Terence Conran - Plain Simple Useful

Teach us delight in simple things. Rudyard Kipling PLAIN SIMPLE USEFUL T E R E N C E CON R A N T H E E S S E N C E O F CON R A N S T Y L E To Vicki Not plain, certainly not simple, but very useful at times. N1 AT THE DISTILLERY P. 20 N2 TASTING P. 60 N3 BUYING WHISKY P. 112 N5 BARS & COCKTAILS P. 122 N6 THE WORLD TOUR P. 148 N7 EXTRAS P. 178 INTRODUCTION COOKING EATING RELAXING WORKING SLEEPING BATHING OUTDOORS STOCKISTS & INDEX PLAIN SIMPLE USEFUL introduction I N T R O D U C T I O N Left The ground floor of our London mews house is an open-plan kitchen and eating area. 178 INTRODUCTION COOKING EATING RELAXING WORKING SLEEPING BATHING OUTDOORS STOCKISTS & INDEX PLAIN SIMPLE USEFUL introduction I N T R O D U C T I O N Left The ground floor of our London mews house is an open-plan kitchen and eating area.

My collection of glassware is displayed on a shelf cantilevered from the wall over the stove and sink. introduction The pace of modern life, with all its jolting distractions, increasingly means that the home must provide a solid, restorative framework for everyday life. First and foremost, that means it must serve the activities that take place within its walls. But, equally importantly, it must allow us to be ourselves, explore our tastes and feel comfortable in the broadest sense of the term. I have always believed that objects and surroundings that are plain, simple and useful are the key to easy living. By grounding us in reality and performing well over time, they are as much the antidote to pointless complexity and superficial styling as they are to the shoddy and second-rate.

Applied to the home as a whole, this discerning approach results in interiors that are effortlessly stylish, confident and timeless. In such surroundings, colour sings out, pattern adds verve and there is plenty of room for the expression of personal taste. I N T R O D U C T I O N

Plain means materials that speak for themselves, uncluttered form, and an absence of the kind of decoration that is designed to obscure rather than enhance. Simple implies both ease of operation and a direct connection with the type of elemental pleasures that we go away on holiday (vacation) to experience the sun streaming through the windows, for example, the texture of a rug underfoot, or basic peace and quiet. Useful means true practicality, rather than gadgets and appliances whose plethora of functions invent problems to solve. Equally, it is a chair that is the right height and a bed that provides the optimum degree of support.

I N T R O D U C T I O N PLAIN SIMPLE USEFUL

Below One of my most treasured possessions and something that perfectly encapsulates the essence of plain, simple, useful is this bespoke cabinet of hand tools, which was a birthday present from Benchmark, our woodworking company. I have often thought that people sometimes fight shy of this paredback approach because they imagine it implies that they dont have enough money to spend. While it is true that simplicity can be economical which is an advantage in itself it is far from rough and ready, and sometimes not all that cheap. You only have to look at the designs of the Shakers to understand that plain, simple and useful things can often display a high degree of finesse and a superb handling of materials. I was lucky enough to go to a school called Bryanston in Dorset (although my parents had to sell the family silver to pay the fees), where I was taught craftsmanship in metal, wood, stone and ceramics by a wonderful man called Don Potter, who had been a pupil of the typeface designer Eric Gill. I was also fortunate to be taught art by Charles Handley-Read.

What made an equally great impression on me, however, were the visits we made to stately homes near Blandford. Here we saw houses of amazing grandeur and sumptuous decoration, gilt and velvet everywhere, with walls covered in family portraits proclaiming that these rich families had well and truly arrived. Somehow I always felt vaguely embarrassed by this brazen demonstration of so-called superiority and found myself wanting to look at the working parts of the house. I would wander off to the servants quarters, where I was invariably delighted by the plain, simple and useful atmosphere of below stairs. The wonderful kitchens where everything worked; the staff dining rooms with beautiful, rugged furnishings; the wine cellars, elegantly detailed; the dairies and gardeners rooms full of practical things, fit for the job at hand. This is what inspired me to become a designer of plain, simple and useful products, and to reject overdecoration.