'Design for Life', a television series broadcast on the BBC in the autumn of 2009, featured world-famous designer Philippe Starck as he attempted to find the next iconic British designer . The show opens with Starck asking the question "Is anyone at home in the UK?" Is anyone awake?' Which seems to suggest that the real premise of the exhibition is to represent the supposed decline of design in Britain. Starck believes Britain hasn't seen a truly British design aesthetic since Terrance Conran's Habitat in the 1960s, but is this really the case? To answer this question you first need to find out what design once was in Great Britain. Starck believes that the last English style was Terrance Conran, a truly iconic designer who revolutionized Britain's high streets. Conran was heavily influenced by Europe, particularly France, so what made him distinctively British? In the book “Love Your Home”, the author, Tamsin Blanchard attempts to represent the ethics of Conran to Habitat. The book is published by Conran's publishing house in association with Habitat and the introduction is even written by Tom Dixon, Conran's replacement at Habitat, which gives the book a partial view, fully agreeing with Habitat's philosophy; modernity had not yet arrived in the average living room. But Habitat needed to change all that. To some extent this is true, Habitat definitely changed the way people shopped and created a new consumerist attitude towards home interiors, but they were simply part of a larger change in society where goods are have become symbols. of status, it seems arrogant to claim that “Habitat would change all that.” Of course, this deep connection to Habitat also provides benefits to the book. The book offers an in-depth view of...... middle of the page ......our House, p. 17Tamsin Blanchard, Love Your Home, p. 14Paul Rennie, Design – Festival of Britain 1951, p.9Paul Rennie, Design – Festival of Britain 1951, p.53Paul Rennie, Design – Festival of Britain 1951, p.55Paul Rennie, Design – Festival of Britain 1951, p.49Paul Rennie , Design – Festival of Britain 1951, p.69Paul Rennie, Design – Festival of Britain 1951, p.60Design Museum, Design in Britain, p.7David Berman, Do Good Design, p.16Design Museum, Design in Britain, p.42Design Museum, Design in Great Britain, p.8Design Museum, Design in Great Britain, p.15Design Museum, Design in Great Britain, p.15Design Museum, Design in Great Britain, p.22Design Museum, Design in Great Britain , p.22David Berman, Do Good Design , p.59Justin McGuirk, There is no such thing as British designJustin McGuirk, There is no such thing as British design