The Elements of a Home: Curious Histories behind Everyday Household Objects, from Pillows to Forks

Description

The Elements of a Home reveals the fascinating stories behind more than 60 everyday household objects and furnishings. Brimming with amusing anecdotes and absorbing trivia, this captivating collection is a treasure trove of curiosities. With tales from the kitchen, the bedroom, and every room in between, these pages expose how napkins got their start as lumps of dough in ancient Greece, why forks were once seen as immoral tools of the devil, and how Plato devised one of the earliest alarm clocks using rocks and water—plus so much more. • A charming book for anyone who loves history, design, or décor • Readers discover tales from every nook and cranny of a home. • Entries feature historical details from locations all over the world, including Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. As a design historian and former managing editor of Design*Sponge, author Amy Azzarito has crafted an engaging, whimsical history of the household objects you've never thought twice about. The result is a fascinating book filled with tidbits from a wide range of cultures and places about the history of domestic luxury. • Filled with lovely illustrations by Alice Pattullo • Perfect for anyone who adores interior design, trivia, history, and unique facts • Great for those who enjoyed The Greatest Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy by Rick Beyer, An Uncommon History of Common Things by Bethanne Patrick and John Thompson, Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Similar books

• 

  Elements of Style: Designing a Home & a Life

  By Erin Gates

  A big thank-you to my AMAZING clients whose homes they trusted me to decorate and shoot for this book: Natalie and Jeff Schwartz, Debra Brodsky and Erich Shigley, Dina Ciarimboli, Kirstan Barnett, Kelly O'Donnell, Lucas and Caitlin ...

• 

  The Good Group Home: Managing for Success

  By Gb Wilson

  The Good Group Home gives practical solutions that will help even the most seasoned team be more effective. This book suggests management strategies that are proven effective in real-life situations.

• 

  The Elements of Character

  By Mary G. Chandler

  Reproduction of the original: The Elements of Character by Mary G. Chandler

• 

  Elements of Family Style: Elegant Spaces for Everyday Life

  By Erin Gates

  She also showcases the work of other designers she loves who surround parents, children, and their pets with comfort and beauty.

• 

  Buying Your First Home: What Every First Time Home Buyer Needs to Know

  By Marc Hyland

  But how do you actually do that? And are all of the deal breaking critical steps in between? That is what this book is all about...everything you need to know about buying your first home!

• 

  Home: The Elements of Decorating

  By Emma Blomfield

  Welcome to Home. Inside, interior decorator Emma Blomfield guides you from room to room, empowering you to create a look you love and a space you are proud to show off—without breaking the bank or starting from the ground up.

• 

  40 Homes

  By Shelby McCormick

  Jenny was left by her parents at a stanger's door.

• 

  AOE, Adventures of the Elements: Dangerous Games

  By III, Richard E. James

  Dangerous Games is the third book in the Adventures of the Elements series, which continues the fictional saga enable two brothers and three sisters who discover sunglasses that enable them...

• 

  Carry Me Home

  By Megan Nugen Isbell

  Returning to Carver hasn been the same since Jesse left, but after almost four years, Riley Regas has gotten used to it.

• 

  The Elements of Building: A Business Handbook for Residential Builders & Tradesmen

  By Mark Q. Kerson

  The book is concerned with the business of residential construction, including the maintenance, restoration, renovation, and construction of private homes and related properties.