Paint and Color in Decoration

View other editions of Paint and Color in Decoration.

Not for Decorating Help - Great for a History of F&B Paints - Rated
The negatives, which are derived from trying to use the book for a purpose other than it's intent (which I discovered after buying it.) :I had hoped that this book would help me choose paint colors for the Georgian house that I am restoring. I wanted pictures of Farrow and Ball paints in interiors. (Their paint colors are really lovely.) While this book is comprised of F&B paints in interiors it is not really a big help in choosing colors. The reason is that majority of the pictures come from old, old houses where they can show early use of the color. This means that many of the colors are applied in very old techniques which, as they very interestingly explain, creates a very different effect. And the colors are mottled with time. Also, the rooms sometimes are so very very different from the "castles" we live in today that it is hard to get a good feel. For example, some of their rooms are so heavily laden with ornamention (cornices, plints, etc.) that it is hard to get a feel for the color in a less broken up state. Finally, some of the colors shown in the book are not available today (e.g. architectural pink) and many of the colors they offer today are not shown in the book.

The positives; It is a beautiful book. It has certainly expanded my willingness to work with color in my Georgian house. The history of their paint colors are interesting. Thus I am glad that I bought it.