The new Home series from Beta-Plus invites you to take a fascinating journey through the most beautiful and inspiring interiors. The thirty volumes in this series are thematically divided by room (living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens and so on), and also by style (including designer homes, country houses and contemporary interiors). The reports in these books combine to create a unique voyage of discovery through modern trends in decoration and architecture, reflecting the lifestyle and outlook of people who live in these beautiful homes. Home series is a unique collection of thirty titles, eclectic and stylish, devoted to interior design and decoration, and presented in a handy format. Every book shows the finest projects by leading architects and interior specialists, in a kaleidoscope of styles and genres, and is packed with ideas for your own home. With a move to smaller and more flexible spaces, architects and designers are pushing the parameters of available space. This book shows what can be done with a small space, using a combination of ingenuity and style.

Elaborately, gilded masks worn by dancers performing in the popular Ramayana dance drama are an enduring symbol of Thai culture. Since their introduction in the late eighteenth century, many hundreds of thousands of masks have been produced by skilled craftsmen. Less well-known as an art form, the history of Thai puppetry dates back to the 17th century Ayutthaya when large, metre-high puppets were used to relate popular folk tales. Today practitioners of this art form are becoming scarce, as are the finely crafted puppets themselves.

With the rise in people working from home, home offices have become more common. The challenge is to maintain a professional space, while still having it remain part of your home. This book shows how to meet such challenges.

This book shows ingenious and innovative solutions to storing items that we want to remain accessible but not necessarily in plain view. Storage Space shows how to make the most of your available space without spoiling your interior theme.

This volume covers the most important feature of any home — spaces to relax and forget the world. From peaceful patios to energetic games rooms, this book shows some of the most inspiring interiors for leisure.

With over 100 colour images, from loft apartments to town houses this book proves to be the ultimate pocket sized guide to urban interiors.

This book inaugurates a series of publications under the title Stones devoted to interior design. This book showcases twenty such homes, twenty mini-narratives, each one conveying an individual lifestyle and design for living, and illustrative of the shifting frontiers in which the common denominator seems to be the quest for new interior models and functional blueprints that can express, through specifically architectural means, quite distinct identities. These fragments document the complex upheaval that interior design has been undergoing, branching out in all directions with a spate of new ideas on the home as the 'mirror of the soul', and meanwhile reinvesting the act of designing with its former poetic and conceptual contents. Text in English and Italian.

The crucial importance of getting one's message across in today's media-driven society has prompted a surge of developments in the area of installation design. This book offers a critical update on the theme, and testifies to the acutely experimental approach adopted for installation projects, which involve interweaving input from a variety of different disciplines to produce a single focused design. The very temporary nature of installations gives a strong communication edge to all design features — be it a cultural message, for a product, or for entertainment — fostering a lively concentration of the various aspects of interior design. Text in English and Italian.

The aim of the collection is to offer a series of short monographs which, though brief, nevertheless deal with all aspects of the master's personality: works, constructed or otherwise, primary written sources, critiques and photographic interpretations. The underlying aim is to offer an in-depth, comprehensive overview targeted at anyone interested in learning about architecture including students, professionals or simply those who are interested in the subject, by providing not only basic information but also guidance in terms of gaining more insight into the subject. The volumes are dedicated to some of the best known modern and contemporary architects.

The aim of this collection is to offer a series of short monographs which, though brief, nevertheless deal with all aspects of the master's personality: works, constructed or otherwise, primary written sources, critiques and photographic interpretations. The underlying aim is to offer an in-depth, comprehensive overview targeted at anyone interested in learning about architecture including students, professionals or simply those who are interested in the subject, by providing not only basic information but also guidance in terms of gaining more insight into the subject. The volumes are dedicated to some of the best known modern and contemporary architects.

In Famous Interiors, Vandertol uses inspiring international interior — photos of eight celebrities as a starting point. The reader peeps into Easy Rider Dennis Hopper's steel barn in Los Angeles, is invited into the home of the founders of the Missoni fashion house, known for their outstanding blend of colourful creations and modern art, discovers the interior of the Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace in the famous Park Plaza, and many more. He then gives numerous styling tips and tricks and shows the reader how to recreate the same luxurious and stylish look within his own home. The reader looks over the shoulder of a renowned interior designer, as van der Tol explains the reader step by step how to create a stylish, modern home. What colours do you use? What do you look for when shopping? How do you blend different styles and materials? How do you create that look of luxury? This book tells all.

The new Home series from Beta-Plus invites you to take a fascinating journey through the most beautiful and inspiring interiors. The thirty volumes in this series are thematically divided by room (living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens and so on), and also by style (including designer homes, country houses and contemporary interiors). The reports in these books combine to create a unique voyage of discovery through modern trends in decoration and architecture, reflecting the lifestyle and outlook of people who live in these beautiful homes. Home series is a unique collection of thirty titles, eclectic and stylish, devoted to interior design and decoration, and presented in a handy format. Every book shows the finest projects by leading architects and interior specialists, in a kaleidoscope of styles and genres, and is packed with ideas for your own home. Designing interiors for children presents a whole new set of challenges; to make them both durable and safe as well as interesting and imaginative. This book shows how to create a perfect interior environment for a child.

