One of the most frequently asked questions I encounter when I'm out and about is "how do you find the projects you feature in Dwell magazine?"

While it's true that the editors and I review thousands of submissions each year, there are a few things that always get our attention and allow a certain project to rise to the top. I thought I'd share a few of those attributes here today.

Best Practices

- Send images and information to edit@dwell.com. Include a quick note on why you feel the project is a good fit for Dwell. (We can always tell when a project has been pitched to multiple magazines ;)

- Always include images of the main areas of the home: living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom, master bathroom, street-facing facade and rear-facing facade. Try to take overall shots so we can get a sense of the entire room.

- Please do not apply a filter to the images, and avoid wonky angles or other "tricks" of the camera.

- Always include pertinent information such as square footage, whether the project has been featured before (either in print OR online), who lives there, when the project was completed, and interesting material choices and/or sustainable techniques.

- Please do not send unsolicited links to dropbox or other file-storage platforms. Always include the images in the email.

- Please do not send "styled" images—we want to see residents' real furniture in place. We are looking for an accurate depiction of how the residents truly live.

- Snapshots taken with a smartphone are fine—there is no need for professional images. If we like a project, we will commission our own images.

- We prefer to only feature projects that have not been seen elsewhere—that includes design and architecture blogs.

- Remember, there is no such thing as an aesthetic checklist for a "Dwell-style" house. I mean, we love Eames lounges, Nelson lamps, and blurry people walking in the background as much as the next guy, but those things are not what pique our interest. We just want to see smart design that makes sense, and homes that truly serve the needs of the people that inhabit it. To us, modern is not a style or an aesthetic. It's a philosophy of living that incorporates appropriate materials and methodologies that are site- and home-specific. In short, a Dwell home is a thoughtful home.