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Ha, French for pocket: Not a term much used in building or design. A few blogs ago, I described a way of considering garden design as an alternative to creating borders and cutting shapes out of a lawn, or indeed starting in one corner and making shapes, of just planting specimen plants towards another corner. This is a more holistic approach based on listing all conditions of the garden (see site analysis blog), then listing wants, needs, desires, uses of spaces etc for the proposed garden, including the route and entrance threshold, and then considering the space covered in stuff. This may be lawn, grasses (trendy) herbs, shrubs (totally covered), etc then take out spaces for the needs and routes between them. It's really the same as house layout design, but more akin to decollage, the result of removing bits, rather like a political poster that people have attempted to remove. No matter, I hope you get the idea...It ties up the results of your site analysis with your list of must-haves. (The brief) The pocket idea is best seen in heavy walled churches, cathedrals, castles where there are often pockets in the wall created for chapels, spiral stairs, secret rooms and so on, and best exploited in more modern housing where built-in shelves, en-suite facilities, larders, even secret rooms and snugs are worked into spaces between rooms. Interesting spaces may be created where square edged rooms could appear clumsy, or passages would allow better flow. I would agree that it's not for the faint-hearted, but could be great fun especially when building the corrugated card model (one to amuse the kids on a wet holiday afternoon). Don't blame me if they want to be architects after that. It could add a sense of humour to a design and add bags of character...And you do want your extension or new home to exude character don't you! A word of warning, it will be more expensive as builders do not relish curves. Happy designing

I have mentioned this book in other blogs...The sensual Home by Ilse Crawford...a former Editor of Elle Decoration, arguably the best regular Interior mags on the UK market. I found the Continental issues even more interesting! When I recommended the book a while back it was available on ABEbooks for about £2.50 + P+P, sadly since she's been involved in a Stateside TV show, it changes hands for at least £65 ( Time for a reprint it seems to me), it's a very useful guide to following your senses for design inspiration, but surely not £65 of advice! I guess being a former editor of a design magazine she had access to copious images to suit her subject matter...it's a lovely coffee table book. Look out for a secondhand one or perhaps a reprint or library copy. Chapter headings include Liberate your senses Harmony, balance and quiet Comfort, Texture Sixth Sense Light and Shade Sustenance and Love to name a few. I don'tknow this Lady, but I just love the way the book is assembled: it's inspiring, and a useful form of design check list, without being full of fashion for its own sake. Perhaps she'll give a good review of my book!