Icon Magazine November 2015 Back Issue

“Home” is a hard concept to pin down in design terms, but in our new issue – available now – we try to do just that, looking at Barbara Bestor’s Dutch woonerf in LA, modernist villages in Essex and the details that bring a house to life
"Home” is a hard thing to pin down, in design terms. The place itself is where you live most often, but not always. It’s a feeling, isn’t it? To be “at home” could mean to be anywhere: at your office if you love your work, possibly, or more romantically maybe it’s out in the middle of nowhere surrounded only by nature. So, building “homes” and designing things “for the home” cannot just be about function, but also producing some kind of atmosphere – it’s often simply about stories and sentimentality.
Sometimes what can make you feel at home is just to have, according to writer Lyra Kilston for instance, “my daughter’s toys”; hardly the most objectively important thing for a house. It’s why, for our photo essay this issue, we focus in on one of the finer details of interior design: the door handle (“home” is in the details). And, as it turns out, quite a lot of major architects have made their contribution: David Chipperfield, David Adjaye and Zaha Hadid – all featured, among others.

We also visit Maison&Objet, the yearly trade fair in Paris, focused on all things domestic (and more). With a fair that size, you’re bound to run into quite a lot of novelty and bad ideas. But then, “home” is also about personal taste – some gag at what others might gasp for. But what we’re gasping for is featured in our coverage of the event.
Finally, we send Charles Holland to roam Essex, a county that hosts suburban overspill from London – and Holland’s first home, too – while boasting an incredible collection of modernist residences see some of the photos from the article here).