This immensely popular, witty, and highly provocative book is changing people's attitudes about convenience, decor, and technology in home design a...
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Dec 16, 2011
Tucker
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Examines the European-American evolution of the cultural concepts of privacy, comfort, and the intersection of form and function. I'd group this book as informative to ecopsychology, although the author, writing in the mid-1980s, didn't use the term.
The author admits that comfort "is an invention--a cultural artifice. Like all cultural ideas--childhood, family, gender--it has a past, and it cannot be understood without reference to its specific history. One-dimensional, technic More...
The author admits that comfort "is an invention--a cultural artifice. Like all cultural ideas--childhood, family, gender--it has a past, and it cannot be understood without reference to its specific history. One-dimensional, technic More...
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May 29, 2011
Vasha7
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This is a short book, written in a style as comfortable as its subject matter. I'm sure that Rybczynski is not the first person to have written on this subject; nonetheless, it's good to have a work for a popular audience that covers the deceptively simple-seeming idea : what is "hominess"? Although I knew in the abstract that the ways people use their living spaces has changed, still, I was surprised by having the development of privacy, intimacy, and domesticity pointed out. Rybczyns
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Jan 18, 2010
Jenifer
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Starting in the 1500's and moving pretty quickly forward, the author explores how and when the idea of comfort in the home became possible and came about. This was pretty interesting to me, but Rybczynski is no Malcom Gladwell. The subject matter is thoroughly researched and well presented, but not a lot of fun. Also, there are a lot of paragraphs about chairs. And later there are a bunch more. Paragraphs about chairs.
the author stated at the beginning that this is not an interior des More...
the author stated at the beginning that this is not an interior des More...
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Mar 18, 2009
I'm a fan of Rybczynski's architecture writing in Slate, so I figured I'd check this out. A history of the home as it has been defined over the centuries, this book not only builds a cohesive arc from the middle ages to the 1980s, it is brimming with all sorts of historical facts and antidotes that, at times, can be more interestingthat Rybczynski's overall point. As the book reaches its final chapters, Rybczynski begins to make some more critical statements, mainly in terms of the lack of archi
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Jun 29, 2009
Rick
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Witold Rybczynski’s HOME: A SHORT HISTORY OF AN IDEA traces the development of the idea of “home” from the medieval period to the present.
In the middle ages, the interiors of homes were primarily public and ceremonial spaces, but that concept eventually changes as notions of privacy and intimacy develop. Over time, gradually developing ideas of domesticity and a sense of family, convenience, comfort, and efficiency change our perceptions of home.
In the beginning era of t More...
In the middle ages, the interiors of homes were primarily public and ceremonial spaces, but that concept eventually changes as notions of privacy and intimacy develop. Over time, gradually developing ideas of domesticity and a sense of family, convenience, comfort, and efficiency change our perceptions of home.
In the beginning era of t More...
Feb 11, 2008
Tim
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May be of interest to househunters trying to envision what their happy home to be might want to be. It’s basically a selective history of the concepts of home and comfort, related to changing forms of the family, over the last four or five hundred years. It’s full of interesting factoids, probably ultimately of less significance than Rybczynski had hoped, but he’s a good writer and charming (a hair too warm and fuzzy for me). It’s a light, easy and pleasant read. It didn’t leave me with anyt
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Jun 20, 2011
Amy Beth
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Really great history of the development of the idea of home. I was fascinated by the emotional development across time. One of the best chapters was on the Dutch and how much their culture has influenced our ideas on privacy and simplicity. I also loved the discussion of chairs and what makes a comfortable chairs; the 18th c. French perfected the design and it has never been improved on. The one idea I did not hear was the acknowledgment of how the imperfect can make home even more dear. At the
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Jan 16, 2012
JFN
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I read this book on the recommendation of my partner who said that this, along with one other, were the two books that have most influenced his thinking. Considering that and a writing project Im working on related to the topic, I figured I'd better read this. And I'm so glad I did.
I've read Rybczynski before and knew his prose was fluid and flawless, so that was no surprise. What has been a surprise, I guess, is how much this book has stayed in my thoughts in the weeks since I began r More...
I've read Rybczynski before and knew his prose was fluid and flawless, so that was no surprise. What has been a surprise, I guess, is how much this book has stayed in my thoughts in the weeks since I began r More...
Nov 04, 2010
Laura
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This is a book I thought I might write someday but in fact is already written by someone else. It has plenty of examples without getting bogged down in any particular period of history (doesn't go much further back than medieval ages) and is very readable. It's primarily about the ideal of comfort as the home's central purpose.
Dec 30, 2011
Mellen
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This book is a historical review of the concept of home and related concepts such as comfort and privacy in the western world. I loved reading this book. Many times while reading it I turned to my husband and said, "Did you know that..." For example, the first most popular electrical device after lighting...? An electric iron. Another: at the turn of the century water-powered home appliances were available including vacuum cleaners. This book made me think about the way my house is
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Jul 12, 2009
Julie H.
