The New City Home: Smart Design for Metro Living [Hardcover]

Leslie Plummer Clagett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2002

The New City Home provides creative, city-tested solutions to many of the design challenges of living in a major metropolitan area. Readers will delight in a wide array of metro building types -- from lofts and apartments to townhouses. The New City Home features 25 of the most well-planned and appealing urban spaces in the United States and Canada.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Well-to-do homeowners looking for ideas on how to improve their city living space and readers with an interest in urban architecture will enjoy these presentations of the best in metropolitan design. Clagett, who coauthored The Art of Mosaic Design (1998), has written widely in the field of home design, and here she details two dozen examples of renovated lofts, apartments and townhouses in locations such as Manhattan, Philadelphia, Toronto and Portland. Though varying widely in style, the spaces chosen share a blend of artistry and practicality shaped to serve the needs of those who live there. Each dwelling is accompanied by an architectural history, floor plans and photographs that lavishly illustrate how the finished home overcame the drawbacks of urban living how intelligent design and craftsmanship were employed to address a lack of space and light, for example, or provide a refuge from the frenetic pace of city life. New movable walls, constructed from aluminum and acrylic in ways that maximized rather than blocked sunlight, transformed an empty concrete loft in Boston. In Manhattan, a peaceful environment was created in a high rise through windows that functioned as "framed photographs" of the city's skyline. Of particular interest is Clagett's description of how two historic Philadelphia town houses, purchased by a couple as their urban retirement home, were made wheelchair accessible after one of the owners became unable to walk. Color photos.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Clagett, who has written about urban residential architecture, presents a look at the interior design of lofts, town houses, apartments, and studios. Detailed case studies of individual urban living spaces in the United States and Canada, complete with numerous color photographs and floor plans, show how the architects and designers worked with the occupants to accommodate their needs and solve the particular design challenges of each space. Sidebars in each chapter look at the particular concerns of urban living, such as security, space efficiency, and graffiti. Tolliver's overview of loft living considers choosing lighting, defining space, and creating comfortable settings; numerous color photographs depict the areas discussed. Clagett's book is highly recommended for professional and academic libraries, while Tolliver's book is recommended for urban libraries.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561584614
• ISBN-13: 978-1561584611
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book for the Modern Loft Dweller, March 10, 2006

By 

Dr. J - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New City Home: Smart Design for Metro Living (Hardcover)

My dream is to own a loft one day and I have been to open house tours and read many books about this subject. I have a very defined taste, concerning how I want a loft to look and how I want to decorate my loft. I have a very contemporary taste in furnishings and I like an open and airy loft. When I first received this book in the mail, I almost quit breathing. It was if the authors had looked into my dreams and thoughts to create this book. This book truly represents the contemporary feel and look that I like so well. I can guarantee you that if you are interested in a contemporary look to your loft, this is your book. I know that I will probably wear this book out, because it is truly an inspirational vision of a modern loft. The photos are beautifully done, the writing is sharp and concise, and the overall quality is outstanding!!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best in this class, April 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The New City Home: Smart Design for Metro Living (Hardcover)

I've browsed about twenty different contemporary interior books, and I've found this to be most interesting and slightly more inspiring.

One piece of advice: I don't think any of the contemporary interior books have as much variety as one might expect. Make sure to browse the physical books before making a final decision - don't base you decision on these reviews alone. I've done this with many book on interior design and I've been disappointed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Home, or something like it, May 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The New City Home: Smart Design for Metro Living (Hardcover)

Young people today aren't keeping to the small-town or suburban lifestyles of their parents. They're going to the cities to rent studio apartments. Once there, they're likely to end up moving into family-size spaces.

City planners and administrators are taking this back-to-the-cities trend into consideration. They're trying to make city living appeal to young future owners. One way is by business building up a neighborhood around it, in brownstones; floor-through flats; high-rise apartments; lofts; offbeat converted places such as autoshops and stables; rowhouses; and townhouses.

Likewise, architects are thinking about the loss of peace, privacy and quiet that usually comes with city living. They're coming up with designs that meet young needs for shelter and express young personalities. The result really is personal space inside, even with such impersonal space outside as "shadowy" concrete buildings.

This is done by clearly-defined lines, hand-worked materials, soothing planes, and unusual details indoors. It's also by putting in balconies and terraces and opening up roofs and windows to light and views onto deliberately planted small, green spaces. Similarly, not much space inside looks bigger, for example, by using the same materials in and out, such as cedar flooring, fencing and decking.

THE NEW CITY HOME even brings working spaces inside, while keeping them attractively and cleverly separate from living spaces. In one case, for example, the outside has cottage-style clapboard cladding for the first floor. Indoors, the kitchen and living spaces have a cozy look, what with simple cabinetry, low ceilings and boldly painted colors. The second floor has plywood panels on the outside. Inside, spotlights, skylights, and high ceilings show the upper level to be for work.

What if the two can't always be separated, as in bathrooms or kitchens? Space isn't clearly personal or work, if it brings in universal design. This means, for example, lever handles to doors and faucets, rocker-panel light switches, and textured non-slip flooring.

Leslie Plummer Clagett's book is organized and written in an understandable, user-friendly way. Her choice of illustrations works perfectly with what she says. This practical help to city living is rounded out with Elizabeth Franklin's THE FRANKLIN REPORT, NEW YORK CITY 2003: THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO HOME SERVICES.