I used to read Old House Journal regularly back in the 80s, but now it's devoted to sales of high-end stuff and glitz. Very little real information left in it. I NEVER tried TOH because their philosophy is to tear out and replace, not restoration.

If you mainly want interior decor ideas, then the best I've found so far is Victorian Homes--they are almost exclusively devoted to the period, with cultural info, recipes, and loads of pics of restorations (real ones). They often have themed issues, especially at Christmas, but it is the best I've found so far. Remember, it's Victorian Homes, not Victoria magazine--big difference.

Back in the day, TOH was useful for ideas. It's morphed into an infomercial/brochure. Before I renewed, Old House journal had an idea or two that I saved but for quite a while it's gotten too much like TOH. A coffee table magazine is just that. I'll check out Victorian Homes. What have I got to loose! I do know better than to subscribe for more than a year at a time. I'm afraid to ask what Victoria magazine might be. And I won't google for it!

I'm also a big fan of Victorian Homes and Old House Journal. I also love Old House Interiors. OHJ and OHI aren't exclusively Victorian but a lot of the material and photos are, and they have a ton of useful information as opposed to the "fluff" the other house magazines seem to have.

Get the back issues of those magazines, from when they were useful.

What about Victorian Homes magazine? I haven't bought it recently, but it used to have a pretty comprehensive range of both style and budget.

checking out these magazines, I think I'll read the articles on line and skip the subscription. I like touching the paper but I can buy a ream of paper for less than 4 bucks and run it through my printer to boot! One of my spring cleaning projects was to give away books and magazines.

TOH is useless unless you live in a new house that pretends to be old.

OHJ may have some slippery ads, but the information is correct and typically more practical than any other out there. OHJ is similar, but a little less sensible.

If you DO get Victorian Homes, just look at the pictures, please. Don't read the text, don't even read the captions - 90% of the information they print is WRONG. The magazine is geared toward "fancy" ladies who live in a victorian fantasy based in having tea in tiny floral china cups and strolling the avenue and that there was no such thing as dysentery or small pox in the perfect victorian era - UGH. They collect Franklin Mint statuettes and drape lace everywhere.

When my SO buys one because theres a pretty photo on the cover, I proof it, correct their MANY errors, and send it back to them. If you are determined to love VH, research every thing they state, then research it again.

"fancy" ladies

I assure you I will never be mistaken for any of those! The give away might be the horse mug in my hand and the chicken poop on my shoes. That horse blanket on the chair is not a "throw" to protect it from the dog and cat hair. Maybe my old house is just fine the mediocre way it is. I WISH it had something special to look at but I doubt it ever did. It's "just" an old farm house but it works exactly right for me. I'll look at the pictures of those fancy ones and be glad I don't have to be afraid I'll get something dirty in mine. Everything I have is washable.

Remember that those homes are styled for a shoot. Our house was featured in Victorian homes and it's a real house with a six year old, Thomas the train and the occasional doggie accident (he's a nervous pooper lol). I then to read that one for the pics and justpick up bits and pieces of information (as I don't do flowers and lace).

I live old house interiors. I find that they cover a wide range of styles so in one magazine it may not pertain to me, but the next might be spot on. I am ok with that because I love historical homes of all styles.

Victoria magazine is for women pretending to be Victorian,,,,,lots of tea cake recipes and knock backs...painfully girley!

So you need a home magazine that looks like it might be published by someone like the RFD channel? That would be a lot more helpful than many of these glitzy ones...although tea can be fun :)

From my quick search, it says Folk Victorian homes are smaller Victorian homes, with less elaborate details. Here are a few examples and a link to a bit more information. Couldn't find much on the interiors, but that might be a better research project for a library, than the Internet. {{!gwi}}From Farmhouse plans
{{!gwi}}From Farmhouse plans

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to folk victorian home style

Hey! Lass!How's the house coming?? Working on it or still planning?

Mine is more the shape of the yellow one. I want to add that porch. It's very much like what I had in mind. Mine doesn't have any gingerbread or those roof things. Forget what you call them, but I don't have them. I don't know if I ever did. I don't know exactly when they did the aluminum siding; 1985 or so? When I did the house history I was assuming I would be able to get a picture of it "Before" but I didn't have much luck at all with pictures. The ones I got were 1950's which was still better than nothing.

After looking at genuine interiors in old pictures I don't think I will do that. They are so dark I'd be depressed all the time. Let there be light!!