Interior magazines have moved beyond aspiration into something more honest.
We're living differently now, working from kitchen tables, creating in bedrooms, gathering in spaces that blur public and private life. Most of us are doing it in homes we rent, proving that great living has nothing to do with property deeds and everything to do with intention and creativity. And the publishing world is catching up.
What we want isn't perfection or prescription, but glimpses of life from certain angles. We're drawn to the crumpled receipts on side tables, the books stacked by the bed, the open dishwasher revealing mugs and forks - details that feel confidential yet universal. The new generation of interior publishing understands the difference between houses and homes, between real estate and real life. They show us stylised mess made legible, the beautiful interplay between what we can see and what we can't. And of course sometimes they're just showing off spaces that are just nice to look at, but importantly, they still look like home.
These six magazines capture how people really live now, from Barcelona apartments to Tokyo studios. Perfect for our residents looking for a bit of inspiration and a bit of real life.
apartamento
The magazine that changed everything by making voyeurism virtuous. Since 2008, this Barcelona-based publication has satisfied our burning curiosity about how creative people actually live—medicine cabinets, kitchen clutter, and all. What started as three young men frustrated with glossy perfection became a movement: real homes, real mess, real life. No shopping guides, no styling tricks, just honest glimpses into spaces where character trumps curation every time.
→ APARTAMENTO MAGAZINE
never too small
Constraint breeds creativity, and this quarterly proves it by exclusively documenting life under 50 square meters. What began as a YouTube channel evolved into sophisticated print that treats small space living as an art form, not a compromise. Each issue reveals the ingenious ways people make tiny homes work—hidden storage, transforming furniture, and the kind of spatial intelligence that only comes from necessity meeting imagination.f thoughtful design that turns grocery shopping into an act of discovery.
→ NEVER TOO SMALL
the design files
After 16 years of digital-first publishing, Lucy Feagins went analog with a biannual that captures the unhurried pleasure of slow discovery. Each issue feels like wandering through Australia's most interesting homes with someone who actually knows the owners' stories. It's the antidote to scroll culture—timeless over trendy, conversation over consumption, the kind of magazine that stays on your coffee table because it rewards return visits.
→ THE DESIGN FILES
casa brutus
Japan's cultural authority treats interiors as philosophy, not decoration. Monthly issues weave together the spaces where Japan's most interesting people live, work, and think, revealing how environment shapes creativity. Editor Ko Matsubara's team goes to readers rather than relying on trends, creating content that bridges the gap between how we live and how we dream, always with distinctly Japanese sophistication.
→ CASA BRUTUS
neptune papers
Parisian publisher Daytona Williams treats each irregular issue like a collectible art object, rejecting trends in favor of timeless conversations about great interiors. What makes it essential isn't just the gorgeous photography, but the genuine curiosity about the people behind the spaces—the kind of intimate details that reveal how taste develops, how collections grow, and how homes become extensions of their inhabitants' minds.
→ NEPTUNE PAPERS
openhouse
Barcelona-based and globally minded, this magazine captures the spaces where creativity and hospitality intersect. Whether documenting an artist's studio that doubles as exhibition space or a design hotel that functions as cultural hub, Openhouse seeks out interiors that tell stories about connection and community. Their photography reveals not just how spaces look, but how they feel to inhabit—the kind of intimate documentation that makes you understand why certain places become gathering points for creative minds.
→ OPENHOUSE
