It's the slick sheen of a hardwood floor. The rugged warmth of a nubby sisal rug. The matte surface of a painted wall against the high gloss of wood trim. The pitted stone around the fireplace. The rich depth of a chenille throw.
Texture is all about the play of hard against soft, rough against smooth, coarse against silky.
You can't make a room successful without including texture. But texture is not just about touching and feeling and making something soft or coarse. It's also about visual variety. The book, her third, is filled with photographs of rooms ranging from casual country cottages to urbane city lofts that illustrate her point and highlight the particular textures that make them work. A little flip chart at the back of the book gives readers a chance to customize a combination of some 600 materials and colors culled from the featured rooms.