1000 Home Ideas by Stafford Cliff, book review

If you enjoy browsing through interior decorating and home magazines (and blogs!) and like discovering new ideas for things you could do in your own home, then you’ll love 1000 Home Ideas, by Stafford Cliff, with photographs by Christian Sarramon.

Stafford Cliff, a design consultant and art director, who produced the very first Habitat catalogues with Sir Terence Conran, has teamed up with French photographer Christian Sarramon to produce this fantastic book. It’s very much a coffee table book and is designed to be dipped into and browsed through when you’re in need of inspiration.

The book is divided into various sections, covering different design areas, but it’s by no means your usual, bog-standard categories. Instead, you’ll find descriptions such as openings and closings, interest under foot, shelf life, quiet corners, walls of wonder, reaching outwards and steps and banisters.

The large majority of the book is devoted to fantastic photography, of the type that will make you ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ with excitement. There’s one page of text introducing each category, but it’s followed by numerous photos of stunning homes. Some are in the form of huge, double page spreads, others fill a page, plus there are lots of smaller images too.

Although you do get to see some images of entire rooms, it’s the smaller, more intimate details that this book does so well. In the Walls of Wonder section, for example, there are images illustrating a myriad of ways in which people adorn the walls of their homes, from intricate wall tiles and old fashioned kitchens, to contemporary art, photo montages and walls of wellies (yes, really!).

I also love the section on staircases and banisters – who knew there could be so many variations on the humble stairs – and the way the photos have been put together are works of art in themselves.

There’s so much to look at and enjoy in this book and you’re bound to be inspired by something. In fact, there’s far too much to absorb in just one reading and each time you pick it up again, there’s more new, exciting details to notice.

If you’re looking for a book to browse away the hours, or are seeking ideas for your own home, then 1000 Home Ideas by Stafford Cliff is the perfect book purchase. It’s published by Quadrille, is available in a choice of hardback or softback and can be found on Amazon (the best price on Amazon is for the hardback, currently £12.46 instead of £20 – bizarrely, the soft back version is marginally more, at £12.74).

Other Book Reviews

A Girl’s Guide to Decorating, by Abigail Ahern

Life is Sweet, by Hope and Greenwood

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