Product Description

Now in its second edition. A History of Interior Design delivers the inside story on 6,000 years of personal and public space. John Pile acknowledges that interior design is a field with unclear boundaries, in which construction, architecture, the arts and crafts, technology and product design all overlap. These topics are woven together in a narrative that runs from cave dwellings and temple architecture, through Gothic cathedrals and palaces on to the grand civic speces of the nineteenth century and the modern skyscrapers. Embedded in a social and political context, detailed discussions of famous buildings, from the Parthenon to the Pompidou Centre, are interspersed with investigations of the domestic - the cottages, farmhouses, apartments and city terraces inhabited by ordinary people. Primary source quotations are used to provide contemporary perspectives on a wide variety of interior settings. New to the second edition is a chapter looking at the interior design history of Asian and Islamic tradtions. Fresh material has also been added on Pre-Columbian design history. There are 180 new images throughout the book. Including furniture, , lighting and product design Finally, this

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #364744 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Review
"Pile delivers a focused and clearly written chronological examination of significant interiors and their associated details." (APT Bulletin, June 2002)

From the Inside Flap
Now in its third edition and fully updated with the most recent examples, A History of Interior Design tells the story of 6,000 years of domestic and public space.

John Pile acknowledges that interior design is a field with unclear boundaries, in which construction, architecture, furniture, decoration, techno9logy, and product design all overlap. These topics are woven together in a fascinating narrative that runs from cave dwellings and temple architecture, through Gothic cathedrals and renaissance palaces, to the grand civic spaces of the nineteenth  century and the sleek interiors of modern skyscrapers.

Embedded in a social and political context, detailed discussions of famous buildings, from the Parthenon to the Pompidou Centre, are interspersed with investigations of the domestic vernacular - the cottages, farmhouses, apartments, and city terraces inhabited by ordinary people.

In this new edition, the evolution of interior design has been made even more accessible through the inclusion of a CD-ROM with an interactive timeline. Incorporating over 100 illustrations, this sets the great interior spaces of the world in the context of the social, political, and technological developments of the time.

• Includes a CD-ROM with over 100 illustrations providing an interactive timeline of the history of interior design
• Expanded and enriched with many more examples of landmark contemporary interiors.

With 666 illustrations, 312 in colour

About the Author
John Pile was Professor of Design at the renowned Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, for most of his teaching career. He is the author of twelve books on furniture, colour, draughtsmanship, office planning and other aspects of interior design.

Customer Reviews

The Wonderful Mr. Pile
History of Interior Design is great. I study interior design and, without John Pile's books, this wide-ranging subject would have been far more difficult. Studying the subject "history of interior design" would have been such a struggle for me without having this book at my side. I just couldn't find all I needed on the internet. Apart from the high quality paper and excellent images, John Pile has a writing style that gets his point across very clearly. That makes for rapid reading and faster absorption of information.

amazing resource!
WOW! beautifully organized and articulated. thoughtful and well-rounded discussion of the variation and evolution of interior design. it was purchased to use as a course resource (on 20th century American consumer culture), but am now tempted to buy my OWN copy.

Don't like history -- but love design? Buy this book!
If you're bored with historical overviews of a discipline, you're in for a surprise. Pile brings interior design to life with vibrant examples, wonderful background detail, and the kind of information that will help you understand this arena with much more depth.