Our 15 Favorite Stories of 2023
From the Italian alps to the Kardashian-Jenner real estate industrial complex, here’s where we happily journeyed this year.
From the Italian alps to the Kardashian-Jenner real estate industrial complex, here’s where we happily journeyed this year.
While we’d certainly say that each and every story is a special, beautiful snowflake—they are!—when you’re in any kind of publishing, things start to blend together. Here at Dwell, we’re no exception: in a year where, as usual, we published thousands of pieces, sometimes it’s hard to remember them all. We’re deeply appreciative of everyone who has let us into our lives for the over two decades we’ve been in business, but here are a few that we’re particularly proud of this year.
1. This Housing Center Provides Sanctuary for Starting Over
While offering the creature comforts of home and more—including a spacious common area, a full-size kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, and a culinary classroom—the Ben Smith Welcome Home Center is designed to provide the residents with a stable, though temporary, readjustment period of 90 days.
Photo by Justin Kaneps
From our recently released November/December issue devoted to American design’s past, present, and future, the Ben Smith Welcome Home Center in New Orleans, designed by local firm OJT, demonstrates what design is capable of in its best moments: giving everyone—in this case, formerly incarcerated men adjusting to life on the "outside"—a comfortable, beautiful place to live.
2. Why I Returned to Renting After a Few Years of Home Ownership
Illustration by Shideh Ghandeharizadeh
Writer Rabekah Henderson’s personal essay about returning to renter-dom was one of our most read stories of the year, proving that the rent vs. buy dilemma shows no sign of leaving the crux of the American housing conversation. As one commenter wrote, "This article was really helpful for me. I appreciate that we aren’t the only couple going through these struggles."
3. The Wiyot Tribe Is Getting Its Land Back and Making California More Affordable
In 2019, the tribe finally regained control of Tuluwat Island, the site of a massacre of Wiyot people in 1860 and the center of the tribe’s universe.
Photo by Kalen Goodluck
See the full story on Dwell.com: Our 15 Favorite Stories of 2023
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