Susan Sargent's The Comfort of Color: inspire * transform * create [Hardcover]

Susan Sargent (Author), Todd Lyon (Contributor), Eric Roth (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Susan Sargent's woven rugs, pillows, pottery and bedding are known for their bright, yet elegant, colours and patterns. She has licensed her brand name for upholstery, bed linens, furniture, window treatments, and ceramics. Sargent's products can be found in her flagship store in Manchester, Vermont, as well as in her new flagship store on Boston's Newbury Street. Her fabrics are available at over 8000 design centres, including Home Depot Expo and Jo-Ann Fabrics. Susan Sargent's The Comfort of Colour presents colour makeovers of nine home environments, from a young couple's starter home to new retirees who are downsizing from a house to an apartment. In each makeover, Sargent emphasizes finding a style that suits and reflects the owners' personalities. The hands-on presentation of the projects is inspirational and informative, illustrating how colour can completely transform the atmosphere of a home in conjunction with the owner's family treasures, antiques and personal collections, as well as how colour can influence people's emotions. Sidebars teach readers such tips as how to resist formulaic approaches, chromophobia versus chromophilia, and the power of colours on neutral backgrounds.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Whether it's a studio apartment or a rambling farmhouse, any home can be enhanced by color, argues Sargent in this effervescent, eye-popping guide to using color in interior design. Having spent much of her career as a weaver and dyer, Sargent is well qualified to be a color coach. She prefers bright, strong colors that stimulate the senses, because adding color to a home is uplifting (plus, "life is too short for beige"). To prove this point, Sargent and her team make over eight houses in vibrant colors, taking their cues from the homeowners' most treasured possessions and using paint and textiles in unconventional ways. The results are zesty and invigorating, though it would have helped to include more "before" shots of each home to show the extent of the transformations. In other entertaining sections, Sargent expounds on the psychological effects of various colors: a page called "Where Chromophobia Meets Homophobia" explains why even the most enlightened New Age man will balk at having his bedroom painted pink. Sargent's enthusiasm and energy make her a cheery guide and potential design diva, though she points out that she'd rather emulate Julia Child than "the M-woman." Accordingly, she balances information on color theory and compatible hues with the welcome advice to simply "Get messy!" and have fun with color.
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From the Inside Flap

Susan Sargent’s The Comfort of Color presents dramatic color makeovers of nine diverse home environments, from a young couple’s starter home to downsizing retirees’ apartment. Author Susan Sargent is known for brightly colored, quality home furnishings and accessories found in her stores in Vermont and on Boston’s Newbury Street, as well as in numerous retail outlets.

In this new book, Sargent emphasizes finding a style and color scheme that suits and reflects the homeowner’s personality. The hands-on presentation of each makeover is inspirational, whether a complete renovation or a minor revamp. Sargent demonstrates how color can transform the atmosphere of a home while complementing the owner’s family heirlooms, antiques, and personal collections. She also discusses how color can influence people’s emotions. Sidebars include tips on how to resist formulaic approaches, chromophobia versus chromophilia, and the power of different colors. Susan Sargent’s sophisticated style, full of pattern and bright hues, will bring great warmth and personality to every reader’s home.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; First Edition edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821228676
• ISBN-13: 978-0821228678
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #460,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best!, September 23, 2004

By 

Roni Rohr "Santa Fe Floorcloths" (Santa Fe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Susan Sargent's The Comfort of Color: inspire * transform * create (Hardcover)

Thank you Susan Sargent once again! Her fist book was packed with color, and this one is the same. Filled with unbelievable beautiful rooms and the information to overcome anyone's fear of color. I plan to use this with my clients and for myself. My only wish is that besides a color chip photo of the colors she uses she actually put in a tear sheet of color chips!!
An inspirational book.A must have if you are a textile designer,lover of color!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Delight for your Eyes, March 15, 2006

By 

Don't Believe in Beige (Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Susan Sargent's The Comfort of Color: inspire * transform * create (Hardcover)

Luscious color photos! A great book to curl up with on a gray day.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is my favorite coffee table book, January 17, 2011

By 

deepest (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Susan Sargent's The Comfort of Color: inspire * transform * create (Hardcover)

Love it! Amazing colors. Candy for the soul. Tons of ideas, even for apartments, where you are not allowed to paint the walls. I think I am going to buy her other books as well.It is hard to describe the style- a bit folksy and cotagy, but not all the way, just a colorful comfy style.