Big media moves are afoot in the home world. Recurrent Ventures has sold three of the design-oriented titles in its portfolio: Dwell, Domino and Business of Home. The buyer is Ziff Davis, the digital media company that includes CNET, Mashable and TheSkimm. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The three titles will form the basis of a lifestyle group within Ziff Davis—a new venture for the company, whose holdings are mostly focused around technology, shopping, gaming, health, and a handful of web-based consumer tools. As part of the deal, Ziff Davis will also acquire Popular Science, which joins its Technology division.
The trio of home brands will be led by Business of Home founder Julia Noran Johnston. “I am incredibly proud to lead this next chapter for Dwell, Domino and Business of Home,” says Johnston. “In Ziff Davis, we have a partner that wholeheartedly believes in media—and is helping shape its future. As we build out this new group, our goal is to remain the definitive leaders in the home category, focusing as always on high-authority reporting, a clear point of view, and a deep commitment to the readers we serve.” Employees from all three titles will remain in their posts amid the transition.
This is not the first change of ownership for the home industry titles. Dwell was founded in 2000 by Lara Deam, who was inspired to start a now-bimonthly magazine about modern residential architecture after renovating her own home. It has since expanded its focus to include timely topics like sustainable building and small-space living. In 2022, Deam and Dwell’s then-CEO, Zach Klein, sold the brand to Recurrent.
Domino launched in 2004 at Condé Nast as a shopping-driven sister publication to fashion title Lucky, then shuttered in 2009 during the recession. Four years later, it was relaunched as an independent magazine and website by three entrepreneurs—Andy Appelbaum, Cliff Sirlin and Aaron Wallace—who subsequently sold to Multiply Media in 2018. In 2021, Domino was acquired by North Equity, which established Recurrent Ventures to operate its growing media portfolio; the title stopped producing a print magazine later that year, pivoting to a fully digital model.
Johnston founded Business of Home in 2009. Originally called Editor at Large, the site was part matchmaker—a pre-Instagram intermediary that paired designers and home brands with shelter publications—and part industry resource, covering the design world’s news, people and parties. Over time, the matchmaking component fell away, and the company focused on deepening its newsroom. After launching Business of Home as a quarterly print magazine in 2016, the entire company took that name in 2018; its first podcast debuted soon after, which would ultimately grow into a stable of four shows. BOH was acquired by Recurrent Ventures in 2022.
Ziff Davis was founded in 1927 by Chicago advertising executive William B. Ziff Sr. and editor Bernard G. Davis as a publisher of niche magazines, with a portfolio that included titles like Popular Aviation. The company’s focus in consumer electronics started in the 1950s with the launch of Popular Electronics; by acquiring PC Magazine in 1982, it became a key player in the computing category. Ziff Davis went public in 1998; following a Chapter 11 filing in 2008, it was purchased by a group led by current CEO Vivek Shah in 2010, then acquired two years later by J2 Global Inc. J2 was ultimately rebranded as Ziff Davis in 2021.
The company most recently made headlines in early March, when it agreed to sell its Connectivity division—a portfolio of companies specializing in network intelligence, testing and optimization—to Accenture for $1.2 billion. In 2025, Ziff Davis reported annual revenue of $1.5 billion.
