“An open door to our inner worlds”: Revue Maison is the magazine dedicated to interpretations of home

Like many of us, designer Marion Denoual’s concept of home shifted somewhat after the first lockdown. With so much time inside, a few questions naturally arose: “What does home mean for each of us? How do people see it, imagine it, idealise it, flee from it, or seek refuge in it? Is it a country or a piece of clothing, four walls or two arms?”

Following the desire to create something surrounding this expansive idea of ‘home’, Marion did a call-out for artists, designers and writers, offering carte blanche to respond to the theme and hoping to devise a kind of “non-exhaustive catalogue” of everything a home might be. Not too long later she had arrived at the very first issue of Revue Maison in 2021, brimming with a diverse selection of creatives’ personal responses to the subject, from within and beyond four walls.

Now four issues on, the designer, art director and founder of Bureau Maison, is still asking the same questions, with each issue of the magazine presenting new evolutions. “I love the idea that if I were to ask the same artists the same question in ten years, their answers would be different. Everything is in flux, and through this magazine, we’ve captured a piece of each contributor’s history”, she says. “Revue Maison is an open door to our inner worlds.”

The editor has recently published Revue Maison 3 (the magazine started at issue zero) which, much like the other issues, has a structure and layout that has been formed quite naturally by its contents. It features a number of classic editorial elements, like an editor’s note, manifesto and table of contents, “but beyond that everything evolves organically”, says Marion.

Marion has developed a fluid process throughout the four issues. She starts by placing each of the 30 project submissions across the publication’s pages, aiming to personalise any typographic choices and stretch out the grid to fit to each person’s responses. Then it’s all about the pacing – making sure that “moments of intensity” are always followed by “moments of breathing space”.

The mix of mediums, colours and contributions have no strict chapters or categories. For Marion these fluid design decisions act as a decisive diversion from an editorial landscape which centres “trends, fashion and consumption” with a minimal and modern aesthetic. Revue Maison by contrast, embraces flexibility, density and maximalism in its printed form.

More than 100 people have contributed to the project so far across issues 0 to 3. Beyond these annual issues Marion hopes to develop the occasional special edition on specific themes such as the kitchen, the bedroom and the garden, as well as curating exhibitions of artists’ works. With more “unique stories, personal perspectives, and thought-provoking ideas” on the concept to come, who knows where Revue Maison may travel to next.