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This book is amazing and makes my Top 10 desert island reading list. It's the most entertaining, readable, and comprehensive look at domestic architecture in the U.S. The fact that he even includes Ralph Lauren's lifestyle marketing in the discussion simply sealed the deal.
May 10, 2009
Ryan
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This book as been on my desk for over 3 years, and I opened it midweek to see what I thought. So far I am fascinated by it -- and really enjoying the social history aspect of it. More to follow.
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And so I finished it, some time ago but forgot to update here. I admit, I found the historical treatment of the "home" more interesting than the modern or contemporary treatment. And, I have to imagine, that results in large part from the fact that in the modern no More...
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And so I finished it, some time ago but forgot to update here. I admit, I found the historical treatment of the "home" more interesting than the modern or contemporary treatment. And, I have to imagine, that results in large part from the fact that in the modern no More...
Sep 15, 2011
Diane
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The concept of this book is an engaging one. Using paintings from the periods under discussion, the author reviews the physical and emotional ways in which people built, decorated and lived in their homes, from the Middle Ages to recent times. Modern notions of privacy, sanitation and public space have changed greatly from those of the past. Some of those changes are clearly due to developments in technology; others can be traced to politics, economics and even religious influences. Rybczynski i
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Feb 18, 2010
Barbara
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Very interesting book about the evolution of domestic living over the centuries and the idea of comfort in Western cultures. I just joined a new book club, and this was the selection. I would never have encountered it otherwise, but I'm glad I did.
Jan 31, 2012
Osho
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One of those books I know I read right when it came out, and liked, and probably thought I'd noted on Goodreads, but apparently did not. I enjoy Rybczynski and should probably see what he's written since the last time I looked.
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Mar 23, 2009
Tonya
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This book took me a while to read...only a few of us are crazy enough to read a book that essentially amounts to the history of the chair :-) Interesting read, just slow.
Jan 10, 2008
Stephanie
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An interesting study of how the idea of (the Western) home has evolved over time. It is largely focused on Europe and the United States. I especially appreciated the part about Catherine Beecher and her contemporaries, applying management principles to the design and function of the home -- they predate Susanka's The Not So Big House by over 100 years. There was also some interesting gender stuff in there -- about how when women really were the mistress of their domain (the home), the home wa
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Nov 23, 2008
A.
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Not the book I was expecting, but an easily readable history of the architecture and furniture of homes and houses.
Mar 26, 2010
Jason
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Stopped about a third of the way in... it just wasn't what I had hoped for, which isn't necessarily the book's fault, since I picked it up based on the title and nothing else..
Feel like maybe if I had been in a more focused mood or had more focused stretches of reading I would have plowed through it and maybe gotten to some parts that interested me more, but who knows. I'm usually pretty determined about finishing a book I've started, but I decided that I wasn't getting much satisfa More...
Feel like maybe if I had been in a more focused mood or had more focused stretches of reading I would have plowed through it and maybe gotten to some parts that interested me more, but who knows. I'm usually pretty determined about finishing a book I've started, but I decided that I wasn't getting much satisfa More...
Apr 08, 2010
Interesting but must be read as you read some other book more engaging or emotional like I did
Dec 27, 2007
kermenskaya
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The material and range in this book was pretty fascinating - not too dry - and written with a bit of humor. Highlights include the historical background and anatomical influences of chair design, and the details surrounding the creation of stoops (to give distance between one's home and the canals filled with raw sewage in the street). A great book for those that are curious about the implications of "home".
Aug 02, 2010
Rich
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Not a book I would typically choose, it was fairly interesting nonetheless.
Jan 08, 2008
Stacy
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This was a book Jamie had to read for architecture school and he recommended to me. Every person should read this book. It is a statement on the way we live and use space. It is not so specific that someone who is not an architect can't understand or appreciate it. Give it a try.
Jul 13, 2010
Read all but the last 50 pages, when I kind of stalled. I'm marking it read, because I just can't bear an unfinished book, but really, it just didn't keep me interested. It's informative though.
Dec 17, 2009
Kate
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Probably the best book I've read this year. History of comfort and living spaces through the past 400 years. Covers everything from changes senses of privacy to lighting and ventilation to women's shifting role in domesticity. Thoughtful and well-written.
Jun 04, 2008
Shannon
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Easily accessible for all (not just students of interiod design & architecture) this was a fascinating read about why our homes are the way they are, and how the concept of comfort in our interiors (specifically our homes) is relatively new.
Feb 14, 2010
Brenda
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Enjoyable when he discussed how the home evolved based on social status and the new perception of privacy, and the role of individual family members. The long section on the evolution of the chair was a bit much.
