Who Are We?

Dwell promotes good design for everyone. We publish home tours, reported pieces, interviews, and essays, all focused on the power of smart design and new ideas about where and how we live. To give us the scoop on a new project, pitch an original idea, or simply say hello, get in touch at edit@dwell.com. We’re always looking for new voices and perspectives from writers, photographers, illustrators, and videographers. Browse our latest stories to see our full range of topics.

Verticals

Design — Mike Chino, Senior Design Editor (mike.chino@dwell.com) and Duncan Nielsen, Design News Editor (duncan@dwell.com)

We feature outstanding homes and other spaces from all over the world that have noteworthy stories about their creation. From the house that helped build the modern psychedelics movement; to an island prefab that carries on Jens Risom’s legacy; a whimsical tree house in the Santa Cruz mountains; or a revived century-old townhouse in Kyoto; a wildly colorful schoolteacher’s home; or a UK architect’s home that welcomes local wildlife, our home tours run a diverse gamut with strong narratives. And our regular news pieces cover the latest in what’s happening in the design community, from stories on noteworthy exhibitions and fairs to what’s newly on the market.

To pitch a project, send a brief description and images to edit@dwell.com detailing the main considerations, whether it be sustainability, prefab and modular design, affordability—or all of the above. Please let us know if it has appeared anywhere else in print or online, and whether the owners/renters are willing to be named and photographed/featured in the story. Tell us the story of how this place came to be; why is it worth featuring in Dwell?

To share your project with the community and instantly be considered for an Editor’s Pick, upload your photos through Post a Project.

Some of our franchises include:

Tiny Homes — From tiny homes to backyard ADUs, we love to see big ideas with small footprints.
Off the Grid — From remote cabins to renovated Airstreams, these stories focus on projects with an adventurous spirit.
Before & After — This series places photos side-by-side to document the renovation process.
Budget Breakdown — This series covers a wide range of projects, from new home builds, to renovations, to garage conversions, and should reveal the literal cost it takes to make design dreams happen—in your pitch, please include a detailed list of costs, including a grand total.
My House — This Q&A series is focused on creatives with personality-driven homes that reflect their lifestyles, work, and distinct tastes. We talk to them about how they designed their spaces, and the elements that reflect their unique sensibilities.
Rental Revamp — Just because you’re renting your home doesn’t mean you can’t customize your space. Tell us how you went about your transformation, from cost-saving DIY hacks, to interior design tips, to landlord-friendly upgrades.
Real Estate — Dwell features architecturally significant homes for sale; our most recent real estate stories are a mix of covetable midcentury homes, artist’s lofts, celebrity listings, and more. To have a property featured, email realestate@dwell.com.
Design News — From fairs, to product launches, to new ideas in prefab, our coverage features the latest goings-on in the world of home design and beyond.

Culture — Sarah Buder, Culture Editor (sarah.buder@dwell.com)

This section explores the intersection of architecture and design as they relate to culture at large, through stories about art, books, movies, music, television, travel, tech, work life, identity, and more. We’re looking for voice-y reported stories, personal essays, reactive analyses, historical deep-dives, and in-depth explainers that plug into what’s happening, what people are talking about, or what they should be talking about. We’re interested in investigative features that take us inside places we’ve never been with fascinating characters and scenes, as well as zeitgeist pieces that unpack cultural trends related to our homes and how we live.

Some of our franchises include:

Ideas — We’re currently hiring an editor for this section; in the meantime, email Executive Editor Kate Dries (kate.dries@dwell.com)

This section focuses on the issues and ideas that affect our homes and how we live, and explores the intersection of design and social justice. Through reported pieces, analysis, and Q&As on affordable housing, planning, climate, ecological sustainability, policy, and gentrification, Ideas redefines what livability means.

