Homes Past and Present


Book Description

"From candle-lit cottages to electricity-filled houses, this carefully leveled text compares and contrasts homes of the past to homes of the present. Colorful photographs engage young readers, while age-appropriate critical thinking questions and a photo glossary help develop nonfiction-reading skills."--Amazon.com.




Homes Then and Now


Book Description

In Homes Then and Now, leveled text and vibrant, full-color photographs take readers through the cultural and technological advances that affected houses and homes through time. Readers will compare life in the past to life today. An infographic highlights a period in housing and What Do You Think? sidebars and an activity encourage deeper inquiry. Homes Then and Now also features reading tips for teachers and parents, a table of contents, a glossary, and an index.







Old Homes Made New


Book Description




Houses of the National Trust


Book Description

This captivating book, fully revised and updated and featuring more NT houses than ever before, is a guide to some of the greatest architectural treasures of Britain, encompassing both interior and exterior design. This new edition is fully revised and updated and includes entries for new properties including: Acorn Bank, Claife Viewing Station, Cushendun, Cwmdu, Fen Cottage, The Firs (birthplace of Edward Elgar), Hawker's Hut, Lizard Wireless Station, Totternhoe Knolls and Trelissick. The houses covered include spectacular mansions such as Petworth House and Waddesdon Manor, and more lowly dwellings such as the Birmingham Back to Backs and estate villages like Blaise Hamlet, near Bristol. In addition to houses, the book also covers fascinating buildings as diverse as churches, windmills, dovecotes, castles, follies, barns and even pubs. The book also acts as an overview of the country's architectural history, with every period covered, from the medieval stronghold of Bodiam Castle to the clean-lined Modernism of The Homewood. Teeming with stories of the people who lived and worked in these buildings: wealthy collectors (Charles Wade at Snowshill), captains of industry (William Armstrong at Cragside), prime ministers (Winston Churchill at Chartwell) and pop stars (John Lennon at Mendips). Written in evocative, imaginative prose and illustrated with glorious images from the National Trust's photographic library, this book is an essential guide to the built heritage of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.




Turning Houses into Homes


Book Description

From the earliest times, people have striven to turn their houses into homes through the use of decoration and furnishings, stimulating in turn a major commercial sector dedicated to offering the products and services essential to feed the ever-changing dictates of domestic fashion. Whilst there is plentiful evidence to show that these phenomena can be traced to medieval times, it is arguable that the eighteenth century witnessed the birth of a widespread and sophisticated consumer society. With a comparatively wealthy and socially mobile society, eighteenth-century Britain proved to be a fertile ground for ideas of home improvement and beautification, which were to persist to the present day. Turning Houses into Homes not only maps the history, changes, development and structure of the retail furnishing industry in Britain over three centuries, but also examines the relationships between the retailer and the consumer, looking at how retailers helped stimulate and shape the demand of their customers. Whilst work has been done on specific aspects of the home, very little has been written on the interaction between the retailer and consumer, and the pressures brought to bear on them by issues such as gender, education, status, symbolism, taste, decoration, hygiene, comfort and entertainment. As such, this book offers a valuable conjunction of retail history and consumption practices, which are examined through a multi-disciplinary approach to explore both their intimate connections and their wider roles in society.




Smarter Homes


Book Description

Over the past 100 years, the home has been a battleground for ideas of future living. Fueled by the electrification of cities, the move from the country to cities, post-war recovery and the development of the internet, the way we live at home (alone or with others) has changed beyond recognition. Science fiction writing, the entertainment industry, art, and modern interior design and architecture movements have also contributed to defining our aspirations around a future and now more present and possible ‘smart’ home. From the decade-old smart fridge that tells you if you have run out of milk to smart speakers that let you shop hands-free, some visions of the ‘smart’ home are yet to excite us while others are becoming a reality and will shape how we will live at home very soon. This book breaks down the historical, societal and political context for the changes in focus of that ‘smartness’ from affordability, efficiency, convenience to recently experimentation. These key points in time include: The development and marketing of electrical appliances in early 20th century War-time design the impact of military ergonomics Modernist interior design and building practices of the 1920s The space race and new materials of the post-war era Compact urban living in the 1960s & 70s Connected home entertainment in the 1980s-90s Phones and mobility in the 90s Smart energy & utilities in the early 2000s The internet-connected fridge in 2000 Remote care in a global world economy The sharing economy and new ways to shop at home Invisible ‘smart’ design in the home The second half of the book breaks down what current developments tell us about what our homes will look like in the next 10 years through the lens of spaces, services, appliances and behaviours in our homes. What You'll Learn Understand the historical context for current ‘smart home’ products Understand the social context of home product development Understand what in home technologies are being developed Understand what products are currently available Understand what behaviours are being constantly leveraged Understand how this may affect longer term market trends for consumer products Many new and innovative products are being developed in the consumer and industrial spaces with a copy-paste mindset based on following larger businesses such as Amazon, Google and Apple. Many opportunities in the homespace however will come from understanding the history and multiple players that have contributed to the development of the home in general. For everyone working in product design and development, in R&D or in trends research as well as for everyone interested in the IoT for the home, this book will be a valuable resource and an enjoyable read. This book will give product business owners ideas about what has been done before and and avenues for future development.




