Our Top 5 Home Improvement Magazines

Every homeowner wants to be able to repair, maintain, enhance, and decorate the house without having to call a professional over. Contractors can be expensive and difficult to work with. Why not just do it yourself?

A good starting point is a home improvement magazine. They offer creative inspiration and a sense of perspective, along with practical advice for DIY projects. Of course, not all magazines are created equal.

You see, magazines make money in two ways. First, they charge a subscription fee from their readers. Second, they get paid by advertisers.

Some magazines are harder to read than others simply due to the insane number of ads. With sponsored ads on almost every page, and few meaningful articles left in-between the ads, it can really start to dampen your creative flow as the reader, and prevents you from getting the value for your money that you deserve.

With a large influx of home-improvement magazines in recent years and a multitude of varieties to choose from, we will be reviewing 5 of the top home improvement magazines to formulate and furnish your creative ideas. These magazines either have fewer ads, or content that makes up for the ads. Let’s get started!

Fine Homebuilding

Fine Homebuilding focuses on new home construction, as well as specific tips, techniques, and trade skills. If you’d like to engage in a spot of woodworking activities, home building, gardening, garment sewing, designing, building, and remodeling every section of your house, then you’ll have a blast with Fine Homebuilding.

Unlike other home improvement magazines like Family Handyman that focus specifically on DIY processes, Fine Homebuilding magazine tends to focus more on new techniques, unusual concepts, and different materials, beautifying your home by inspiring your creative flow.

For $37 a year subscription, this is an impressive magazine that has an extensive lineup of beautiful houses with interesting articles to pique your interest in designing your own home.

Family Handyman

If you’ve been on the hunt for a good place to get some home improvement project inspirations, this magazine will be your favorite. With topics ranging from installing a toilet to constructing a deck, Family Handyman runs the gambit for home improvement necessities. Think of Family Handyman as a generalist that offers cover-to-cover DIY tips and tricks for home repairs, woodworking projects, and major improvements within your home.

If you’ve ever gotten stuck on projects like removing popcorn ceilings or replacing your asbestos, Family Handyman has you covered. It provides specific step-by-step DIY processes. And at $10 per year, no other magazine gives you such a wide range of information for such a small cost.

This Old House

Unlike Family Handyman, which is mainly about DIY tips and tricks, This Old House is about 50% DIY home improvement projects and 50% interior design images to improve your creative flow. This magazine is more about designing with painting and decoration, and not so much about craftsmanship and trades.

This magazine will help to provide inspiration, information, and instructions to take on all sizes of tasks within your house. With fresh designs, creative DIY solutions, a step-by-step project guide, and essential tips from pros in the field of home-improvement, a DIY enthusiast can never go wrong with This Old House.

This Old House also offers basic maintenance tips to repair little items that don’t require a professional handyman.

Best of all, This Old House features real-life houses - the editor's own - in order to demonstrate real-life tasks. With concrete examples, This Old House offers a more exciting inspiration that few other magazines can. It also comes in at just $10 a year.

Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on home gardening ideas, plants, and how different household things work together to create a harmonious space. If you need inspiration for decor, home-cooked meals, or maintenance, this classic magazine is the one for you.

Better Homes and Gardens, which costs $16 per year, provides tips on beauty and style, seasonal decor, and even how to entertain guests. If you need conversation-starters with your friends and family, Better Homes and Gardens is the place to be.

Do-It-Yourself Magazine

Like the name suggests, Do-It-Yourself Magazine is for DIY enthusiasts interested in improving their home with their own blood, sweat, and tears. It provides ways to transform either the whole or a section of your home into whatever you desire by using some old equipment and common household items.

DIY magazine offers an extensive list of design templates for transforming your room or house into a magnificent haven, and contains proof-sheets to guide you to the best results in your DIY journey. Also included are delicious recipes and ideas for preparing appetizing snacks for the family and your guests.

Do-It-Yourself magazine is easy to digest, serves as a great go-to for formulating creative ideas, and provides an extensive list of tools, hardware, and other items necessary for your home decorating improvements.

Look, all magazines are going to have ads. But hopefully, with lists like ours, you can find a magazine that’s worth seeing that full-page spread for a Sandals resort.

While you’re here, let us offer you some free home improvement advice. Every home is only as good as its air. Having poor air quality in your home isn’t just unpleasant - it can lead to health problems too.

Replacing your air filters regularly is the best and cheapest way to keep your house in top condition. All the furniture rearrangements in the world mean nothing if your air is dusty and smelly. What’s more, replacing air filters more often can help prevent HVAC system issues. A clogged filter can put strain on your system and cause it to break itself. That means expensive repairs and time-consuming conversations with the AC company, all of which were totally preventable.

While you ponder which magazine is best for you, feel free to pop by our online store to find your size and select your desired MERV rating. We have just about every size in existence. Couple that with our stellar customer service, quick and cheap delivery, and the ability to set a subscription, and you can start to see how Filter King got its name!