Fay Sweet Bücher

Unberührte Landschaften, Menschen im Einklang mit der grandiosen Natur, helle Sommernächte und klirrender Frost – das ist Skandinavien. Dem entspricht skandinavisches Design: es verbindet sich mit Namen wie Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen und Mette Lange, und es steht für zeitlose Modernität, geradlinige Eleganz und guten Geschmack. Stilvolles und dabei behagliches Wohnen und Einrichten mit klaren, sinnlichen Formen und natürlichen Materialien wird in Schweden, Dänemark, Finnland und Norwegen großgeschrieben. Eine Entdeckungsreise durch Häuser und Wohnungen im Norden Europas, die – jenseits von falscher Landhausromantik – Lust macht auf skandinavisches Design. • Anregungen zur Gestaltung eines modernen und zugleich zeitlosen Ambientes • Wohnen in der Stadt, auf dem Land und am Wasser • Klassische skandinavische Architektur und modernes Design des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts

For centuries, the kitchen was hidden from view, but it has now become the heart of home life. Today's kitchens must be flexible, practical, and visually appealing. They serve multiple purposes beyond food preparation, accommodating activities like washing, ironing, family meals, homework, and even dinner parties—roles that would have been unimaginable a few generations ago. Historically, kitchens were the unseen engine rooms of the house, but post-World War II, they began to embrace new design ideas and technology, reflecting a shift toward a brighter, more optimistic aesthetic. Innovations like Formica and streamlined designs led to the popular built-in kitchen. As lifestyles have become more informal, kitchens have merged with living spaces in open-plan designs, prompting designers and manufacturers to create better, more varied options. Today, choices in furniture styles, finishes, flooring, and countertops are vast, with elegant and practical lighting and appliances available in countless shapes, sizes, and colors. My passion for kitchens drives me to explore showrooms and private homes, and I believe there has never been a more exciting time to design a new kitchen.

'Vintage Furniture' is a celebration of the inspiring designs, leading designers, and amazing advances in furniture manufacturing of the past century and up to the present day. It is also an invaluable reference and source book for every collector of furniture.

"Philippe Starck: Subverchic Design is designed and produced in close collaboration with Philippe Starck, features a wealth of sketches, drawings and colour photographs, gives an insight into Starck's radical new vision for the millennium, includes a chronology of career and milestones, and includes architecture, interiors and furniture alongside products from Starck's new 'Good Goods' range."--Jacket.

Fay Sweet is a freelance journalist specialising in writing about architecture and design for magazines and newspapers. Having completely refurbished four homes, she has gained a great store of practical knowledge and is a compulsive decorator.

Alessi is arguably the world's most influential and challenging design company. Here, Alberto Alessi's own reflections provide an insight into the creative ethos of one of the giants of design at the close of the century.