about first home magazine

FirstHome is a new magazine from the publishers Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles that focuses on the home décor of a first time homebuyer in the Atlanta area. "It's exciting to own your first home, but it can also be very intimidating to decorate," says Clinton Smith, editor-in-chief of both AH&L and FirstHome. "Where Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles focuses on the established homeowner in the metro area, FirstHome takes a look at inspirations for the next generation." First Home strives to give its readers real-life decorating tips, easy-to-find resources throughout the city for the homebuyer in their mid-20s to 40s. Your Home. Your Way.

Meet The Editors

When Editor-in-Chief Clinton Ross Smith isn't checking out homes for the magazine, the Texas native and Ole Miss graduate is touring them anyway-whether that's at an open house or jumping over a fence to get to a construction site. There's not much that's off limits. In 2006, he was awarded the Media Award from the American Society of Interior Designers Georgia Chapter, which is no doubt a result of that unbridled passion for homes. And after viewing more condos than he wishes to count, he has recently settled into to his first home. He also serves as editor of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, our sister publication.

Although Managing Editor Elizabeth Reh was raised in the Midwest, schooled in the Northeast and caught her first big break in the magazine biz with Southern Accents in the Deep South, she swears she now calls Atlanta home-she's even stopped complaining about the traffic. When Elizabeth's not keeping the editorial staff on task, she's patrolling Atlanta's design districts (and a few other off-the-beaten path outposts) for chic and cheap finds for her first home with her husband-to-be. Her work has also appeared in Sauce magazine and the Improper Bostonian.

Atlanta has always been “home” for Art Director Rachel Cardina, even while she earned a degree in graphic design in Birmingham and interned at Cooking Light magazine. She recently moved back to the area and spends upwards of three hours a day in her car to getting to and from the AH&L office, because – as she puts it — she’s “just too darn picky” when it comes to finding the perfect place to call home. And so the hunt continues. Rachel formerly worked at Metaleap Design for Paste magazine.

Newly transplanted to Atlanta from Iowa, Assistant Editor Kelly Kunkel is loving life in the South. She jump-started her career as an apprentice at Better Homes and Gardens - a special partnership through the national mag and Iowa State University, where she earned her degree. Ready to make a home in Atlanta, Kelly and her boyfriend just closed on an adorable Buckhead condo - and are having a blast filling it with fab finds from the city and beyond. Her work has also appeared in Better Homes & Gardens, Atlanta Magazine's HOME and The Piedmont Review.