Susan Sargent's The Comfort of Color: inspire *  transform * create
Whether it's a studio apartment or a rambling farmhouse, any home can be enhanced by color, argues Sargent in this effervescent, eye-popping guide to using color in interior design. Having spent much of her career as a weaver and dyer, Sargent is well qualified to be a color coach. She prefers bright, strong colors that stimulate the senses, because adding color to a home is uplifting (plus, "life is too short for beige"). To prove this point, Sargent and her team make over eight houses in vibrant colors, taking their cues from the homeowners' most treasured possessions and using paint and textiles in unconventional ways. The results are zesty and invigorating, though it would have helped to include more "before" shots of each home to show the extent of the transformations. In other entertaining sections, Sargent expounds on the psychological effects of various colors: a page called "Where Chromophobia Meets Homophobia" explains why even the most enlightened New Age man will balk at having his bedroom painted pink. Sargent's enthusiasm and energy make her a cheery guide and potential design diva, though she points out that she'd rather emulate Julia Child than "the M-woman." Accordingly, she balances information on color theory and compatible hues with the welcome advice to simply "Get messy!" and have fun with color.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.