The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors [Hardcover-spiral]

Anna Starmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2005

A practical guide to using color successfully.

The power of color is its ability to influence mood, create atmosphere, and enhance perception. As a result, one of the most effective ways to transform any room is by changing its color. Which colors to use is the challenge.

The Color Scheme Bible is a practical, yet inspiring reference for those who want to take advantage of different colors without clashing. It contains 150 color scheme ideas for home decorators and interior designers.

The book explains how to choose colors that will complement each other for a subdued effect, and which colors and combinations will energize the room.

Topics covered include:

• How color creates ambiance and atmosphere
• Using color to give a small room the illusion of space and depth
• How to create the feeling of warmth and light with color
• Distinctive color schemes inspired by nature, art, travel and even a favorite possession.

The book also includes a variety of color combination palettes that can be used with different materials for refreshingly original color schemes.

The Color Scheme Bible is an essential handbook for home decorators and interior designers.

(20050331)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

What a cool idea for the color challenged among us. Design expert Starmer claims to have sifted through 16 million color possibilities to produce 200 combinations fit for a king and queen and their royal family. The up-front introductions simply whet the appetite, from an abbreviated discourse on the color wheel to two all-too-short ideas on gathering inspiration by creating scrapbooks or a mood board. Then come the palette choices, separated into nine hues. Each individual palette features eight hues: one main with three variations, along with an overview and mood; room applications (e.g., living room or kitchen); ideas for accents; and highlights, whether for balance or contrast. The only issue? Too many selections--and too few ways to cross-index and cross-reference. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

An easy-to-follow and difficult-to-botch guide to the spectrum of home decor. (Michael Gordon Interiors 20050326)

A sophisticated mix-and-match system... a useful self-consulting tool for the typical homeowner seeking adventure in a can of paint. (Shelley Fralic CanWest News Service 20050811)

Full of wonderful photographs, yet conveniently compact, it is a well-written, spiral-bound walk through the color palette. (Nashville Scene 20050430)

It's hard to imagine a more comprehensive look at color scheme possibilities. (Robin Hagey Los Angeles Times 200511)

If you're scared of color... [this book] could allay your fears. (Cheryl-Anne Millsap Spokane Spokesman-Review 200505)

Useful... readers will learn the best color combinations to suit their need. (Jaime Spangrude Woodland Hills Daily News 200506)

A sophisticated mix-and-match system with some surprising color marriages... a useful self-consulting tool for the average homeowner. (Shelly Fralic National Post 200509)

Discusses how to use color effectively in interiors... Highly recommended for public libraries. (Gayle A. Williamson Library Journal 20050508)

Practical advice... You'll also love her take on fabric and surface textures as they relate to color. (Mike McCarthy Log Home Living 20050701)

Instant answers. (Country Woman 200601)

Mix colors with confidence. You'll find 150 color palettes ranging from pale to passionate. (Flare 20050605)

Helpful hints for working with light and creating mood... pistachio-color walls really would look fab with that leaf green sofa. (Jenn Houlihan Style at Home )

From modern and funky to reserved and traditional... a nice alternative to the wall of paint chips. (Rebecca Swain Vadnie Orlando Sentinel )

What a cool idea for the color challenged among us... 200 combinations fit for a king and queen. (Barbara Jacobs Booklist )

Includes a section on how to combine natural and artificial lighting with color to fashion rooms that will be cozy. (Merrie Destefano Romantic Homes )

Illustrates how color alters any space... [Starmer] explains colors, how they might work and how they work together. (Kathy Flanigan Milwaukee Journal Sentinel )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover-spiral: 256 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books (April 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554070325
• ISBN-13: 978-1554070329
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Decorating
  • #50 in Books > Professional & Technical > Architecture

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for the color challenged, September 8, 2005

By 

K. DECKER (Western North Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors (Hardcover-spiral)

I have always had problems deciding what color combinations worked well together. So when I read a review about this book in my local paper I decided that this book might help. It has helped me visualize the color combinations I am considering for my master bedroom remodel. I now can pick a wall color & see at a glance what other colors will complement it, rather than just relying on my rather questionable "eye for color". It helps make the remodeling & redecoration process easier & definitely more fun for anyone who is color challenged!

I also like wire bound page format of this book. This makes it easy to keep pages open to the one's you are looking at & I feel that it will maintain its like new condition even after years of use.

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superlatively useful book, January 18, 2007

By 

Ed P, - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors (Hardcover-spiral)

This is a spiral bound book so it lies flat for convenient reference. It has an excellent introduction touching on the basics of color theory, but the main body of the book consists of palettes. There is a main color covering most of the page, with bands of two accent and two highlight colors superimposed on the main color. There is descriptive text giving the inspiration behind the palette and suggestions for how the colors might be used in the room. The book is divided into color sections (reds, yellow, etc.), with each section having around 20 different palettes. I must have checked 50 books on color in interior decorating out of the library, and this is the one I bought.

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ready made solutions for you, December 7, 2008

By 

Jackal (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors (Hardcover-spiral)

This book gives you a large number of (trendy) ready made palettes all with kitchy names (some might find the names inspiring). Pick one palette, apply and you're done. Not bad if that is what you are looking for, but I found it quite limiting.

If you are looking for something in more depth I can recommend Choosing Colors: An Expert Choice of the Best Colors to Use in Your Home. Its palettes have a larger number of colours so you get more flexibility in choosing. That whole books has a more serious tone and content. Its palettes come from nature or historical time so they are not necessarily trendy. Just bear in mind that using this book is going to be much more time consuming since there are so many choices. The benefit is hopefully going to be a more unique design.

It all depends on what kind of person you are and how much time you can devote to colour choices! Good luck!