The Ultimate House Book: For Home Design in the Twenty-First Century - Softcover

Conran, Sir Terence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1840914688 ISBN 13: 9781840914689

Publisher: Conran Octopus Ltd, 2006

Synopsis

The ultimate home reference book for the 21st century, "The Ultimate House Book" provides all you need to know about building, decorating and furnishing your home, as well as offering an inspirational blueprint for planning a home to suit your lifestyle. This is the only book that you will need to plan, design and decorate your home whether you are buying your first, one-bedroom flat or moving your family into a restored Victorian house. It is designed specifically to adhere to the demands of a modern lifestyle and as such the versatility and flexibility of space are central to its philosophy. "The Ultimate House Book" is a comprehensive compendium providing everything you need to know from buying to building, improving to decorating, furnishing to fitting out. Combining inspiration with practical advice, in-depth case studies with hundreds of illustrated examples, this is the bible for modern living spaces, their design and the way in which we use them.

About this title

About the Author

Terence Conran is one of the world's best-known designers, restaurateurs and retailers. In the 1960s he founded Habitat - the chain of homeware stores that brought good, modern design within reach of the general population for the very first time.

Over the subsequent 50 years Terence built another group of companies centred around design, retailing, restaurants and hotels. Today, Conran owns restaurants and shops in eight cities throughout the world and a design business serving many international clients that includes architecture and interior design, product and graphic design and brand licensing.

In January 2011 Conran began working with Marks & Spencer in the UK, designing an exclusive range of homewares for the store. In 2012 Conran signed a deal to collaborate with US retail giant jcpenney to design an exclusive range of furniture, lighting and accessories for the home. The initial collection launched in spring 2013 into 300 jcpenney stores throughout the US and there will be new ranges launching each spring and autumn.

Terence was knighted for his services to design in 1983 and has been provost of the Royal College of Art in London. In 1982 he opened the very first museum in the world dedicated to design, which is now the celebrated Design Museum in London, due to move to new premises in 2015 thanks to a massive expansion programme.

From the Back Cover

Altering your home to make it a place you really enjoy living is one of the most worthwhile things you can do and should make a significant difference to the quality of your life.
-Terence Conran

From the Inside Flap

First published in the early Seventies, Terence Conran's 'House Book' was a groundbreaking guide to home design and became an international bestseller. His subsequent volumes 'The New House Book' and 'The Essential House Book,' published in 1985 and 1994 respectively, proved equally indispensable and have sold over a million copies worldwide. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, 'The Ultimate House Book' re-examines the way we live now and provides new blueprints for our increasingly varied home lives. Whether you are streamlining a small urban flat, slotting in a home workstation, creating a relaxing kitchen-living area or building your dream house, 'The Ultimate House Book' is the only reference book you will need to plan, decorate, and furnish your home - whatever form it might take.
Dreams of Living
You can't achieve your ideal home without a little creative daydreaming. This introductory section explores contemporary dreams of living, the archetypes that shape our aspirations. A rural retreat, elegant townhouse or hi-tech loft, our dream homes say a great deal about the way we want to live.
Home Life
The contemporary home must cater for a variety of domestic scenarios and be versatile enough to accommodate the succession of changes in our lives. This section considers how to plan, fit, and furnish flexible living spaces for every circumstance and life stage.
Home Work
This practical section is a reassuring guide to home improvements, whether you want to redecorate, fit out your kitchen or build in extra space. From buying your first flat to hiring contractors and architects, this is all the information you need to turn your dream into reality.
Compendium
Today's interiors market offers the consumer an enormous breadth of choice, with hundreds of options in terms of materials, finishes, furniture and fittings. This final section provides a comprehensive reference book and buyer's guide to all aspects of interior design.
Terence Conran's 'Ultimate House Book' is the definitive source book of twenty-first century home design. Combing inspiration with practical advice, in-depth case studies with hundreds of beautiful colour photographs, it will help you make the most of your living space, however big or small, to create a home that you really love.

Edition details

• Publisher: Conran Octopus Ltd
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1840914688
• ISBN 13: 9781840914689
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272