Materials: A Directory for Home Design [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Elizabeth Wilhide (Author) "Contemporary design places the focus on material quality..." (more)
Key Phrases: proprietary adhesive, encaustic tiles, fire surrounds, New York, United States, Alvar Aalto (more...)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Elizabeth Wilhide is the author and co-author of many acclaimed books on design and interiors. Herbooks include Creating Space, Contemporary Decorating, The Flooring Idea Book and Lighting. She has also contributed to many of Terence Conran’s books, including Terence Conran’s Essential House Book and Terence Conran on Design.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Introduction:

Contemporary design places the focus on material quality. While traditional styles of decorating have tended to emphasize applied finishes, today’s interiors allow the unique characteristics of wood, stone, glass and metal to speak for themselves. From smooth matt plywood to translucent Perspex, from cool, classic limestone to burnished concrete, the scope has never been greater. Materials once considered suitable only for industrial or commercial use have found a new, expressive role in the modern home. Designing with materials creates effects that are more than skin deep. Unlike superficial transformations with paper or paint, the robust use of materials as cladding, surfaces or integral elements offers a basic integrity that outlasts trends in interior fashion. Evocative combinations of glass and metal, wood and stone create sympathetic backgrounds with inbuilt liveliness and variety and the potential to improve with wear and time. From floors and walls, to screens, work surfaces, doors and details, the sheer range of applications provides a host of opportunities to add an enduring sense of character to the interior.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Rockport Publishers; 1 edition (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564968413
• ISBN-13: 978-1564968418
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #991,041 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Materials: A Directory for Home Design, April 7, 2003

By A Customer

this is a great book. i used it as a reference source as i planned the renovation of a building i had recently purchased. it offers great info (and pics) on different materials and how they can be used in an interior space....
highly recommended; esp. good for detailed overview/survey...

4.0 out of 5 stars Materials-a directory for home design, April 8, 2006

By	aim (Providence, RI, USA) - See all my reviews

Wow - this is a great book, especially if you like contemporary spaces. Good general information and many pictures with creative use of materials and textures. As a teacher I assigned this book for a class - negative: only two students were able to get the book, so now I am hunting for a replacement...

5.0 out of 5 stars All you wanted to know about hard finishes, October 24, 2002

By A Customer

If you're studying Interior Design, you learn about hard and soft finishes and where you can apply what. If you're a novice, you just want ideas on what can go where. This book caters for both. Lots of picture with examples of hard finish materials and applications for it. It doesn't exhaust all the advantages and disadvantages of each hard finish, nor does it mention them all... but it's a great book for understanding what can go where!