Where I Find the Best Decorating Inspiration for Free

white and blue living room with pink hydrangeas in a black planter

See the aged black vase filled with pink hydrangeas that I clipped from my yard in the photo above?

When thinking about bringing the hydrangeas inside my house so I could enjoy them, placing them in this vase had not even entered my mind.

pink hydrangeas in a white pitcher on a wood kitchen table

When I first brought the flowers in, I chose what I normally place them in, one of my white pitchers.

Once I had arranged them, I went about my day, which included some downtime to read all my favorite decorating and lifestyle magazines. Dozens of them for free! Yep for free.

It was in this reading decorating magazines session that I saw a photo of pink hydrangeas in a big black vase. It really caught my eye and I realized that I had a black vase in my attic decor stash.

The inspiring image was in a magazine devoted to modern home style, a magazine I normally wouldn’t read, but since I get it for free each month, I look through it as you never know when decorating inspiration will hit you.

How You Can Read Decorating & Lifestyle Magazines for Free

iPad showing apps on screen including the Libby app

I read dozens of magazines every week and month using the Libby app. Many people use this app to get free ebooks and digital audiobooks via their local library.

But did you know you can also subscribe to magazines from your library using Libby? All you need is a library card from the local library in your town or county.

pink hydrangeas in a white pitcher on a wood kitchen table

Every public library that links to Libby may offer different magazines and periodicals. When I first found out that I could read the magazines for free that I had been paying for. I jumped right in. I also liked that I was saving a few trees by reading them online. :-)

Your library brings you magazines from all over the world! The magazines are always available, with no wait list, no loan limits, and no due dates. How can your library do this?

Magazine publishers can charge more for ads when their circulation numbers go up. Advertisers want you to see their ads and magazine publishers make their money through the ads, hence offering their publications to libraries to get more eyes on the ads.

Reading a magazine online using the Libby App on an iPad

When browsing through the magazine offerings, don’t stop at just adding your favorite magazines to your Libby account, sign up for others outside your decorating style.

This is what I do, I subscribed to dozens. I may not enjoy every magazine, but I have found great ideas I could use in my style and inspiration on how to decorate with similar items I already own that I didn’t think of.

pink hydrangeas in a white pitcher on a table

If I hadn’t browsed through the modern decor magazine, I know my hydrangeas would still be in the white pitcher. I love this pitcher and how the hydrangeas look, but it is nice to see something different every once in awhile.

Getting Started with Libby

Your magazine selection to subscribe to using Libby will vary based on your library, since each library chooses what titles and formats to offer in Libby.

I have the app installed on my iPad. I found that reading the magazines on my iPad is the best experience as the pages show up full screen and the print is easy to read.

You can also download the app and read on your phone, desktop, laptop computer, Amazon Fire devices, but not on Kindle.

You can get all the details here at the Libby website. They also have a few videos (here) to help you learn and get the most out of the app.

I told my husband that he should take a look to see if the magazines he has paid subscriptions to are offered and he found them. He now reads them for free. He likes reading them on his phone.

Finding and Keeping an Issue of a Magazine

To find magazines to subscribe to on Libby you scroll through the magazine category offerings and simply click on Subscribe when you come across one you like.

the Magazine rack page with all my subscriptions to magazines on the Libby app

Once you subscribe, you will see all your subscriptions in your Magazine Rack.

Whenever a new issue of a magazine comes out, you can check a box when setting up the app to notify you via text or an email.

Here are a few of the magazines I picked out from from the Libby Newsstand and subscribed to. This is only a partial list as I subscribe to many more.

  • Traditional Home
  • Traditional Home Kitchens
  • Coastal Living
  • Magnolia
  • Cottages & Bungalows
  • The Cottage Journal
  • House Beautiful
  • Country Home
  • Country Living
  • The Pioneer Woman
  • Canadian House & Home
  • American Farmhouse Style
  • First for Women
  • Women’s World
  • Good Housekeeping
  • Women’s Day
  • Victoria
  • Canada’s Style at Home
  • HGTV Magazine
  • …and many more from all over the world

If you’d like more time with a kept issue, tap next to the magazine’s name and select, Keep For Another 7 Days. This option appears when the issue has less than 7 days left on your Magazine Rack. You can do this as many times as you’d like so there really isn’t a due date.

Two Things to Make Note of:

  • Magazines are only kept on your current device. You’ll need to repeat the setup steps if you have multiple devices you want to keep the magazines on.
  • If you want to access to a magazine when you’re offline, you’ll need to manually download it.

A Few Tips When Reading Magazines Online

Reading a magazine online using the Libby App on an iPad

Navigating through the magazines is quite easy.

Libby app reading a magazine on an iPad

When you are done reading a magazine and you want to go back to your magazine shelf, you swipe up on the page and then on the upper left corner you will see a back button. Click that and you will be taken back to your Magazine Rack.

You can also swipe up and see a filmstrip style banner with all the pages that makes finding an article or image easy.

Reading a magazine online using the Libby App on an iPad

Since you can’t clip or rip out pages of inspiring images or articles like you can with a physical copy of a magazine, I take a screenshot and send it to my email.

I add this to a file I have on my computer’s desktop that I named “Magazine Clippings”. When I want a better look at an image, I then print it out.

looking down into a small urn in a planter to hold water for fresh flowers

Another tidbit of information that I picked up when reading decorating magazines is that when you have a vase that is only decorative and not meant to hold water, you can place a smaller vase inside to hold the water.

white and blue living room with pink hydrangeas in a black planter

Then arrange your flowers.

close up of pink hydrangeas in a black planter on a kitchen table

If you like reading decorating magazines or any magazine every week or month as some magazines I subscribe to come out weekly. Don’t hesitate to look into getting the Libby app on one of your devices.

