The Ultimate House Book

Three years into the new millennium, Sir Terence Conran has once again reinvented his concept of home design, now a harmonious blur between public and private living with a soupcon of professionalism. The Conran movement (stores and style) began in 1974 with The House Book and was updated as The New House Book in 1985 and The Essential House Book in 1994. The significance of the newly added word home in the title should not be overlooked, as the author has gravitated toward LeCorbusier's 1927 statement: Everybody, quite rightly, dreams of sheltering himself in a sure and permanent home of his own. Ultimate appeals to this primal notion of belonging, starting with an aspirational, visual introduction before separating ideas into three distinct sections: home life, or the different stages of design, from first house to empty nest; home work, exploring all options for decorating, from paint versus plaster to remodeling versus new construction; and compendium, the nitty-gritty information so necessary to understanding and making design choices. A feat worthy of any bookshelf. Barbara Jacobs