We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. In her newest title, Color, Abigail Ahern, a world renowned interior designer, ushers us into a vibrant, technicolor world. She’s here to show us how to transform our homes with bold, smart uses of color, with style, flair, and fearlessness.
Full of her signature wit and style, Ahern’s Color gives you the confidence and knowledge you need to take the plunge, writing, “Understanding the principles of color—and grasping the effect different colors have on each other—enables us to mix them up, make them clash, block, blend, or pop.”
Knowing that getting over your fears is the first battle, Ahern begins by teaching readers how to get in the right mental space, with sections such as “How to Stop Procrastinating About Color, “Finding Color Inspiration, and “Ten Ways to Color Confidence.” Once you have a sense of your “style DNA,” and are able to create a palette that feels personal to you, she presents a whole array of examples of confident color choices. Going through every room in your home, Color contains a beautifully curated collection of images from some of the most inspirational, color-forward homes around the world. The colors she presents are not trendy, but rather timeless and sophisticated combinations.
To Ahern, having a sense for color is a skill that can be taught, and so she presents many tools to build color in your own home. She has an entire chapter devoted to paint, providing time-tested advice on how to get the results you want. Though paint is the easiest way to transform the color of a room, she also delves into using furniture, lighting, greenery, statement pieces, and more to complete the perfect looks in your home. With Color, you don’t need hire a designer because Ahern teaches you how to think like one.
photos by Graham Atkins-Hughes, reprinted with permission Quadrille Publishing
