Design Home Today publishes guides for people who do the work on their own homes, on a real budget. We take contributed articles from homeowners, renters and tradespeople who have finished a project and can tell readers what it cost, what order it went in, and what went wrong.
If that’s you, read on. If you’re here to place a link, the section further down will save us both some time.
What kind of articles do you publish?
The posts we want most are the ones nobody else can write, because they come from something you actually did. A bathroom you retiled yourself, with the invoice to prove what the tile cost. A kitchen where you refaced the cabinets instead of replacing them, and whether you’d make the same call again. A deck you built in 2019 and what the boards look like now. An electrician or plumber explaining the mistake homeowners make in the week before they call.
Opinions are welcome. If a trend isn’t worth the money, say so. If the honest answer is “hire someone,” say that too.
We don’t need polished writers. We need specific ones. A clumsy sentence is easy to fix in editing. A post with no numbers in it can’t be saved.
Which topics fit the site?
Every post sits in one of six categories:
- Interior Design: layout, space planning, color, lighting
- Home Decor: art, textiles, rugs, styling
- Furniture: buying, sizing, materials, care
- Kitchen & Bathroom: cabinets, countertops, tile, fixtures
- Home Improvement: paint, flooring, repairs, renovation costs
- Outdoor & Garden: decks, patios, outdoor furniture, curb appeal
If your idea fits two of these, the angle probably needs tightening. We’re happy to help with that at the pitch stage.
What should a pitch include?
Send a pitch, not a finished draft. Keep it under 200 words and include:
- A working title
- The single question your post answers
- What you did firsthand, and when
- Two photos you took of the project
- A line or two about who you are
What standards does an accepted post have to meet?
Accepted posts run 1,200 to 2,000 words, in US spelling, with imperial measurements and metric in brackets where it matters.
Every price, measurement and statistic needs a source you can send us, and prices need a date, because they move. If you can’t back a number up, leave it out. We’d rather publish a post with four solid numbers than one with twelve guesses.
Photos must be your own or ones you hold the rights to. No stock photography. The article must be original and unpublished anywhere else, including your own blog or Medium.
We edit, sometimes heavily. Headlines change and sections get cut. You’ll see the final version before it goes live. [confirm]
One firm limit: we don’t publish DIY instructions for structural, electrical or gas work. You can write about those jobs, what they cost and how to pick a contractor, but the how-to stays with licensed professionals.
What don’t you accept?
We don’t sell posts, and we don’t insert links into articles that are already published. We won’t run sponsored content presented as editorial, product roundups where the writer hasn’t used the products, or anything outside the home: no casinos, CBD, crypto, loans or supplements.
If your article exists mainly to carry a link, we’ll be able to tell, and we won’t reply. That isn’t rudeness. There are a lot of these emails.
Will I get a byline and a link?
Yes. Your post carries your name, a photo, a two-sentence bio and one link to your own site, portfolio or business. That link is marked nofollow, as Google asks sites to do for contributed content. Articles themselves don’t link out. We name sources in the text rather than linking them, and that applies to our own writers too.
Do you pay contributors?
Not at the moment. We also never charge anyone to be published. [confirm]
How do I send a pitch?
Email designhometoday@gmail.com with “Pitch:” and your working title in the subject line. We read every pitch and reply within [10 working days] if we’d like to go ahead. If you haven’t heard back by then, you’re free to take the idea elsewhere.