Habitat was founded by Terence Conran in 1964 when, struggling to sell his furniture anywhere else, he opened the first store on Fulham Road, London to market his Summa range of furniture.
The store, with its quarry tiled floor, whitewashed walls and spotlights, was to become the Habitat template. This new shop, which created a feeling of space and allowed the products to be the main focus, was a stark contrast to its larger, established rivals and brought something new to the high street.
In the post war years, three-piece suites, heavy dark furniture and chinz was packed into British interiors but Conran offered an alternative to the gloom of post war austerity with modernism! Habitat displayed products in mocked up rooms offering simple forms, natural materials and a fresh colour palette.
Habitat was offering affordable, contemporary designs which were extremely popular with the middle class and the business expanded quickly in the UK throughout the 60s. Habitat soon went international with the first store opening in 1973 in Paris, there are now 26 stores in France, 5 in Spain and 5 in Germany with other interests around the world.
Having persuaded shoppers that good design was affordable for all, the idea was copied by other retailers and after 47 years Habitat is no longer competitive. On 24th June 2011 Habitat went into administration with a deal to sell the Habitat brand and three of its central London stores to Home Retail Group, who also own Argos and Homebase, for £24.5m. The future of the other 30 stores around the UK is unclear.
Habitat brought colour, smooth lines and contemporary design into British homes, it gave people new ways to do up their interiors and changed the way we actually lived. Without Habitat the nations passionate love affair with Interior Design may never have happened!
In the absence of Habitat let Transformations Interior Designs bring colour, simple form and contemporary design into your interior.
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