Apt528 Reads: Atomic Ranch Magazine

Atomic Ranch Magazine

Subscription Price: $19.98

Apt528 Rating: 6 out of 10

I had such high hopes for this magazine.

As a mid-century lover, I have all the Atomic Ranch books on my Amazon wish list. The houses they feature are simply amazing. When I discovered the Atomic Ranch magazine the other day at Borders, I was simply ecstatic. I couldn't wait to dive into the crisp new pages and read all the exciting articles. I was like a kid in a candy store.

That night, as I read Atomic Ranch, I realized that I liked the magazine less with every page I turned. The articles were full of architect/homeowners with a penchant for name-dropping and the houses were typical and uninspiring. After reading the whole magazine, there was only one article that I wanted to keep for my clip book, and I only liked it because of a couple of the pictures.

What was I expecting from Atomic Ranch? I'm not sure. I guess I was hoping for a mid-century version of Domino with neat house tours, vintage-inspired product finds, city guides showing places with great 50's architecture and funky little antique stores. I wanted something useful, practicle, and inspiring.

My thought, Atomic Ranch should stick to books to avoid becoming boring and monotonous like Dwell. I used to LOVE Dwell until I noticed after a couple of months that every issue seemed to be the same. I get the same been-there-done-that feeling from Atomic Ranch.

On the other hand, Atomic Ranch is a great way to keep up with mid-century collectors, designers, architects, and businesses...I found several great shops and mid-century focused realty agents through the ads.

Overall, Atomic Ranch is a decent magazine but I'd suggest buying it issue-by-issue.

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