Submissions and Reviews

ABOUT

The Decorating Diva, LLC (thedecoratingdiva.com) is a luxury home design magazine and lifestyle journal dedicated to the concept of living a stylish and comfortably elegant life at home – joyfully surrounded by the beautiful things you love.

The Decorating Diva.com, a premier digital design publication with a readership that spans the globe, is well-known, well respected and influential within the design industry and with design enthusiasts alike.

The site is listed in the top one percent of all websites tracked by ALEXA and Technorati, and resides in the top one percent of accounts on Twitter (@decoratingdiva). The Decorating Diva, LLC’s sphere of influence in the design and color market garners a monthly average of 3.0 million impressions across the top social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter). And the site continues to make impressive gains on the image sharing social media platform Pinterest. Pinners enthusiastically pin images and articles from The Decorating Diva, LLC, and those shared pins then go on to be re-pinned hundreds and thousands of times over – thereby, sharing our content far and wide.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Please familiarize yourself with our publication before submitting product/design project/story pitch.

*****Items not accepted, nor considered*****: Press releases, email blasts, generic pitches, guest blogging requests, product giveaways/contests or anything sales or promotions related. Any submitted items that fall into any of the above categories are discarded.

Design Projects: Please send your design project pitch accompanied by one or two project photos. If there is interest, we will follow up with you regarding additional materials. Design project pitches can be submitted to: editorial@thedecoratingdiva.com.

Book/Blog/Content Reviews: General categories considered: architecture, art, fashion, interior design, entertaining, color, and decorating. Consideration will be given to the following if there is a design angle: travel, beauty, history, pop culture, and industrial design (faucet design, lighting design etc. – If you familiarize yourself with The Decorating Diva publication you will find several examples to guide you.). All content review pitches can be submitted to: editorial@thedecoratingdiva.com.

Product Reviews: Products that fit into the following categories may be submitted for review. (Products not fitting in these categories will be considered at the discretion of The Decorating Diva, LLC editor).

Home Decor & Appliances: Furniture (indoor and outdoor), decorative accessories, lighting, bedding, flooring, wall coverings, kitchen appliances (indoor and outdoor), laundry appliances, bath fixtures, tabletop, holiday décor, linens and art.
Room Type: Living room, dining room, bedroom, bathroom, home office, kitchen, outdoor living room and laundry room.
Home fragrances, home cleaning and gift products will only be considered for special features including gift guides and select editorials (noted for each month in the editorial calendar).

Consideration for product review editorial coverage will only be undertaken for products we have tested or experienced first-hand – whether via a product submission, showroom, and trade show or in-person demonstration. Product pitches without access to review copies or review samples will not be considered. If review sample is to be “on loan” for product testing, then proper return shipping materials and pre-paid shipping labels, along with requested return date must be provided to The Decorating Diva,LLC.

Please send an email to productReviews@thedecoratingdiva.com letting us know how this product will benefit our audience as well as either a digital press kit or links to images (If on ftp server, please provide access information). We will contact you directly via email if your submitted product(s) has been selected for product review consideration.

Note: Submission of products for review to The Decorating Diva, LLC does not result in guaranteed editorial coverage. If upon physical review we find that your product is worthy of sharing with our readers, then we will provide editorial coverage.

For all submissions: Please reference month(s), issue(s) and topic(s) for which you seek editorial consideration.

Being notified of submission receipt: We receive large amounts of editorial and product review submissions, and as such, are not able to reply to requests for products or services that are not a fit for The Decorating Diva.com.

EDITORIAL SECTIONS

General guidance as to what publishes on The Decorating Diva, LLC (thedecoratingdiva.com).

Inspired by Arts: Finding inspiration in the world of art and its influence on architecture and design.
Inspired by Color: Trends, inspired color schemes, theory, lessons & advice.
Inspired by Design: Style, color, trends, design projects, lessons & advice – all things décor and design.
Inspired by Entertaining: Table top décor, inspiring settings, entertaining advice, and style guides.
Inspired by Fashion & Beauty: Colors and styles influencing home fashion.
Inspired by History: Study of historical styles and historical homes and sites.
Inspired by Nature: Color schemes and inspiration from nature.
Inspired by Pop Culture: Design inspired by Pop Culture (Décor based on Madmen series, etc).
Inspired by Travel: Travel related design: hotels, restaurants, yachts etc., culture, architecture, history, color.
Inspired by Words: Reviews of books and blogs related to architecture, design, and the arts.

EDITORIAL CALENDAR

General publication themes for The Decorating Diva, LLC (thedecoratingdiva.com) digital publication for the 13 month period beginning January 2013 and ending January 2014.

NOTE: Unless otherwise noted submissions for editorial and product review consideration will be accepted as late as one month prior to issue publishing. For instance: if you have a product/idea/project for the March issue, then you can submit your consideration pitch no later than the first business day of February. Though, the sooner you submit for an issue, the better your chances for inclusion in publication – if selected.

The editorial calendar and associated details are provided solely for guidance. These topics and dates do not necessarily reflect what will be published and when it will be published. Topics may shift, and publishing dates may change without notice.

