In the period 1860 - 1900, artists' houses and extravagant lifestyles, and the 'Palaces of Art' created by Rossetti, Burne-Jones, William Morris, Frederic Leighton and Alma-Tadema, became the object of public fascination. The idea of the 'House Beautiful' became a touchstone of cultured life. Laurence ask - does this imperative live on? Do we still think we can express ourselves through the rooms we create? Is it decadent? It was, of course, at this time that artists, designers, poets and collectors promoted the idea of 'Art for Art's Sake'. Did the Aesthetic Movement see the last flowering of art and design untrammelled by utility and social purpose or was it the final, fascinating but decadent phase in the last decade of Queen Victoria's reign?