Some stories we’ve published that we’ve particularly liked:

The Real Homes of Real Architects
We’re Off to See the Waltons
Would-Be Congressman Greg Casar Is Worried About Where He’s Going to Live, Too
The Pendleton Problem: When Does Cultural Appreciation Tip Into Appropriation?
What Do Monuments Mean to Us?
21 Resources on Redlining’s Role in Cementing the American Wealth Gap
Is There a Way Out of Hawaii’s Housing Crisis?
Young Adults Who Moved Home During COVID-19 Are Making Over Their Childhood Rooms—and Their Mindsets
An Oral History of the Parklet
New Initiatives and Leaders Are Bringing Power and Profits to America’s Crafting Communities

Guides — Megan Reynolds, Senior Home Guides Editor (megan.reynolds@dwell.com)

This section is devoted to bringing you everything from step-by-step instructions for DIY projects inside and outside, to all you need to know about hiring and managing the team of pros that will build your dream house—and your dream home. It’s all about demystifying the often complicated projects that go into a well-designed shelter, but also about the things we do to make a house a home, frequently through a first-person voice that is clear, informed and employs a sense of humor, and is never pandering or cloying. Recent stories have included a package on how to bring the outside in in smaller city spaces, what it took to build Samin Nostrat’s dream kitchen, lessons learned from Drag Race star Detox’s renovation nightmare, guides to dealing with pests, and how to think about economic ebbs and flows in your housing hunt.

Shop — We’re currently hiring a Commerce Editor, but in the meantime, Megan is your point person.

This section offers buyer’s guides, product reviews, gift guides, and shop-related how-to articles—service content that is accessible and well-researched, with a point of view and a sense of humor. We’re looking for pieces that don’t just tell you where to shop the best Amazon sales, but help cut through the online clutter to find the best-designed products out there.

Some of our series include:

Expert Recs, where those in the design community share what they can’t stop buying
Someone Buy This!, Veronica de Souza’s monthly shopping column featuring the fun, the frivolous, and the practical as a very discerning shopper.
Sitting Pretty: Quick Hits, Tyler Watamanuk’s monthly roundup of covetable furniture, decor, and objets d’art.

The Magazine

Our print magazine comes out six times a year. If you have a story that you think would be particularly suited for an issue’s theme, note that print schedules require a long lead time, so please reach out at least three months in advance—issues go live the first few weeks of each month they’re pegged for. The themes for 2023 are:

January/February: Survivability

March/April: The Money Issue, with a focus on Kitchen/Bath [pitches for this issue are closed]

May/June: Cities, with a focus on the outdoors

July/August: Travel

September/October: Dwell 24, our annual celebration of the best up and coming designers working today

November/December: American Design

For print specific questions, contact Managing Editor Jack Balderrama Morley (jack.morley@dwell.com).

Contracts and Rates

The details of our contracts vary depending on medium, but most include copyright for the creator following a period of exclusivity, mutual indemnification, and graduated, guaranteed kill fee rates consistent with the point in the process the story is cut. We pay within 30 days of receipt of your invoice.

For written pieces, our rates start at 50 cents per assigned word for web, and $1 for print, and increase with the complexity of the story and amount of reporting required. Some Design franchises have set rates, such as:

Dwell+ Exclusive (Digital home tour published exclusively on Dwell+), Budget Breakdown, Out There, Tiny Homes/Small Spaces, Prefabs, Before and After, Rental Revamp: $400 for 600-800 word pieces
Design News: $350

Fact checking and copyediting rates are $35 an hour.

For photography and illustration, our rates start at $100 for web, but range widely depending on whether the assignment is existing material, or commissioned, and the project's scope. Most print assignments and exclusives fall within the $1,000 to $2,000 range. Video projects vary widely. Please contact Creative Director Suzanne LaGasa (suzanne.lagasa@dwell.com), Visuals Director Amy Silberman (amy.silberman@dwell.com) and Associate Visuals Editor Alex Casto (alex.casto@dwell.com) with pitches.

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