SPECIAL FEATURES (covered at various points throughout the year)

Travel by design destinations covered:

United States by state (multiple city destinations): Virginia, Hawaii, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina
United States by city: Washington DC, Chicago, Manhattan, Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans
International: France, Germany, England, Spain, South Korea, Japan, The Netherlands, Belgium

FIRST QUARTER 2013

January 2013 – ISSUE 1

General Theme: Creativity, Inspiration and Discovery
Valentine’s Day & Housewarming Gift Guide (Editorial/Product Review Submissions close on Dec. 14^th, 2012)
Romantic Table Top Decor

February 2013 – ISSUE 2

General Theme: Style Stories (focus here will be on décor and design products)
Easter & Housewarming Gift Guide (Editorial/Product Review Submissions close on Jan. 15^th, 2013)

March 2013 – ISSUE 3

General Theme: Color Stories
Spring Table Top Décor

SECOND QUARTER 2013

April 2013 – ISSUE 4

General Theme: Gardens & Outdoor features
Design Projects (Submissions close on February 22nd, 2013)
Mother’s Day Gift Guide (Editorial/Product Review Submissions close on February 15^th, 2013)
Memorial Day Entertaining and Decorating Stories

May 2013 – ISSUE 5

General Theme: Inspired Bedroom Design
Design Projects (Submissions close on March 22nd, 2013)
Designing for the Senses (Home Fragrance Products will be covered – Product Review Submissions close on March 15th, 2013)

June 2013 – ISSUE 6

General Theme: Kitchen Design (includes section on laundry rooms)
Kitchen & Laundry Cleaning Products (Product Review Submissions close on April 19th, 2013)
Design Projects (Submissions close on April 12th, 2013)
Fourth of July Entertaining and Decorating Stories

THIRD QUARTER 2013

July 2013 – ISSUE 7

General Theme: Bath Design
Design Projects (Submissions close on May 10th, 2013)
Spa at Home (home fragrance, bath & body, bath linens, etc. – Product Review Submissions close on May 17th, 2013)

August 2013 – ISSUE 8

General Theme: Entertaining & Decorating
Design/Event Projects (Submissions close on June 28^th, 2013)
Fall Trends
Labor Day Entertaining and Decorating Stories

September 2013 – ISSUE 9

General Theme: Designing Rooms for Inspired Living
Design Projects (Submissions close on July 12th, 2013)

FOURTH QUARTER 2013

October 2013 – ISSUE 10

General Theme: Holiday Decor & Entertaining
Design/Event Projects (Submissions close on August. 16^th, 2013)

November 2013 – ISSUE 11

General Theme: Holiday Decor & Gift Guides
Holiday Gift Guide (Editorial/Product Review Submissions close on September 13^th, 2013)

December 2013 – ISSUE 12

General Theme: 2014 Trends in Design & Color (All design and décor categories)

JANUARY 2014

January 2014 – ISSUE 1/14

General Theme: Home as Sanctuary
Valentine’s Day & Housewarming Gift Guide (Editorial/Product Review Submissions close on Dec. 13^th, 2013)
Romantic Table Top Decor

FAQs

My product, project or story has been selected for editorial coverage; will you contact me to let me know when it publishes?

No, but we do recommend the following for keeping tabs – setup a Google alert for the product/project/company name along with “the Decorating Diva” to be notified by Google of the article publishing; subscribe to our RSS feed, or simply initiate a site search using our search box on the top toolbar.

Why do I need to submit a physical product for review? Can’t I just send photos and marketing materials?

No, to the second question, and here’s the answer to the first question: to reiterate what was written earlier on this page – “Consideration for product review editorial coverage will only be undertaken for products we have tested or experienced first-hand – whether via a product submission, showroom, and trade show or in-person demonstration.”

If we haven’t worked with your company/product/service in the past we absolutely will not consider editorial coverage based on photos or a lovely narrative. Yes, we are sure the product may be the greatest design innovation in the history of design, but we really do need to test it out before we even consider placing it in front of our readers.

So in essence, any product pitch without access to review copies or review samples is discarded.

What do you mean you aren’t accepting any more submissions (gift ideas, stories, products, etc) – the holiday season just started, it’s just November?

I understand, really I do, we get grumpy about this one, too. Most likely not for the same reasons you do, but grumpy nonetheless. Our editorial calendar is set 13 months out. This is a digital publication business, and like any other successful publishing venture – planning drives everything we do here. So, long answer short: Content creation for our holiday issue starts in July. Now you can see why we get grumpy – we experience holiday burnout months before the rest of the world.

Anyhow, if you have an absolutely fabulous product/story/gift idea/project or whatever that will delight our readers, you’ll have a better chance of it being considered if you take our editorial and publishing calendar into consideration.

Hey, I just emailed about a great product/project/idea two days ago or a week ago or (fill in the blank with respect to lapsed time) and I haven’t heard back. Did you get my message? Are you interested? Just following up to make sure you got it…can you please let me know if this of interest or not of interest – just let me know either way?

Really, we aren’t ignoring you, but to revisit another item from this same page: “We receive large amounts of editorial and product review submissions, and as such, are not able to reply to requests for products or services that are not a fit for The Decorating Diva.com.” If we decide to consider the item you submit for editorial coverage, you can rest assured that we will be in touch.