Create Lively Palettes for Every Room A Colorful Home (Hardback) - Common

by Susan Hable

“Page after page of incredible color and texture that will inspire even the most committed color-phobes to seriously consider embracing pink.” —Rima Suqi, columnist, New York Times Home SectionNature, art, a favorite collection—each holds unexpected color combinations that can be beautifully incorporated into the home. In this guide, designer Susan Hable shows how to discover color in the everyday, create dynamic palettes, and translate them into stunning interior spaces.Home decorators will learn how a cheerful bedroom can be constructed from the natural hues of autumn leaves, or how a burst of bright confetti can inspire a candy-colored tiled bath. Brimming with luscious photography, A Colorful Home reveals how to open our eyes to the colors around us and bring them to life in rooms composed with meaning.“This book [is] all about finding ways to translate the things, people and places you love into beautiful moments at home.” — Design*Sponge

Genres: Nonfiction, Design, Adult

Unknown Binding

First published March 31, 2015

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun way of explaining color palettes and examples when thinking about decorating a house. I liked the author's boldness in choosing pieces.

[Jonquil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps my expectations were too high because this book has such a luscious cover. The design themes are drawn from nature, and the nature photos are gorgeous. But, I'm not trying to grow the perfect dogwood tree, I'm trying to, as the title suggests, create a dogwood-inspired room. The nature photos would make a lovely coffee table book, but they occupied space that could have better been used to show alternate angles of the featured rooms and more rooms. Actually, alternate shots were used in some places, such as an aquamarine door that is offset by an orange flower. Showing this door from multiple angles in different sections of the book did not enhance my experience nor the benefit I hoped to derive from the book. There are many pictures of ornate architectural features in empty houses. I love old houses and over-the-top details. But unless I win the $250,000 it would take to recreate that majesty it's unlikely that those pictures will help me create a colorful home. It just depresses me that I don't have the resources to live in a home with wainscoted stairways and hand-painted ceiling murals. Ironically, many of these architecture photos are monochromatic--wood and cream. Trust me when I say that modern Americans have proven their ability to paint off-white walls and place wood and beige furniture into those rooms. This book was a missed opportunity to give them the confidence to experiment with nature's other color options. Bottom line: some gorgeous photos, some nice rooms, some tips, some drool-worthy woodwork, but not the motivational treasure I'd hoped I'd found.

[Dna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insipid. Bad. Basic. A few nice photos. *twirls finger in air*

[Serena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book filled the "A book to help you DIY" square of my summer reading bingo nicely. I liked the forward where the author discussed her love of colour and how that love has manifested in her professional life. (Fun fact: there is an international association for colour! I found out because Hable is its president!). Past the forward, the book was mostly photographs of rooms and designs with short, fluffy blurbs. The photography was well done, but when I really sat down to take a look at the rooms on display and soak in some inspiration, I realized that I didn't really like the way the rooms were designed. And what's more, the writing blurbs contained so little information or insight that they were practically meaningless.

I appreciated this book for getting me to think more about colours in the world around me. But I wouldn't recommend it unless Hable's style really fits with yours and you just want to look at the pictures. Alternatively, you could browse her Hable-brand products online and have a comparable experience.

[Katy Logue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find the words almost more helpful than the pictures in this book. I am looking for inspiration as I began to design my daughters' room. Neither of them enjoyed the photos of the rooms much, but the idea to group four or five of your favorite items to begin a palette is an idea I can use with them. I'm also going to have them review the vignettes of color that Susan made at the beginning of each chapter to see if they have any agreements on color schemes. Those ideas of color along with the items in our home that will remain will begin to take us down a design path that we can all agree on. I hope.

[IE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the stunning bright cover, I was surprised by the darker and subtle content within the pages. I did gain plenty of inspiration though, and I like that this book was different than others. I enjoyed lingering on the pages and really noticing the colour shades and tints that are similar at first glance. I only wish the interior photos were a bit brighter as some of them were dark and shadowy which made it more difficult to distinguish the colours, however, I really liked the original palette names and antique character in this book.

[Alexandria Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aesthetically pleasing which is my expectation for a home design book. The words I read had nice sentiments too although I readily admit I didn’t truly read every word in this book. But I give myself full credit because I did look at every page. The seafoam green door is still standing out in my brain. I think instead of painting an accent wall a bright color painting a door would be lovely. Would reference again

[Carmen Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was not a lot to my taste in this book; the style of the author is considerably more muted than is reflected by the cover or title (my fault for judging a book by its et cetera). Some nice bits of advice and inspiration, but I was hoping for more practical information on creating palettes, combining colors and patterns, and big bold rooms. This is definitely a book for visual learners, as the text is more meditative than instructional.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't judge a book by its misleading beautiful cover.

By page 44 I was downright mad. Look at page 44 and 64 and describe that as a lively palette. I made it all the way to the end wondering how on earth?!?

[Stacie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I really did not connect with this designer's style and did not feel there was much substance in the actual writing content.

[Fairy Biba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for curiosity, I like interior megazines. To tell the truth I did not like much the choice of arrangements, nothing special

[tin_foil_tinnu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the little color inspiration swatches. But wasn't too inspired by the photos of actual rooms; not my style?

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loosely curated Pinterest boards. But pool was my favorite chapter. The room on page 152 is gorgeous and my new inspiration.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how this book is set up.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ideas/inspiration for creating color palettes for interiors. Not really good if you're looking for more specific or step-by-step instructions on how to use that palette for selecting paints/furnishings/accessories.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright. I really loved the pictures! The author had some good design ideas, but I was hoping for some more practical tips. I also felt like she kept plugging her fabric company. It was worth a read, but would be a decent coffee table book.

[Hannah Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where can I find me some groovy eyeball pictures to frame?