- A Colorful Home by Susan Hable, Chronicle Books, 208 pages, $40.
Through the brilliant presentation of saturated colours, Susan Hable provides a new appreciation of the combinations of specific shades.
Effective use of colour in home decor can change a room dramatically and Hable celebrates the potential in each part of the home. Basing the chapters on specific colours, Hable offers a wide range of approaches in colour choices that go from the very subtle to bold. She discusses the influences of colour in all parts of the room, from paint and floor coverings to the inclusion of personal items chosen for their colour highlights.
All of the choices should be based on what appeals to you visually. Hable encourages you to look to nature for those unexpected colour combinations that can spark your imagination. With colour photographs throughout, there are plenty of examples to encourage you to create your own new look.
- Rethink by Amanda Talbot, Chronicle Books, 312 pages, $40.
The world is changing and Amanda Talbot wants to offer insights into ways that we can all reexamine our own part of it.
Rethink is not a bible for living; it is a guidebook to looking at how people around the globe are changing their priorities about how we live in our personal spaces.
Talbot offers up an enormous range of thought-provoking ideas. From the opening pages through every section she questions current practices and looks to the future with innovative approaches to all aspects of our homes - how we connect, how we use technology and much more.
Using profiles of some very forward thinkers, Talbot merges their stories with her own thoughts to help further the discussion on each topic. In a chapter on getting back to basics she simplifies her thought process with a simple checklist that includes things like: consider what you buy, will it endure your family's lifestyle and do you really need another one?
With suggestions for both big and small ideas throughout the book, Talbot provides clear alternatives to applying the concepts being discussed whether she is looking at how furniture and rooms in the home can be made multi-functional or how to focus on creating an environment where every item is considered.
Great photographs work with creative design in every part of the book to make it both visually and intellectually stimulating from start to finish.
