Home : The Way We Live Now

In Home: The Way We Live Now, interiors expert Kate Watson-Smyth looks at how to accommodate the new normal, whether you own or rent. This exciting and innovative book format looks beyond the estate agent's floorplan and shows how to use the space you have to revolutionise the way you live.

The pandemic of 2020 saw the work/life balance change for everyone around the world. As schools and offices closed, our worlds shrank to exist within the walls of the houses or flats that we shared with flatmates, partners and families. With this, the way we thought about interiors, and the way that we lived our lives, were swiftly changed.

In this book, interiors expert Kate Watson-Smyth looks at these changing scenarios and how you can accommodate them within your own four walls, whether you own or rent, whether you have lots of space to play with or you're looking for space-saving solutions. From flexible home office spaces to garden sheds, moveable storage versus built-in, and how to zone an open-plan room even when it's not a cavernous loft, this book will help you get the most out of your home for the way you, and we, all live now.

This book is packed with statistics, graphics and gorgeous illustrations, as well as handy tips and advice from people who have lived and learnt from their time living in small homes, rented homes and working from home. Kate shows how to make the most of a small bathroom and illustrates how much space you should ideally have between a coffee table and a sofa, even how far away from the TV you should sit depending on its size. Also included are in-depth features from the expert guests featured on Kate's podcast 'The Great Indoors', and tips and advice from hoteliers, interior designers, bloggers and influencers.

With helpful hints and intelligent knowledge on building regulations, multi-functional furniture, clever storage solutions, 'zoning' spaces with colour, getting around rental regulations, lighting, finding space for office equipment and using decor to improve your mood.

Split pages let you mix and match ideas and plans for working from home, small spaces and rental spaces, so you can pick out the information relevant to you at any stage of your life. So if you're WFH and have a small kitchen to adapt for your office space, you can pair the pages together. In this revolutionary new book format, Kate explains how to use the space you have to change the way you live, and for a happier, more productive home life.

• Dimensions (cm): 30.6 x 22.8  x 3.4