Extending recent literature on hipsters, this iconic figure is shifted from the world of consumption to the world of production via Bourdieu's conceptualisation of the new petite bourgeoisie. This article dialogues Polanyi and Bourdieu to propose a new research agenda within the sociology of cultural production. The article shows both that personal resources and the imagination of home are linked to levels of cultural capital, and that rich methods of investigation are required to grasp the significance of these normally invisible assets to broaden the academic understanding of the field of housing in contemporary culture. It is based on an empirical investigation of taste and lifestyle using nationally representative survey data and qualitative interviews. It considers the material aspects of housing and the changing contexts that are linked to the creation and display of desire for social position and distinction expressed in talk about home decoration as personal expression and individuals' ideas of a `dream house'. It explores the relationship between housing and the position of individuals in social space mapped out by means of a multiple correspondence analysis.

The article discusses the significance of cultural capital for the understanding of the field of housing in contemporary Britain.

Pierre bourdieu 1984