Author : Alice Buckley Screen Reader : Supported Works with : Source : Status : Available | Last checked: 3 Hour ago! Size : 29,173 KB |
A practical handbook for maximizing the decorative effect of neutral colors.
This is an easy-to-use guide to working with neutrals in home decorating. Once limited to whites and beiges, today's neutrals come in an overwhelming range of whispery pinks and yellows, organic grays, greens and browns, and even blacks. Each of the 150+ color palettes and combinations includes notes on where the color is best used; for example, on furniture or as trim. Mood boards, scrapbooks and beautiful images provide added inspiration.
Topics include:
The "Color Directory" has more than 220 pages of palettes and their variations. As well, Alice Buckley tells the stories behind such schemes as northern lights, Parisian elegance, ice cream, white heat and desert beauty.
For home decorators and interior designers, Neutral Color Schemes is an essential handbook.
Alice Buckley is an interior designer and textile designer in London. Her creative works have been exhibited and sold widely across North America and Europe.
Excerpt
About this book
This book features 200 neutral color schemes to inspire home decorators and interior designers. With useful information about the colors and the mood evoked by each, this is an invaluable resource that will help you to select a scheme and then create the perfect room, whether it be a warm and relaxing living room, a sexy, sumptuous bedroom or a light and airy kitchen.
The book begins with an introduction to neutrals -- our perception of them, how they have been used throughout history, their influence and how they figure in the modern world. Once a brief overview has been established, the basic principles of color theory are explained to provide you with a sound foundation from which to build upon.
While it is useful to have some understanding of color principles, it is ultimately the relationship between these colors and the mood created by them that is important when implementing any interior scheme. The following pages discuss the different moods evoked by certain color groups and how and where to get inspiration, before identifying the factors that influence our color choices and why.
Neutrals are one of the easiest groups of colors to work with. They are extremely versatile and can be layered, mixed and matched. The final chapter, the color palette directory, examines the huge array of neutral colors and combinations available, with ideas on all aspects of home decoration and furnishing, to help you create the perfect neutral interior.
Introduction
"Home" is one of our most evocative words. It conjures up an image of warmth and shelter, of family and friends, a place of inspiration, sanctuary and peace. With so much that's important represented by this one place, it's no wonder that we're passionate about our homes and work to make them evermore comfortable and welcoming.
Today's homes fulfill many functions beyond shelter and nurturing. We decorate our homes in ways that not only enable them to fulfill these needs but also to reveal our personalities, our aspirations, the very essence of ourselves and how we want others to see us. There are many ways of doing this. Among them are light and color, two qualities that surround us in our natural environment, which can dramatically influence and alter our living space. With these two magic wands we can dictate the energy of a space, its mood and comfort level. If we use them well, light and color can help us create a home that supplies the emotional and functional needs we look for in our homes and make them truly our own.
Understanding neutrals
Among the many color palettes at our disposal, neutrals are probably the least understood. These colors are often dismissed as bland and nondescript, thought of as suitable only for hotels or homes about to go on the market, but neutrals have moved beyond those colors not found on the color wheel, such as white, black, gray, brown and tan. The latest neutrals are sophisticated hints at gentle color, and it's this subtlety that makes neutrals so exciting, versatile and effective.
Recent years have seen an emergence of a new crop of colored neutrals. As we all strive for serenity within our homes, merging hints of colors that are muted and moody, create new, fresh schemes for our homes. Deep and dark hues such as khaki, olive and steely gray through to the lighter pink beiges of taupe and mink all form part of the modern neutral palette. With a huge range of color ideas, this book aims to help you make the most of new neutrals in your interior scheme and to achieve the mood or feeling you hope for in each room of your home.