You thought you knew about color … and then you went shopping. Maybe it was for paint and wallpaper;
maybe rugs or sofas. Maybe you had to think about combining several colors in the same room. However
it began, you ended up learning that choosing home colors is not the same as coordinating your wardrobe.
Well, of course. There's just more color mass on a sofa or wall than in clothing. Blue carpet,
furniture or draperies will have a completely different impact than a blue shirt. You also have to
consider your own personal color preferences, the atmosphere or mood you want to create, and which
hues bring out the best (or worst) in each other.
|
|
That's why it's helpful of have good color advisors,
ranging from design professionals to the indispensable paint store guy with a great eye.
It also helps to hit the books. There's nothing like beautiful photo layouts to raise your color IQ and
enthusiasm; any bookstore with a decent interior decorating section will have several good selections.
The following books bring a variety of approaches to understanding color and creating beautiful color
schemes – whatever your learning style or level of expertise. You can also buy them online, by simply
clicking on the covers. PY
|
Color Palettes
Atmospheric Interiors Using the
Donald Kaufman Color Collection
Suzanne Butterfield
This is my hands-down favorite color book, full of lovely, subtle hues and colors you would actually use
in your own home – only better. Strong colors like red and orange are tamed; neutrals like brown paper bag
are given extra depth and richness. It's not all pretty pictures, either, although there are lots of those.
Thoughtful text explains how light and shadow, architectural details, room size and flow, color intensity
and more enter into successful color planning. This book is based on a boutique collection of paints with
limited availability, but you'll still love and benefit from its quality advice and the palette guide at
the back of the book.
|
Colors for Your Every Mood
Discover Your True Decorating Colors
Leatrice Eiseman
Leatrice Eiseman is a leading color consultant, executive director and spokesperson for Pantone, the
standardized color matching system used by design professionals in all fields. But this color pro bypasses
color theory to focus on emotions, memories, inspirations and other psychological reactions as clues to
personal color preferences. More helpful than the text, however, are pages chock full of smaller mix and
match samples (ranging from subtle to eye-popping), designed to express a dominant mood or theme. One look
and you know which color schemes you love. Or hate. This book provides a broad spectrum of choices to help
you coordinate furniture, fabric, art and more.
|
Color Style
How to Identify the Colors That
Are Right for Your Home
Carolyn Warrender
Carolyn Warrender offers yet another approach to understanding color, breaking it down into elemental
palettes – air, wind, water, fire, earth and mineral – with each group further refined into warm and cool
tones. This scheme provides a useful way to view, consider and articulate your own color preferences. Air
palettes, for example, are delicate pastels while earth palettes are "rich and dark, muted and somber."
While this approach is especially useful to color rookies, beginners really need more illustrations to fully
get the point. While there is plenty to be learned from "Color Style," it is probably most helpful when
combined with other resources, like the two books above.
|
The Perfect Palette
Fifty Inspired Color Palettes for
Painting Every Room in Your House
Bonnie Rosser Krims
"The Perfect Palette" is a sleeper, but definitely worth considering if lack of time or interest means you
won't be delving deeply into color theory. The cut-to-the-chase soft-cover has short copy and few photos,
opting instead for watercolor illustrations and slightly faded color swatches. That said, it also offers 50
terrific three-color palettes for every type of room and personal preference. Best of all, it provides actual
paint color numbers for each swatch from Benjamin Moore, Pratt & Lambert and Pittsburgh Paints. Simplicity
is still a virtue: this non-intimidating book is a gentle but effective guide to rooms that transcend the
average.
|
Express Yourself with Color
Better Homes and Gardens
This reasonably priced book offers updated, inviting and energizing pictures backed with helpful tips and
accessible advice. It has a short introduction to the color wheel and how to use it, a quiz to determine
(heaven help us) your "inner hue" and there's even a helpful index. Best of all though, are page after page
of photos illustrating ways to use and combine colors. "Express Yourself" is a very good jump-start for
decorating novices and those who’ve been away from the game for awhile.
|
Classic Paints and Faux Finishes
Annie Sloan and Kate Gwynn
OK, this is really a how-to book for perfectionist painters – but it's also full of incredible pictures
that are themselves a color education. Look especially at the Color Directory section, where colors are
represented by opulent, nearly tactile photos of powdered pigments and oil paint smears. Or the International
Palettes pages, which leave you longing for more examples of the fabulous ways colors transmute as they
travel through cultures. You may never paint a faux surface in your life, but if you're a true color freak
you'll going to love this book.
|