If you already use the app for reading magazines, then you know how easy and nice it is to keep current on all that interests you.

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29 Comments

  1. Thanks for pointing out the benefits of digital magazines for free! I’ve been enjoying magazines on my Kindle Fire for years!

  2. Thank you for all the information on the Libby App!! So excited to use it!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Lynn – I love Libby and am still getting the hang of Hoopla, but both are so nice to have. I LOVE libraries. :-)

  3. Wonderful info on Libby! I’ll be checking on what is available through our library in just a few minutes, Ant the dark vase really does look better.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Rhonda – Happy that you learned about libraries offering Libby. I hope yours does. I am liking the black vase and will probably keep using it instead of it hidden away in my decor stash. :-)

  4. I have saved thousands of dollars with Libby as well as several other free book apps. Being a very avid reader, I average at least a book a day. With the ability to speed read, books are a wonderful way to de-stress.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Nancy – When I retire from blogging, I hope to have the time to enjoy reading a book a day. That would be fabulous thing to do to de-stress. I do read now, but not as much as I would like.

  5. This is awesome, Diane! Thanks for sharing this with us.I’m looking forward to browsing through many magazines using the Libby app.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Jan – I am glad to hear that you didn’t know about the Libby app and my post inspired you to look into it via your library. Enjoy the magazines.

  6. Thanks for the great info, Diane! I use the Libby app for books, but will now add magazines!! I’m going to check out the Hoopla app too. You always have such fun ideas – enjoy your day!!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Thanks Jeanne – I am still new using Hoopla, but am using that as well as Libby now. My iPad is getting a lot of use.

  7. Connie McGhee says:

    I haven’t been in touch with you in some time although I’ve read every post. I simply had to thank you for being so generous and sharing “Libby”! As a nearly 80 year old lady on limited income, magazines have simply become a rare indulgence. Whooppee! I feel rich again. 10-Q, 10-Q!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      HI Connie – I am so happy to hear that my post will help you get to read as many magazines as your library offers for free. Enjoy!

  8. Michele M. says:

    Thank you, D!! Also you are so right about the hydrangea vessel. I always put mine in my white pitcher. Not this year. Going to grab my black one too – it takes it to another level, doesn’t it? Well done and ty ty ty for the free magazine reading advice. You’re the best. : – D

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Michele – I will always love the look of white pitchers in decor, but I am liking seeing a modern touch. I am thinking now of what I can display it in once my hydrangeas are done for the season.

  9. Thanks for the tip Diane! I didn’t even think about magazines and will definitely use this.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Barb – When I first starting using Libby for books I didn’t know about the magazine reading either. When I did find out I was VERY excited. It is surely a win and save me money as I am always on the lookout for creative ideas. XO

  10. Elizabeth says:

    Hi Diane, I work for the company that produces First for Women, Woman’s World, Us Weekly and several others. Sadly, First for Women, as well as InTouch, Life & Style and Closer, will no longer be published after the 6/30 issues due to lack of sales, lower advertising revenue, and increased production costs. I want to agree that a service like Libby isn’t part of the problem but I’m pretty sure it is. People are no longer buying magazines in stores or purchasing subscriptions because of the digital access available now, and while advertisers may see some increased revenue from digital access, the publications do not. Publishers rely on newsstand sales and subscriptions to continue publishing. That being said, I will probably use the Libby platform as well since I’ll have plenty of time starting in August, because I, along with 4 of my coworkers, am being let go from my 35-year position in Advertising Sales & Billing. No blame here…just some added information. It’s just another sad effect of the digital world we now live in.

    1. Thanks for the info. But know that not all Libraries have magazines through Libby. The one I use in NC does not. It also does not use Hoopla. Fortunately, I also have a card from a neighboring library and they do. So if your library doesn’t have magazine access, check to see if you might be eligible for a neighboring library system.

      1. Diane Henkler says:

        Hi Joy – Sorry to hear that your library doesn’t have Libby or Hoopla. Thanks for sharing that if your library doesn’t offer Libby or Hoopla to look into a neighboring library.

    2. Elizabeth, I’m sorry to hear about your job situation. I know print magazines are having a hard go of it, along with newspapers. I miss reading a magazine and my daily newspaper. We live half the year in a different location and it was too hard to keep up with all the address changes.

    3. Diane Henkler says:

      Thanks Elizabeth for better explaining about how magazines make money. I am sorry to hear that you and your coworkers will be losing your jobs come August. I love magazines and hope they all don’t disappear, but I can understand now why. I always wanted to work for a magazine and would have loved your job. When I started blogging, I told everyone that didn’t know what a blog was, that it was like me having an online magazine and I was the editor-in-chief. I hope that you can find another position within the magazine industry or another position that you enjoy. XO

  11. Great information Diane. Thank you! This is something I look forward to checking out. Happy summer!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Terry – Thanks for reading my post. I am happy that it inspired by it. I hope you enjoy your summer. :-)

  12. JoAnn Goldberger says:

    Love reading your blog and love Libby! It’s my go to for reading books and magazines for free. Also, if your library has Hoopla, you can download it for free and borrow (for free) even more magazines using their BingePass! Not only that, Hoopla gives you the option of either reading the magazine or having the articles read to you!

    Hoopla also has free movies and The Great Courses that you can take for free!

  13. Barbara H. says:

    This is a great tutorial! I read books on Libby but had not expanded to magazines yet. That is soon to change. Thank you!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Thanks Barbara – I hope your library offers lots of good magazines that will inspire you.

  14. Love your Hydrangeas. Ours are just opening here in Wisconsin.
    I have the Libby app and subscribe to many magazines also. Makes it so enjoyable having them in one place.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Joan – I love hydrangeas and the ones in front of my house do very well. Enjoy yours. I wish they could stay in bloom all summer.