Choosing Homes, Choosing Schools


Book Description

A series of policy shifts over the past decade promises to change how Americans decide where to send their children to school. In theory, the boom in standardized test scores and charter schools will allow parents to evaluate their assigned neighborhood school, or move in search of a better option. But what kind of data do parents actually use while choosing schools? Are there differences among suburban and urban families? How do parents’ choices influence school and residential segregation in America? Choosing Homes, Choosing Schools presents a breakthrough analysis of the new era of school choice, and what it portends for American neighborhoods. The distinguished contributors to Choosing Homes, Choosing Schools investigate the complex relationship between education, neighborhood social networks, and larger patterns of inequality. Paul Jargowsky reviews recent trends in segregation by race and class. His analysis shows that segregation between blacks and whites has declined since 1970, but remains extremely high. Moreover, white families with children are less likely than childless whites to live in neighborhoods with more minority residents. In her chapter, Annette Lareau draws on interviews with parents in three suburban neighborhoods to analyze school-choice decisions. Surprisingly, she finds that middle- and upper-class parents do not rely on active research, such as school tours or test scores. Instead, most simply trust advice from friends and other people in their network. Their decision-making process was largely informal and passive. Eliot Weinginer complements this research when he draws from his data on urban parents. He finds that these families worry endlessly about the selection of a school, and that parents of all backgrounds actively consider alternatives, including charter schools. Middle- and upper-class parents relied more on federally mandated report cards, district websites, and online forums, while working-class parents use network contacts to gain information on school quality. Little previous research has explored what role school concerns play in the preferences of white and minority parents for particular neighborhoods. Featuring innovative work from more than a dozen scholars, Choosing Homes, Choosing Schools adroitly addresses this gap and provides a firmer understanding of how Americans choose where to live and send their children to school.




Romantic French Homes


Book Description

From a chic and sophisticated Parisian pied-à-terre to an authentically restored Alpine ski lodge, from a grand château filled with antiques to a beach cottage in St Tropez, Romantic French Homes presents a stunning selection of homes. These 14 amazing properties sum up all that is French and romantic, from the streets of Paris to Mégève in the French Alps, from the coast of Normandy to the heart of Provence and the sun-baked shores of the Riviera. There are classic country houses, tiny boltholes, city apartments, quirky seaside homes, and more. Each home has its own character, reflecting the people who live there and their passions. The book is divided into four chapters: Châteaux, which covers castles, châteaux, grand country houses, and town houses; Bastides, which features old manors and farmhouses; Maisons Bohemes, which includes bohemian artists', writers' and seaside homes; and Paysannes and Pavilions, which focuses on small and simple town and country houses. With stunning photography capturing the grandeur, charm and mystery of these properties, their romance and sense of history shine through.




Royal Homes and Gardens


Book Description

Britain has a wealth of royal palaces, some owned by the Crown as part of the country’s assets, while others have been bought by members of the Royal Family themselves as personal residences. Each property has a fascinating story behind it, as well as its own unique place in history. This beautifully illustrated book looks at some of the UK’s best-loved royal homes, current and former, their buildings, gardens, treasures and, of course, their inhabitants past and present. Discover how these homes have evolved over the centuries and how they are being adapted for the future and the demands of modern life. Written by seasoned Pitkin royal author Halima Sadat, this easily digestible volume makes a wonderful companion for anyone visiting these impressive buildings and their beautiful gardens. Entries include: Hampton Court, Osborne House, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Highgrove, Sandringham and Balmoral.