Non-Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: Designer Apartments

By Sandy Amazeen Jul 14, 2011, 2:02 GMT

Designer Apartments presents the highlights of modern living culture, designed and furnished by renowned architects and designers. Plentiful color photographs, artful and intriguing in themselves, portray apartments from all over the world, mirroring the culture and lifestyle of their occupants. ...more

Whether you are an interior decorator, architect, a student of design or just looking for inspiration before doing some renovation, there is something for everyone in this comprehensive collection of beautifully photographed apartments. The book is divided into several chapters including New Buildings, Renovations, Lofts, Attics, Free Style and more enabling readers to find exactly the apartment type of most interest to them. The text is provided in four languages while the photographs and floor plan schematics speak for themselves.

The vast majority of living quarters showcased here are dominated by large expanses of white walls, oversized industrial beams and glass to create a sense of open space and light. Most feature several floors with more useable living space then is seen in the typical apartment complex. Designs incorporating large swathes of vivid color like the futuristic Jindi Cartoon Coolpix II or the Pink House in Rome, Italy provide a refreshing contrast to the starker contemporary look so favored by most decorators. Some of the units in the Lords Telephone Exchange located in central London feature plenty of honey colored woods and glass-sided walls that while offering a spacious feel, do little to promote a sense of privacy. No matter what your taste, this is a visual feast of apartment design and decorating from around the world.