Metropolitan Home Magazine Closes Its Doors

It's a sad day when a magazine is forced to shut its doors, especially when it's one centered on opening them, revealing beautiful spaces all over the world. Hachette Filipacchi Media announced today that it will be closing down Metropolitan Home magazine after its December 2009 issue and after 28 years of publication.

Hachette President & CEO, Alain Lemarchand, said in a press release that the company will instead focus its resources on ELLE DECOR magazine, headed up by Editor-in-Chic Margaret Russell, who has not only made a name at the helm of the posh shelter pub, but also as a judge alongside design heavyweights Jonathan Adler and Kelly Wearstler on Bravo TV's Top Design. ELLE DECOR also happens to be celebrating its 20th anniversary and, as Lemarchand says, "has multiple opportunities for growth across all platforms."

Apparently Metropolitan Home does not, despite being billed as the "ONLY luxury MODERN design magazine" and pegging its 2.7 million readers as progressive types, on the hunt for design inspiration that is timeless instead of trendy. The magazine's editors even published a book earlier this year called Glamour: Making it Modern, defining the age-old aesthetic through examples from the magazine.

To the Metropolitan Home staff and Editor-in-Chief, Donna Warner, Lemarchand sent these parting words: "Metropolitan Home has been the premier publication for modern design. Over the past 26 years, Donna Warner has led the editorial team with a vision focused on the highest standards, which has produced this respected modern luxury publication. On behalf of the company, I want to thank Donna and her team for serving with such dedication."

And just like that, another perfectly good monthly read gets resigned to the memory bank of inspired moments past. RIP Met Home. You will be missed.

Read our Q and A with ELLE DECOR's Margaret Russell here.