How to Live in Small Spaces: Design, Furnishing, Decoration, Detail for the Smaller Home

A world-renowned design authority shows how to make the most of every square foot.

Praise for the previous edition:
Lavishly illustrated, it makes living, cooking, entertaining, working and sleeping in less than 1,000 square feet easy and even desirable.
--Chicago Life

Packed with myriad possibilities on how small scale can still contain big style.
--Chicago Tribune

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.

First published in 2002, Conran brings the book up to date by incorporating the latest technological and design innovations in space-saving furniture, fixtures, décor trends and construction. He offers practical design advice on exploiting every inch of space, such as:

• Using fold-down and pull-out features
• Buying slimline appliances
• Installing indoor portholes and windows
• Lessening the impact of furniture
• Using scale and proportion to advantage
• Manipulating color, texture and pattern
• Using screens, partitions and platforms
• Improving circulation paths.

Terence Conran doesn't lose sight of the challenges posed by small spaces and the ingenuity and compromises they demand. He shows how easy it is to create a home whose comfort is not dependent on size, but on efficiency and design integrity.

Sir Terence Conran is the founder of the Conran Group, an architecture and design firm that also operates 28 restaurants and shops in the United States, Europe and Japan. His books have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. His first book, The House Book (1974), radically changed how we view our home environment.