Here are creative, city-tested solutions to meeting the challenges of metro living. In The New City Home, Leslie Plummer Clagett provides you with design ideas for a wide variety of urban living spaces -- from lofts to apartments to townhouses. Throughout the book, Clagett looks at a variety of specific examples that show ingenuity and practicality. For example, youll learn how a New York brownstone was restored to its original condition while its interior was opened up for a refreshingly modern feel.

Youll discover how to make the most of limited space, bring in light and views, reduce noise, maintain privacy, and live in a building with historic-landmark status. Whether youre already at home in the metropolis or contemplating a move there, The New City Home will help you create your personal space in an impersonal place.

The New City Home features:

• 25 of the most well-planned and appealing urban spaces in the United States and Canada
• innovative ideas for creating a comfortable, well-crafted city homeHouses that represent a broad range of metro building types and the full spectrum of homeowner type (single young people, married couples, empty nesters)
• design solutions that can be applied to many multi-residential situations, not just major metros

"...the best in metropolitan design...the spaces chosen share a blend of artistry and practicality shaped to serve the needs of those who live there."
-- Publishers Weekly

About the author:
Leslie Plummer Clagetts passion for urban residential architecture includes over 20 years of writing articles on the subject for publications such as The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Herald-Examiner. She lives in New York City.

Introduction

Part 1 BACK TO THE CITY

Part 2 LOFTS
Alley Architecture | San Francisco
Seven Arches Define a TriBeCa Loft | New York City
Bringing a Box to Life | Boston
A Sensitive Separation | New York City
On the Fringe of the City | Richmond
A Chorus of Materials | New York City
A Glass Act | Baltimore
Thinking inside the Box | Boston

Part 3 APARTMENTS
Urbane Renewal | New Orleans
Residential Meets Retail | Portland
Shadows and Illusions in a Manhattan Apartment | New York City
Elevating the Design of a Chicago High-Rise | Chicago
A House for Entertaining | Philadelphia

Part 4 TOWN HOUSES
A Tale of Two Stories | Toronto
Built from the Top Down | Los Angeles
Industrial Merger | Minneapolis
Reclaiming a New York Brownstone | New York City
Sylvan Surprise | Toronto
Bridging Past and Present | New York City
Town-House Renovation Passes the Test of Times | Chicago
Living on the Levels | Montreal
Preserving Independence | Philadelphia
Capitol Gains | Washington, D.C.

Directory of Architects

The metropolis is heady with architectural contrasts: the collisions between big and not-so-big structures, edifices new and old, ornate and ordinary designs, glass and masonry and steel, good buildings and bad. The large-scale cacophony that's so stimulating on a sensory level can prove to be destabilizing when it comes to making a home in the city. Toward the goal of making this book informative as well as inspiring, I've worked to make it a realistic road map to design dilemmas while mirroring the diversity that's typical of urban areas.

For a start, there's a geographic balance to the content. While the traditional big-city bases -- Boston, Philadelphia, and of course New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles -- are covered, the book also features an itinerary of other locations. New Orleans, Toronto, Baltimore, Richmond, Portland, Montreal, and Minneapolis are just some of the cities included that confirm that the boom in downtown living isn't restricted to multimillion population centers.

Rather than focusing on a single housing type, a full menu of homes is represented. In addition to an assortment of high-rise apartments, town houses, and lofts, I also look at some more offbeat abodes, such as a converted auto shop and a former stable.

While the artistic appeal of the homes is of a constant caliber, this book provides a broader and deeper picture than is typically found. Instead of adopting a "fait accompli" point of view, I go behind the scenes to identify the impetus behind each project, examining how the design was developed. Responding to the needs of growing families and empty nesters, of wheelchair users and full-time home workers, these residences display a high standard of both aesthetics and ingenuity.

Living in such a compressed context engenders its own set of day-to-day difficulties, and this book supplies a battery of city-tested solutions. From tips on the fine art of maximizing storage space to dealing with the ever-present noise, each chapter has a special section that focuses on a specific issue of urban living.

Whether you're already at home in the metropolis or contemplating a move there, The New City Home can help you create your personal space in an impersonal place.

Customer Reviews from Amazon

Need some ideas for your loft apartment? This book is full of great decorating plans you can put into action.

My dream is to own a loft one day and I have been to open house tours and read many books about this subject. I have a very defined taste, concerning how I want a loft to look and how I want to decorate my loft. I have a very contemporary taste in furnishings and I like an open and airy loft. When I first received this book in the mail, I almost quit breathing. It was if the authors had looked into my dreams and thoughts to create this book. This book truly represents the contemporary feel and look that I like so well. I can guarantee you that if you are interested in a contemporary look to your loft, this is your book. I know that I will probably wear this book out, because it is truly an inspirational vision of a modern loft. The photos are beautifully done, the writing is sharp and concise, and the overall quality is outstanding!!

Young people today aren't keeping to the small-town or suburban lifestyles of their parents. They're going to the cities to rent studio apartments. Once there, they're likely to end up moving into family-size spaces.

City planners and administrators are taking this back-to-the-cities trend into consideration. They're trying to make city living appeal to young future owners. One way is by business building up a neighborhood around it, in brownstones; floor-through flats; high-rise apartments; lofts; offbeat converted places such as autoshops and stables; rowhouses; and townhouses.

Likewise, architects are thinking about the loss of peace, privacy and quiet that usually comes with city living. They're coming up with designs that meet young needs for shelter and express young personalities. The result really is personal space inside, even with such impersonal space outside as "shadowy" concrete buildings.

This is done by clearly-defined lines, hand-worked materials, soothing planes, and unusual details indoors. It's also by putting in balconies and terraces and opening up roofs and windows to light and views onto deliberately planted small, green spaces. Similarly, not much space inside looks bigger, for example, by using the same materials in and out, such as cedar flooring, fencing and decking.

THE NEW CITY HOME even brings working spaces inside, while keeping them attractively and cleverly separate from living spaces. In one case, for example, the outside has cottage-style clapboard cladding for the first floor. Indoors, the kitchen and living spaces have a cozy look, what with simple cabinetry, low ceilings and boldly painted colors. The second floor has plywood panels on the outside. Inside, spotlights, skylights, and high ceilings show the upper level to be for work.

What if the two can't always be separated, as in bathrooms or kitchens? Space isn't clearly personal or work, if it brings in universal design. This means, for example, lever handles to doors and faucets, rocker-panel light switches, and textured non-slip flooring.

Leslie Plummer Clagett's book is organized and written in an understandable, user-friendly way. Her choice of illustrations works perfectly with what she says. This practical help to city living is rounded out with Elizabeth Franklin's THE FRANKLIN REPORT, NEW YORK CITY 2003: THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO HOME SERVICES.

I've browsed about twenty different contemporary interior books, and I've found this to be most interesting and slightly more inspiring.

One piece of advice: I don't think any of the contemporary interior books have as much variety as one might expect. Make sure to browse the physical books before making a final decision - don't base you decision on these reviews alone. I've done this with many book on interior design and I've been disappointed.

This book has wonderful photography and covers a broad range of city homes including renovations and lofts. The style of this book is modern and contemporary. Very nice ideas!

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