«Cities like Hong Kong do not appear out of nowhere. Behind and beyond the skyline and the tourist attractions, people from all parts of China and the world have worked together to overcome daunting internal obstacles and external forces. In architecture, Wong & Ouyang has been an important contributor to that immense effort. The publication of this book, «Wong & Ouyang: Blueprints for Hong Kong» on the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary, is a fitting tribute to the accomplishments of the firm. In the last half century, buildings have become increasingly complex. The range of projects illustrated in this book — from master plans to building complexes and individual buildings — shows the scope of Wong & Ouyang's capabilities. Looking at the procession of projects and how they have changed over the years, it becomes apparent that the long-term stability and continuity of the firm and its ability to draw on expertise from around the world has created a strong core competence and 'institutional memory'. That has been a key factor in its ability to learn and improve with each succeeding task. The variety and size of the projects parallel the change and growth of Hong Kong to its present status as one of the most advanced cities in the world.»

At the turn of the century, WMF was the worlds largest manufacturer and exporter of household metalware. In 1906 they produced a sumptuous catalogue showing over 3,000 pieces with descriptions in English, which is reprinted here for the first time, with an historical introduction by Graham Dry.

«The firm of Tiffany & Co. has long been regarded as America's premier maker and retailer of fine luxury goods. This is especially true in the case of jewellery, an area in which the company emerged as an arbiter of taste and style by the mid-19th century. Charles Lewis Tiffany, one of the founders of the firm, was astutely aware of the desire of newly emerged elites for high-style jewels that would rival those owned by European aristocrats. A savy entrepreneur, Tiffany would eventually purchase part of the French Crown jewels for his American clients, selling them along with outstanding diamonds, precious gem-set jewellery, and Swiss-made watches. All would bear the company's mark and by the end of the 19th century, the brand was firmly established. While Tiffany & Co. lavishly met the luxury needs of America's well-to-do, they also passionately developed an American style, promoting American materials and motifs. Their displays at the International Expositions met with great success, further increasing their reputation in the world-wide market. They were also quick to adapt technological advances, including the raised diamond mount («Tiffany setting»), new diamond-cutting techniques, and a system of hallmarking. Charles Lewis Tiffany's successors in the 20th century continued to create extraordinary adornments designed by outstanding artists such as Louis Comfort Tiffany, Jean Schlumberger, Angela Cummings, Elsa Peretti, and Paloma Picasso. This book, through a series of original essays, pays tribute to the firm's enduring ingenuity.»

Architect Charles R. Stinson conceives each project as a balance of space and light, where horizontal and natural light bring the outside in. The result is a living space that is both transcendent and grounding; a place that lifts the spirit and connects those who live there. Whether he is envisioning a family home or creating an entire community, Stinson views the compositional process as the art of 'putting families and friendships' together. Architect and client collaborate to define an architectural vision that seamlessly joins beauty with function and interior with exterior. The book explores Charles Stinson's most significant work, offering readers an opportunity to see the spaces that live and breathe light in his homes, commercial projects and neighbourhoods. Renowned photographer Peter Bastianelli-Kerze captures these compositions in full colour and scope. Stinson's own sketches add an intimate layer to this stunning collection of works.

Symbol of prestige and venue of relaxation, the villa has always provided an exceptional opportunity for understanding architecture's relationship with the countryside. This holds true for the projects selected in this second volume of Villas in Italy & Canton Ticino. Purposely and solely comprised of new projects, this collection represents the contemporary interpretation of a theme, which, though it is firmly rooted in history, is also exposed to an endless amount of reinterpretations. The extraordinary pictures of the homes described in this volume reflect a variety of completely novel solutions. Text in English & Italian.

«- Sassy, metropolitan, chic: the modern girl's guide to good living — «Etiquette for Girls» explains how to behave with ease and style in every social situation — With advice on all aspects of 16-30-year-old life, this is the need-to-know bible for girls who want to get it right — Beautifully illustrated and finished with full-colour photography throughout The ultimate girl's guide to getting it right. Etiquette is a revisionist business. New rules are constantly appearing and old ones evolving. A modern survival manual is called for, to lay out the new rules, to point out the pitfalls and to ensure damage limitation. Debrett's, the trusted authority on all matters etiquette, have created the essential guide to life for every girl about town. «Etiquette for Girls» reassuringly explains how to behave with ease and style in every social situation, covering man management (from flirting to one-night stands and breaking up), what to wear, dining out, socialising and entertaining at home, getting ahead at work, etiquette for social occasions (including festivals, polo and private jets), conversational no-nos and avoiding dreaded social sins. Etiquette has re-entered the zeitgeist. Social success lies in forethought and understanding, so switch on and prepare to prosper.»

«100 Great Kitchens & Bathrooms by Architects» examines the role of architects in creating comfortable, visually pleasing and functional kitchens and bathrooms. This title features a stunning collection of recent interior projects examining the vast array of styles adopted by architects around the world, particularly in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Slovenia and Brazil, in the search for that perfect balance between luxury and function. This book includes full-colour photography and descriptions of each design by the architects themselves, providing a unique insight into the craft of the featured architects. «100 Great Kitchens & Bathrooms by Architects» is the essential illustrative guide to the design of some of the world's most spectacular, yet functional interior designs.»

Jan De Bray and his father Salomon are the greatest history painters that Haarlem ever produced. The two artists also determined the face of Harleem Classicism. Both Salomon and Jan were universally gifted, not only as painters but also as architects, poets and art theorists. It is small wonder that Salomon — just like the slightly younger Pieter de Grebber — was commissioned to decorate Paleis Huis ten Bosch that Amalia van Solms had built in honor of her recently deceased husband Frederik Hendrik. Jan carried out many commissions for Haarlem's governing nobility, including three mantel paintings for the town hall and several regent portraits for various Haarlem institutions. The artist was an eminent portrait painter and following Frans Hals' death became the favored portraitist of Haarlem's elite. Many of his clients had themselves portrayed in the guise of a biblical or mythological figure for a so called portrait history, a genre in which Jan excelled. His brothers Dirck and Joseph were active as still-life painters.