Home Is Where the Heart Is

In Home Is Where the Heart Is, celebrated designer Ilse Crawford looks beyond pure aesthetics to pursue a philosophy of reclaiming and reintegrating the human element into our homes.

With the premise that "the more virtual our world becomes, the more we need the physical," Crawford investigates our basic human drives for survival, safety, love, respect, and self-fulfillment and then expands this into how we can improve our lives, our homes, and our daily activities.

As she writes in her introductory essay, "What drives us as human beings? What are those basic building blocks of human behavior that make us alike, the things that make us human? We need the functionality of the technological age but we want a sense of humanity, of home, a space that speaks to us both rationally and emotionally. We want to be modern but we want to be human too."

A unique mix of provocative text and evocative photography, this volume combines thoughtful essays on our individual needs and our daily activities with practical information on architecture, design, and furnishings. The end result is a lavish and inspirational edition that will improve our perception of what a home can be.

Ilse Crawford is a strategic designer who has been predicting what's next in design for more than a decade. Her previous book, Sensual Home: Liberate Your Senses and Change Your Life, is considered a bible of modern living. She was a launch editor for British Elle Decoration and served as Vice President of Donna Karan Home. She is based in London and New York.

Martyn Thompson is an internationally renowned lifestyle photographer whose work has appeared in magazines and books the world over. He is based in New York.