A profusely illustrated guide to every aspect of decorating provides ideas and techniques for increasing the beauty and comfort of homes of all styles and sizes

More than 1,000 photos showcase elegant ideas for restoring interiors. Learn what to do before decoration starts, including assessing a home, putting in adequate storage, and adding heating, wiring, and plumbing. "Excellent resources...speaks to all issues surrounding home design--from decorating a one-room apartment to children's rooms, artists' studios, lofts, and even gardens."--"Christian Science Monitor."

In this home-design reference book for the '90s, the five main sections show the reader how to develop a personal sense of style and to carry it through to reality, whether in major structural changes or smaller design touches. There is additional advice on the best decorating and furnishing options, a checklist of maintenance tips, and an index of useful addresses including advisory bodies, architects, designers, suppliers and shops.

Terence Conran has always believed that objects - and surroundings - that are plain, simple and useful are the key to easy living. By being practical and performing well over time, they are as much the antidote to superficial styling as they are to the shoddy and second-rate. Applied to the home as a whole, this discerning approach results in interiors that are effortlessly stylish, confident and timeless, with plenty of room for the expression of personal taste. Plain Simple Useful is organized according to the main activities that take place at home. Inspirational interiors, many of which are Conran's own, and a number of projects designed by him exclusively for this book, provide all the guidance you need to tailor-make your own storage. The book also features iconic examples of classic designs that will enhance any home, as well as a peek behind the closed doors of those well-ordered cupboards, larders and other stowing spaces that contribute so much to easy living.

People say that the most successful homes are the most sustaining and invigorating to live in, or even just to visit. This is true of Barton Court, the house in Berkshire where Terence Conran has made his country home since 1977. It has been a family home, a center to his Habitat Design business, a factory and studio for producing commercial and domestic furniture, a laboratory for testing his recipes and writing cookery books and has a working fruit, vegetable and herb garden, supplying produce for his restaurants. Through the objects that Terence has collected, and the things he finds on his travels, we can learn, not only about the man behind a multi-million dollar empire, but the processes that stimulate his creativity and the sources of his inspiration. In this part visual biography, part guided tour Terence Conran explains what he sees and what he should look for in good design and just what has inspired him through his varied career.

This reference work is for anyone wanting to improve their garden. Design solutions are presented along with practical information enabling you to create a garden that looks and works as you want it to. The book is split into six sections on essential gardens, exterior design, living space, planting design, a directory and foundation techniques.

Whether motivated by soaring energy costs, smaller families or the desire to live more simply, homeowners are abandoning "McMansions" for smaller housing. In How to Live in Small Spaces, Terence Conran explains that what's paramount to livability is not the square footage you have, but how you divide it. In this comprehensive, full-color book, Conran tackles the many challenges posed by small spaces. Chapters cover storage, bedrooms, children's rooms, lighting, extension and much more. "Assessing your needs" checklists and "Points to consider" sidebars add valuable ideas. Six case studies conclude the book with excellent examples of great designs.

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 Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --

Essential Color is the perfect guide for anyone wanting to introduce color into their home, but unsure of where to begin. Following the success of the four previous Essentials titles, the book harnesses Terence Conran's wealth of design expertise to guide you through the first steps of working with color. Including sections on understanding how color works, using accents and focal points to create a color scheme, and practical color effects with materials, textures and finishes, this book is all you need to create a harmonious interior in your home.

30 designs for every room in your home.