The Home Color Book [Paperback]

John Aves (Author), Melanie Aves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

There are hundreds of color options, but only one decision-maker that matters. You! Be your own interior designer with this lavishly illustrated color guide for your home. Over 80 professional designers take you on a tour of decorated rooms, giving tips and advice on ways to use color to create more beautiful living spaces.

* Offers the complete color spectrum - from bright primaries to soft neutrals

* Discover how different moods - playful to romantic - can be created

* See how a favorite item - a shirt, rug, or painting - inspire an entire room

* Learn the basics of color mixing in a special altering color section

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Melanie and John Aves undergraduate courses in art and English at Albion College in Michigan, and have been involved in art and design throughout their careers and more than thirty years of marriage. John's work has centered on the field of communications, including advertising, public relations, and publishing. Melanie, who earned a Masters degree from Calvin College, is a painter and art educator. She is currently teaching courses at East Grand Rapids High School and Grand Valley State University. The Aves have three daughters.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction:

The Home Color Book is your invitation to a more color-confident world. Over eighty professional interior designers offer tips and advice on how to make interior design color decisions with less stress and more certainty. Color examples from some of the most beautiful homes in the world will give you the inspiration and know-how to develop your own decorating style.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156496339X
• ISBN-13: 978-1564963390
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,815,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exerpt from the Chicago Tribune, Sunday, May 25,1997, Home 4, June 14, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Home Color Book (Paperback)

by Karen E. Klages, Tribune Staff Writer
"The following titles get high marks for their clever, low-cost/low-stress decorating ideas and gorgeous photographs that show the way."
GOOD READS:

"The Aveses have a mission with this book: To teach people how to choose and mix colors successfully in a room. To do that, they gathered photos and tips from more than 80 interior designers and architects from around the country, including Chicagoans Janet Schirn, Robert Kleinschmidt, Lili Kray, David Seglin and Terrell Goeke of Highland Park."

"The photos in this book (all fully dressed interiors) speak for themselves. (Thankfully the text is short.) They explain better than any words how daring colors and creative combinations can play with the senese and whip up 'atmosphere' faster than any other decorative device."

"The book is organized sensibly by color and is a great confidence-builder for anyone who has lived far too long with bland interiors."

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Collection of Outdated Decorating Photos, August 7, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Home Color Book (Paperback)

"Tips" is a short list on one page, the rest of the book is photos only. Most of the photos were recognized from old issues of home decorating magazines, others are very dated, late 80's to early 90's decorating styles. Photos are accompanied by captions such as "the blue of the couch contrasts nicely with the color of the walls" -- as if we can't see that for ourselves. A totally useless book. The other review is not really an 1997 exerpt from the Chicago Tribune, it was simply posted by a reader, probably the author.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice varitey of color schemes and styles, September 26, 2001

By 

Angel Lee "Liocorno Amethyst Moonstone" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Home Color Book (Paperback)

This is a great book that shows you a wide variety of color schemes and how they are used in various decorating styles. There are large color photos of sample rooms with comments from over 80 professional designers.

The book starts out with rooms that use red, blue, yellow, green, violet or orange as their primary color. Pastel color schemes follow. Here I love the southwest style living room. Rooms using analogous, complementary and neutral color scheme are next. An elaborate tent style canopy bed was my favorite here. Then you are shown how to create mood with color. A variety of rooms are shown that convey different feelings such as nurturing, intellectuality, playfulness, healing and romance.

Many of the rooms shown feature two or three color triangle swatches that highlight the basic colors that were used in its design. Also, in the back, there is a section on altering color to create families of colors that will work together. There are swatches for each of the primary and secondary colors and each one is shown with white, black and its complementary color gradually added. A list of designers with contact information is included as well.

The practical advice on color combinations and using color to create mood were very useful for me. Plus, I got lots of decorating tips and ideas just by flipping through the pages of room designs. This book is definitely worthwhile for anyone who takes pride in decorating their home.