Our homes are an expression of how we want to live; they shape our everyday routines and fundamentally affect our well-being. Interior design for the home sustains a giant global industry and feeds an entire branch of the media. However, the question of dwelling, or how to live, is found increasingly to be lacking in serious discourse.

This book sets out to review the interior design of our homes. It discusses 20 iconic residential interiors from the present back to the 1920s, by architects and designers such as Assemble, Arno Brandlhuber, Lina Bo Bardi, and Josef Frank and by artists such as Cecil Beaton and Andy Warhol. Including historic and recent photographs, drawings and plans, the book explores these case studies as key moments in the history of the modern interior. Penny Sparke provides a concise history of the discipline of interior design, Alice Rawsthorn investigates the role of gender, and Mark Taylor discusses the discourse on interior design in the twenty-first century. Adam Štech offers insights into the use of colour in residential interiors and Matteo Pirola offers a detailed and richly illustrated chronology of significant events in the history of interior design.

In a portfolio of photographs selected exclusively for this book, Jasper Morrison explores what makes a good interior. In addition to interviews with contemporary interior design practitioners, experts in the fields of the sociology of living and psychology provide further insight. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in interior design.