While going to acting school and living in Greenwhich Village in NYC in the late ‘70s, I was also exposed to a wide variety of people and their living spaces—studios, artist’s lofts, old townhouses, duplexes, basement efficiencies, and even once the elegant Fifth Avenue apartment of my roommate’s great aunt (an eye-opener for a 19-year-old suburban girl). My curiosity about homes has not faded with time, and I have found that many people hold this same fascination.

During this past historic snowstorm, after shoveling massive amounts of snow, I needed some quiet relaxation. After plowing (sorry, I had to) through my bookshelves, I decided upon something that has actually been on my worktable for the past year. In retrospect, I’ve returned to this throughout the past two years for enjoyment, reflection or just plain fun, and I’ve always found something surprising.

The book, written by well-known British author Stafford Cliff, and is titled Home: 50 Tastemakers Describe What It Is, Where It Is, What It Means (Artisan Books, 2007). It is a fascinating collection of essays by 50 people from all walks of life and their relationships to the places they call home. Cliff has written more than 60 books on the subject of interiors, architecture, design, lifestyle and food. For this collection, he contacted people from all walks of life and asked them, “What does home mean to you?”

What sets this compilation apart from your everyday “home interior book” is its focus on the creative and personal insights that designers, architects, writers, chefs, actors, journalists and even an Olympics sports figure apply in the creation of their own home environment. We get a revealing, two- to three-page autobiographical look at people’s emotional connections and experiences, which in turn have influenced the creation of the places they call “home.” There are also 123 color photographs that add to the exploratory aspect of each person’s personal space.

Several of the names in this book may not be immediately recognizable as they are mostly well-known within their fields of expertise, but many are familiar personalities such as Donatella Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Lulu Guinness and Michael Graves. Donatella Versace states in her essay that she feels “totally at ease” within her house, and goes on to say that “culture, feeling, color” are the three elements that summarize her and her interiors. She always chooses “vivid colors” and rich, textured objects such as huge Chinese vases that she has scattered about her home and also painted in trompe l’oiel on her dining room walls. These vases seem to float “suspended between dream and reality.” She says her preferences for fashion and home décor need to possess this dreamlike quality.