Customer Reviews

New Country Color: The Art of Living (Decor Best-Sellers)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, so I am one of the color converted-'white wall phobic' folks. I find a colorful environment so much more pleasing to return home to every day. This book is nice because it gives you ways to introduce color into your home without painting the walls shocking pink, although that's always an option, too. The quality of the photographs is nice, as well; I have seen some design books with photos that look like they were made on a photocopy machine! If you are thinking about having some fun with your home, this book is a great place to start for ideas!
Why not 5 stars? Well, I would have liked it if the book was even longer.

This book has inspired me like no other has in a long time!
As a trained textile designer who went into surface/stationery and product design I have loved Susan's style and color sense for quite awhile but never thought to see her philosophy in print as well as her magnificent work as shown in these stunning photographs .
Reading her story and how she relates to color confirms what I have always thought when it comes to design...brighter is better, and sure makes you feel good!Reading how she started out to where she is today should be inspiring to many an artist as well as others.
Every page of this book is eye candy, and her words are inspiring for the novice artist and craft person as well as professionals. I recommend it to designers, students of design, and all.
Thank you Susan for the inspiration, and for following your bliss!Buy this people, truly the world would be a better place if we were all surrounded by such beauty.

Weaver, artist, colorist, free spirit--Susan Sargent is all these and more. After having trained and worked in textile art in Scandinavia, Sargent brought her bold, free-wheeling color and pattern sensibility back to the United States, where it has had a considerable impact on modern country decorating. Once the province of dove greys, white, taupe and beige, the boundaries of country decorating have been pushed out by Sargent, who is interested in helping us not be afraid of pattern and color--and in fact, she urges us to embrace both.

The book is an exhilarating visual punch. Sargent blithely combines acid green, periwinkle, daffodil, a deep coral red and a host of other colors to show us that--far from being intrusive or hard to live with on a day-to-day basis
--color can be simultaneously stimulating and calming.

The practical advice in here isn't anything you haven't read elsewhere already, but the book is worth the price just to see Sargent's heady color experiments and her considerable control of pattern as well.

I loved the pictures in this book, but I wanted to learn a little about color theory and what would work in my townhouse so this book was not very helpful to me.

I bought this book after getting Susan Sargent's other book titled "The comfort of color", which I absolutely love and HIGHLY recommend, if you like her bright color palate. This book is not as great, it doesn't have near as many pictures and there is a lot of writing, which is fine, but if your looking for visual inspiration, this book is only OK. I much prefer her other book.

This book has inspired me like no other decorating book has. I got the book at the library first and after renewing it the maximum amount of times, figured I'd better buy it before I wore out the borrowed copy. I am filled with ideas and can't wait to try them out. Susan Sargent has a real gift for using color in the home, and her ideas are truly inspirational.

This book is so beautiful. From the front cover to the last page, it is a sweeping expanse of color. Even if I didn't need ideas to decorate the house we're moving into soon, I would still love to sit and look at the book. The writing is simple and interesting, she talks about her journey to where she is now; her inspiration; history; being afraid of color; etc. The pictures are beautiful.
Everyone has a different sense of style, so her style might not be yours. I still think it is worth looking at, if just to see a different point of view.

This book is especially interesting to me as the house was the home of my ancestors. I spent many happy days there visiting my grandmother and great aunt. It was great to see the photos and to learn that many of the old architectural elements were saved. The text provided some insight as to the thoughts of someone not connected to our family regarding the house and property. The final product was much different from anything our family would have created, but all-in-all quite pleasing.

I read the second book first - this one looks quite colorless in comparison. It does give you some practical ideas of how to paint stripes, outdoor furniture, floors, etc.
Ispired by Susan I already colored my walls very warm orange and I love it. I guess now i can color bookcase purple to make it even more playful.

If you are not afraid of color and painting this book is for you.
This book is more about the author with quotes from famous artists and designers. There are how-to's but they are pretty basic, just like the book.