"When you create a home, you create one to live in now - not tomorrow, next month, next year, but now. There is no better time than today. My hope is that, with this book, you, too, can transform your house into a home that feels as perfect to you as Stone House did to me all those years ago."
Kelly Hoppen, Home
The Stone House that world famous Bristish interior designer, Kelly Hoppen, was referring to here is her grandparent's house in Cape Town, South Africa. That house was very memorable to her as a child growing up and her attentiveness to every detail and experience in the Stone House, makes it easy for her to remember and to look back. I think her success as a designer has a lot to do with how she takes in every experience, imbibing all of her senses into the moment that she is in. And because of this sensitivity to every detail, she is able to articulate all of these experiences into her designing a house that is a true home.
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| First few pages of the book feature Kelly's apartment |
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| Another view of Kelly's apartment |
This book is a personal design experience of Hoppen, as she shares here in the first pages of the book, her actual experience in designing her own home. This, for me, is very important for any designer - to be able to put his or her self in the shoes of the user or client. And here, Hoppen is talking to the user himself. She shares important considerations in designing a home, where to start, and how to go about the whole design process, with or without a designer. Through the different case studies presented in the book, the reader can see different solutions to possible challenges that may arise in renovating a home. Hoppen also goes into detail on why she chose a furniture design for this particular room, or why she chose this finish to match with another material. Here, the reader can see that Hoppen does not only matches objects and things just because they look good together, but it's always a reason to create texture, balance and harmony in all the elements in the room that is essential in creating the whole experience of the home.
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| The book shows her furniture and swatch boards with resources. |
Aside for the beautiful and gorgeous designs that you will see in the book, I think the most important aspect are the words from Kelly Hoppen herself. Personally, I love how she talked about furniture being a statement in the room through it's form and shape and to always put in a visual punctuation in the room, whether it be an accent furniture, or a sculpture or painting, to break the monotony of the design. Here, you can see how she thinks and creates her designs, making the reader more appreciative of the already amazing interiors she has done! This book also goes into room-by-room design of the home plus a chapter on specific elements of the house like the doors, stairs, floors and walls.
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| A chapter exclusive to designing doors, stairs, floor, walls, etc - all the fixed elements of the house. |
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| Kelly Hoppen Home has easy-to-find boxes such as these for quick tips. |
This book is a great guide for anyone planning to renovate or build their own home. If you don't have an interior designer to work with you, this book will guide you through the whole process and at the same time, show you how thorough an interior designer's job is. If you're an interior designer, designer or architect, there is so much to learn here, especially insights from the point-of-view of the end user or client. Hoppen shares a lot of her design solutions and techniques with pictures from her past projects, so if you're the visual type, the pictures are already worth it.
I'm not sure if there are still any Kelly Hoppen Home books available in the local bookstores but her recent book, Kelly Hoppen Ideas, is a must-buy also. Like the previous one, Ideas shares Kelly Hoppen's professional expertise and knowledge in designing. And like all of her books, expect to see stunning pictures of Hoppen's projects. The Ideas book is still available in local bookstores.
If you want to know more about Kelly Hoppen, you can visit her website at http://www.kellyhoppenretail.com/
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