Books on Color for Christmas

I love books, especially in the winter! You can curl up with a hot cup and read, read, read. Books make wonderful Christmas gifts. They tell a person you appreciate their interests and want to support what they love. When you're thinking of what to get your favorite artist, aspiring designer, color enthusiast or do-it-yourself guru, try taking a look at some of these beauties.

For the fine arts painter:

Color Theory by Jose Parramon

This amazing book explains how color works in nature and gives examples of how color can be manipulated, mixed and juxtaposed. It talks about color harmonies, complements, contrasts and how to work with cool and warm hues.


For the total color-lover:

Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finaly

You can eat this book up; it's a rich and engaging look at color. The author brilliantly breaks the book into chapters by color, each dedicated to the history, lore and use of a particular color. 

Black: The History of a Color by Michel Pastooureau

The author takes us from the very beginnings of our exploration of painting when our ancestors turned to carbon for their pigment. This beautiful and generous image-filled book takes us through the ages, up to current culture, and how and why color still holds such power.

Blue: The History of a Color by Michel Pastooureau

“Pastoureau's text moves us through one fascinating area of activity to another. The jacket, cover and end papers of this luscious book are, appropriately, blue; its double-columned text breathes easily in the space of its pages. It is o well sewn it opens flat at any place. The fascinating, aptly chosen color plates, not confined to the title color, will please even those eyes denied the good luck of being blue.”
(Synopsis by William Gass, Los Angeles Times Book Review)

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield

"Elusive, expensive and invested with powerful symbolism, red cloth became the prize possession of the wealthy and well-born," Greenfield writes in her intricate, fully researched and stylishly written history of Europe's centuries-long clamor for cochineal, a dye capable of producing the "brightest, strongest red the Old World had ever seen."
(Synopsis by Publisher's Weekly)

For those who love color interiors:

Color in Interior Design by John Pile

Create dazzling color schemes for any indoor space. You'll quickly sharpen your color skills, and open the door to a more rewarding and profitable career, with John F. Pile's Color in Interior Design. He takes the mystery out of working with color, showing readers how to plan color relationships step by step, and in an organized and systematic way. Reader also learn how prepare color schemes for interiors, make color charts, select materials, put together color samples, work with additive and subtractive color, understand the psychological impact of color and use color in functional spaces. This hands-on color-design tool packs illustrations by well-known professionals and a survey of color in historic interiors that guides readers through restoration and adaptive reuse projects.

The Color Scheme Bible: Inspirational Palettes for Designing Home Interiors by Anna Starmer

The author sifted through 16 million color possibilities to produce 200 combinations that would please any taste. There is a discussion on the color wheel and ideas on inspiration gathering. The book offers up palette choices that are separated into different hues. Starmer’s book is great resource for those laying down the color foundations for a new project.

Domino: The Book of Decorating: A Room-by-Room Guide to Creating a Home that Makes You Happy by Deborah Needleman, Sara Ruffin Costello and Dara Caponigro.

I picked up this book at Borders yesterday. They explain everything for you like a high-priced decorator would. The idea boards are truly inspiring. The authors truly show readers how to create a great room they will love.

Happy shopping, and we hope you have someone on your list who loves color as much as we do!