Product Description

Describes the best in international contemporary domestic architecture and finds inspirtion from sources as diverse as the traditional Japanese house, a Shaker workroom and the Arts and Crafts movement.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1276469 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

not just a coffee table book
I liked this book. Unlike many interior design books it is substantive, informative, academic and takes careful and slow reading to absorb all the text. It is not just a coffee table book and despite its lovely layout and inspiring photos the text is as, or more, important than the pictures.
There are interesting sections on the history of houses -how people actually lived in their homes in the past - and on individual interior designers and their unique ideas.
Designer Christopher Neville is described as "design broker and story teller". A photo in the section devoted to him shows a room painted with a trellis entwined with trees and vines and populated by owls, rabbits, squirrels, various birds and a chicken. Its both interesting and beautiful.
By far the most practically useful part of the book for me was the section on individual rooms The author sees houses as places to actually live in -places to relax in, work in and be creative in. He places an emphasis on creative rooms, something missing from many homes.
So there are sections not just on living and dining rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens but also sections on garden rooms, music rooms, studies, laundry rooms, media rooms and workshops. The author explains how these rooms were used in the past, outlines their value in the modern home and in many cases discusses practicalities such as furniture arrangement.
Ideas and suggestions in this book are practical and do not assume the reader has lots of money and a five bedroomed Victorian rectory or similar.
In the section on garden rooms for instance the author introduces the idea that a conservatory is as valuable for the space it releases in the rest of the house as for the space it provides - he states the example of a conservatory being used as a dining area and releasing the space which was the dining room to become a study-library.
This book gets you to look at your own house in a different light and think about the changes you could make to create a home thats actually tailored to the unique lifestyles of the person or people who live there. That is quite an achievement for a book.