Maine Homes by​ ​Down East ​magazine won the 2019 Home/Shelter award at the 34th annual National City & Regional Magazine Awards competition. The award was announced on May 20 at the City and Regional Magazine Association’s annual conference in Minneapolis.

“From the start, creative director Mirek Jurek and I have aimed to create a magazine that is fresh, approachable, and inspirational,” editor Sarah Stebbins said, in a news release. “Our magazine has a different look and feel than a lot of other home titles, and we are honored that the judges seemed to respond to that.”

More than 100 judges selected the finalists for the CRMA Awards. They included representatives from ​Allure,​ ​The Atlantic​, ​Better Homes & Gardens​, ​ESPN The Magazine,​ ​Food & Wine, Forbes​, ​Fortune​, ​Garden & Gun,​ ​GQ,​ ​Marie Claire, National Geographic​, ​The New York Times,​ ​Outside Living,​ ​Saveur,​ ​Sports Illustrated,​ ​Southern Living​, ​This Old House​, ​The Washington Post​, and many others. There were hundreds of entries from publishers across the country; in the home category, the finalists hailed from Dallas, Denver, Marin County, California, and Minneapolis.

Down East​ launched ​Maine Homes​ in the fall of 2018 to bring its popular website MaineHomes.com to life in print. “There was a clear demand for our content,” said associate publisher Lawrence Hollins. “Our goal is to continue to present the authentic and accessible homes, do-it-yourself projects, and unique designs that differentiate us in the market.” Now on its fifth issue, the bimonthly magazine has partnered with the Maine chapter of the American Institute of Architects on its 2019 awards and the Swan Hospitality Group on its 2019 Bar Harbor Designer Showhouse.