation Alliance (like me!), spends his time exploring, photographing, and researching some of the most interesting buildings in Boston and beyond. Can’t wait to see what he gets up to next.
