Contemporary Home

Contemporary Home (2006) – Andreas von Einsiedel & Jojanna Thornycroft
Merrell • ISBN: 9781858943565 • Condition: Good
Stylishly pre-loved and mildly aspirational, via Crappy Old Books

Are you ready to feel quietly judged by other people’s furniture? Step right in.

Contemporary Home is that glossy 2000s coffee-table book that insists minimalism is a lifestyle and not, in fact, the result of not being able to afford any stuff. With photography by Andreas von Einsiedel and words by Jojanna Thornycroft, it’s a tour through rooms where:

• No one seems to own a cable

• Cushions are never squashed

• Kitchen counters are apparently used exclusively for artfully placed lemons

This Merrell (2006) edition is full of big, shiny pages showing you how life could look if you replaced your entire existence with glass, steel, and emotionally distant seating.

Condition: Good (a.k.a. “Respectable and Slightly Lived With”)

When Crappy Old Books says Good, here’s what we mean:

• The cover is intact and still radiates “I belong on a coffee table, not in a backpack.”

• The corners may be a touch softened, in that “someone once stacked me under two other coffee-table books and a takeaway menu” way.

• The spine is solid, with maybe a gentle crease that says at least one human actually opened it instead of just styling it for Instagram.

• Inside, you’ll find all pages present, un-ripped, un-doodled, and mercifully free from passive-aggressive Post-it notes saying “We could do this in the living room.”

There may or may not be the faint ghost of a cup-ring impression if you tilt it into the light. We like to think that’s part of the authenticity.

What’s Inside (Apart from Shame About Your Current Sofa)

Expect page after page of interiors that look like:

• Nobody has ever tripped over a laundry rack

• Children, if they exist, are stored off-site

• Books are arranged by colour, size, and emotional temperature

• Chairs are selected for how well they photograph, not whether a human back can tolerate them

The themes include:

• Clean lines that suggest you own “spare time” as a concept

• Clever lighting that never once involves a dusty lampshade from 1998

• Storage solutions that assume you have exactly three possessions and all of them are aesthetically curated

• Open-plan spaces where nobody ever has to smell actual cooking

It’s a glorious parade of glass balustrades, floating shelves, polished concrete, and kitchen islands large enough to land a small helicopter on.

Why This Is Weirdly Perfect For You

You get all the benefits of a fancy design book without:

• Paying full retail price

• Pretending you bought it new last week in a fateful moment of lifestyle transformation

• The crippling fear of creasing the pristine dust jacket (spoiler: you’re allowed to touch this one)

From Crappy Old Books, this copy arrives already broken in just enough that you can:

• Leave it out on the coffee table to suggest you think about “spaces” and “design narratives”

• Open it while wearing pyjamas that directly contradict everything on the page

• Flip through it for inspiration, then reject everything as “lovely but absolutely impossible in this house”

For Readers Who:

• Secretly believe that if they buy enough interiors books, the mess will magically vacate the property

• Want a socially acceptable way to judge other people’s taste without leaving the sofa

• Like big glossy images and the gentle self-loathing that comes with them

• Need a prop that screams “I have opinions about lighting and storage” even if they absolutely don’t

The Useful Bit

• Title: Contemporary Home

• Authors: Andreas von Einsiedel & Jojanna Thornycroft

• Publisher: Merrell (2006)

• ISBN: 9781858943565

• Condition: Good – gently used, structurally sound, aesthetically smug

Contemporary Home: for when you want to live in a minimalist glass box, but will absolutely read this while surrounded by mismatched mugs, tangled chargers, and that chair which is technically just a clothes pile with legs. Proudly and slightly ironically supplied by Crappy Old Books.

Keep browsing: See more Architecture books Other books by Andreas von Einsiedel and Jojanna Thornycroft