
Home and architecture magazines
For the architects, interior designers and anyone who loves creating special spaces in their home, Trove has a wealth of inspiration waiting to be discovered.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the architecture and home design magazines available to flip-through in Trove.
The Australian Home Beautiful
Home Beautiful is Australia’s oldest home-related magazine still in print.
The magazine was first launched in 1923 under the title, Australian Home Builder and was rebranded two years later as The Australian Home Beautiful: a journal for the home builder.
The November 1925 edition outlines the magazine’s mission:
‘A magazine devoted to house design, planning and construction, decoration furnishing, garden and home management.’
There are 27 issues of the Australian Home Builder and 325 issues of The Australian Home Beautiful available to view in Trove.
Real Property Annual
Before The Australian Home Builder came Real Property Annual.
Published annually between 1912 and 1921, Real Property Annual was a Melbourne based publication that shared information on Melbourne’s property market. As the opening article in the first edition describes:
‘The Real Property Annual is intended to supply in concrete form a reflex of the most important transactions in the realty market, and to be a guide to home makers in the selection of sites and in turning them to the best account.’
Read all 10 editions of Real Property Annual in Trove.
Architecture and Arts
The 1950s were an exciting time for architecture, with a post-war boom in home building and Mid-Century design reaching a peak.
A letter to editor, published in the journal’s 8th edition, sung praises for the impact the publication was having on the industry:
‘I am sure “Archiecture and Arts” providing it continues to be produced with imagination, will be responsible for improving Australian building.’
The same edition credits renowned Australian photographer Max Dupain as a contributor.
Published by the Victorian Architectural Students' Society, 10 editions of Architecture and Arts from 1954 can be viewed and text corrected in Trove.
In 1955, the publication was renamed to Architecture and Arts and the MODERN HOME. The first of these renamed editions provides some context around the name change:
‘The home itself is still the greatest challenge to Australian architects, designers and builders, and more than anything else, reveals the living standards and tastes of the people... this magazine will continue to feature the best contemporary houses build in Australia to-day.
These pages will continue to service as a cultural forum for the exchange of the ideas of the best architects, engineers, designers and artists in the Australian community.’
The Homebuilders Book and Home Builders Annual
First published in 1937 as The Homebuilders Book, Penrod Press’ publications stand out amongst similar publications of the time for the extensive number of architectural drawings and plans found in each issue.
Between 1938 and 1950, the publication was released annually, as The Home Builders Annual. At the height of the post war boom, in 1949, the Brisbane-based publisher released three separate issues for Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
The 1950 issue was released as The Home Builder Annual. This issue even included a detailed guide on how to build your own home.
In 1946 and 1947, Penrod Press also published two editions of The Homemaker’s Book of Plans: with new and original ideas for your home. These books contain page after page of designs for a new Post-War home. The 1947 edition explains the need for practical and inexpensive housing in the Post-War era:
‘Rather has it been the object of the publishers of this Book of Plans to provide the prospective homebuilder with a choice of plans enabling the erection of a comfortable dwelling at reasonable cost and yet including the desirable amenities of modern living.’
The Home
Published between 1920 and 1942, The Home: an Australian quarterly was concerned with setting an Australian standard of good taste in the home at a time when similar publications available in Australia were imported from England or America.
‘In subject matter, it will adopt a standard of its own living solely for Australian needs and omitting everything which, by reason of distance or circumstance, is not of immediate and practical interest in Australia.’
The introductory article in its first edition describes the scope of the magazine, which included domestic architecture, interior decorating, and gardens – not ‘in its utilitarian aspect, but from the standpoint of the social and the picturesque.’
‘The first essential of a home is a house, and domestic architecture will take its due position touching whatever seems most modern or most informative in every kind of dwelling, large and small, temporary and permanent, urban and otherwise.’
The magazine also focused on fashion and ‘all the arts which subserve the art of living,’ which included ‘the most interesting books and current movements in the world of painting and music.’
Browse the 229 issues of The Home available in Trove.
Building
Published monthly between 1907 and 1942, Building: the magazine for the architect, builder, property owner and merchant was an industry-focused magazine 'published in the interests of Architects, Builders, Craftsmen, and Property Owners.’
The magazine was founded by husband-and-wife George Augustine Taylor and Florence Mary Taylor. George was the magazine’s first editor, and – in a progressive move for the time – Florence was a regular columnist, often writing on women in architecture. For example, in 1914 Florence wrote about ‘three women of merit’, drawing on the long relationship between architecture and art. She emphasises their skill as she writes about the great Marion Mahony Griffin:
‘And in this art of architectural delineation, Marion Griffin has proved to be one of the most distinguished in the world.’
In his introduction for the first issue, George introduces the magazine’s purpose and positions it as a place for industry co-operation:
‘Herein, then, is a powerful force that is the stronger for co-operation.'
A 35-year history of Building magazine was published in the September 1942 issue. From October 1942, the magazine was renamed to Building and Engineering, ‘to embrace the science of Engineering with the Art of Architecture’.
There are 429 issues of Building and 113 issues of Building and Engineering available to read in Trove.
Decoration and Glass
For a magazine with a stronger focus on interior design and decoration, browse 130 issues of Decoration and Glass. This magazine was published monthly ‘for the interest of home builders, decorators, architects, and all in search of new ideas for the home.’
The magazine appeared at a time when more Australians were able buy a home and there was growing individual wealth following the Great Depression. As the opening article of the first edition describes:
‘The art of decoration is one that has had more influence on our lives in the past twenty years than any other, because it is so persistently brought before us in every sphere of our existence.
Our home and gardens, offices and places of amusement, stores and cities, have all been undergoing the same process of evolution that is rapidly forming the years in which we live into a period of decorative and artistic joy.’
Architecture
Architecture: an Australasian Review of Architecture and the Allied Arts and Sciences was the official journal of the Institutes of Architects in the States of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia, and West Australia. Among the many reasons stated as the journal’s purpose, was to ‘foster the development of a distinctive Australian National style of Archiecture.’
The journal was published between 1917 and 1955. There are 361 issues of Architecture available to read in Trove.
History of your home
Trove can be a great starting point when researching the history of your home or local heritage. To get started, discover our guides to researching the history of your home with Trove, early architectural styles in Australia and popular 20th century house designs.
Learn how to search and browse more magazines in Trove.