The Architecture of Happiness

Bestselling author Alain de Botton has written about love, travel, status and how philosophy can console us. Now he turns his attention to one of our most intense but often hidden love affairs: with our houses and their furnishings. He asks: What makes a house truly beautiful?Why are many new houses so ugly?Why do we argue so bitterly about sofas and pictures � and can differences of taste ever be satisfactorily resolved?Will minimalism make us happier than ornaments? To answer these questions a