The Family at Home. Love. Life. Style. :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
Children and style rarely seem to share space; creating a home that reflects our chic sensibilities and kids’
yen for freedom has been baffling. Until now.

In The Family at Home, Anita Kaushal, decorator, designer, and mother of two, brings us into smartly designed and decorated spaces that function as seamlessly for stylish grown-ups as they do for the unpredictable melee of family life. After all, no matter how inviting your children’s bedrooms, your kids will want to drag their favorite toys beyond it. Now you can feel relief knowing that when the time comes, their things can be put away and the room can once again be transformed into your place.

Kaushal, herself one of seven children, embraces the modern concept that children are a natural part of our lives, neither inconvenient beings nor precious centers of the universe, and so The Family at Home, focuses on the needs of both parent and child. For example, a library trolley adds whimsy to a volume-lined living room and displays books within a child’s grasp; oversized pillows that look tidy both on the floor and on a couch make for inviting family time and easy cleanup; cubbyholes that double as a secret reading space and room divider create a shared bedroom; and axe-hewn teak benches contrast warmly with the surfaces of a sleek kitchen. The unique spaces in this book have the hallmark of a home anyone would want to return to: they are livable, flexible, and, above all, brimming with individual style.

The book’s four chapters echo the rhythms of family life and consider how each space lends itself to dual use, depending on whether children are present:

• Live shows how to adapt living areas to the needs of children and adults.
• Share offers ideas for making the kitchen and dining areas flow impeccably for cooking, eating, and celebrating with family and friends.
• Nest is devoted to making bedrooms and bathrooms calm retreats.
• Bare focuses on light and air, gardening, nature, and caring for the planet.

The Family at Home is richly illustrated with 300 beautiful color photographs of domestic places inhabited by everyday people. Stunning and practical, it is replete with storage and display solutions, lighting suggestions, techniques for incorporating built-in furniture, an indispensable resource section, and much more. No other book abounds with ideas and insights to be adapted or merely appreciated as you create your ideal home.
Cached date: AWS Called=true

Customer Reviews

By my side

2008-03-26
I keep this book next to my desk at all times. Instant soothing, instant inspiration. Amazing pictures, useful, meaningful text. I love it.

Work of Art.

2008-01-15
This is certain to become a coffee table favorite. This is not only a family inspired book but one full of design inspiration and just plain beauty in a home. The author incorporates all these areas and creates a book for all to enjoy.

A Balanced Beautiful View on Family Life

2007-11-27
I don't even have children and I adored this book. First of all the imagery is beautiful - lovely lived in homes with extremely style-conscious parents and kids that do what kids do best - create mini piles everywhere. It was refreshing to see a book that revealed homes that are less than perfect. It was equally refreshing to read the book and see that it's not just another snobby design book written for the hipster families that aren't home long enough to spend time with their kids. These families know each other, spend time living together, and the parents maintain their roles are parents and the kids as children - in their proper place while still allowed to live and be children. So many families put their children as the center of their universe, something I always saw as extremely unbalanced and a great way to spoil them - this book embraces the idea of living as a functional family unit where the focus isn't trying to adjust to the kids but that the kids need to adjust and apply to the rules set by the parents. I can tell the author grew up with many siblings and that her parents were good ones because balance is a huge part of this book. I enjoy her philosophy on eating and cooking together - how enjoyable it is for children to participate in the preparation process. Not opening a can and heating it in the microwave, but feeling the texture of veggies, cutting fresh fruit, having fun - enjoy the sensory experience, the textures, the things that make food so enjoyable. Teaching them how to eat good food that is good for them.

I could write paragraphs on the beauty of this book, it's so impressive, honest, down to earth without being granola, and extremely easy to follow. Again, the photographs (hundreds!) are gorgeous, and the paper quality is the best, it's not high gloss and special, it feels good on the hands.

Best of all, this book is good on the heart. It's really sweet. It would make for a perfect present to friends with kids or friends planning on having them.