Sir Terrence Conran, the British designer who revolutionized retail and decoration, has died at the age of 88.

Known best as the founder of The Habitat, he brought modern style and simplicity to UK homes in the 1960s and later helped find the design museum.

“He was a visionary who enjoyed an extraordinary life and career that revolutionized the way we live in Britain,” a family said in a statement.

“She was loved by her family and friends and we will miss her very much.”

• Sweetheart: Sir Terrence Conran

The statement added: “We are very relieved to learn that many of you will mourn with us, but we urge you to celebrate the extraordinary legacy of the wire and its contribution to the country he loved so much.”

He “promoted the best of British design, culture and fine arts around the world”, “a very common belief that good design improves people’s quality of life”.

Sir Terrence began his career in the late 1940s, but became a household name as one of Doll’s leading designers of the ’90s.

His empire span will continue to go to restaurants and architecture, but it is for his accessible and fashionable furniture, interiors and homeware that he is best known.

A few years before Ica arrived on the British coast, he paved the way for flat-packed furniture, helping to reduce the cost of his cutting edges for the purpose of “democratizing good design”.

Tim Marlowe, director of the Design Museum, paid tribute, saying it was “an opportunity and an inspiration to get to know him.”

In a statement, Marlowe wrote: “Terrence Conran was instrumental in rebuilding post-war Britain and his legacy is enormous.

“She is revered by many generations of designers, from Mary Quant and David Mello to Thomas Heatherwick and Johnny Ive.

“He changed the way we live and the way we shop and eat. He also created a great institution – the Design Museum – in which he is justifiably proud and with whom he was fully engaged until the end of his extraordinary life.”