For the holiday season, we’ve selected a few gorgeously
illustrated new books in which rich color takes center stage.
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| In her new book on color, Abigail Ahern encourages readers to banish beige, boost color, and transform their home. |
Abigail Ahern’s Colour takes readers on a journey into the
deep with its emphasis on dramatic aquamarine hues. Awash in blues and greens, the book is a
celebration of the British interior designer’s signature palette, which she
describes on her website as “an array of intoxicating, dark, inky bottom-of-the-lake hues, all tempered with the odd bright pop of color and ultra lux new
neutrals.”
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| Photography by Graham Atkins-Hughes |
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| Photography by Graham Atkins-Hughes |
Ahern, who also owns two retail shops in London, is known
for her fearless use of color and seductively stunning interiors. Beautifully photographed by Graham Atkins-Hughes, Colour exemplifies Ahern's confident style as
she encourages readers to be bold, take risks, and have fun with color rather
than fear it. She outlines many practical
strategies for color, such as using it in unexpected places like inside kitchen
cabinets, or building the illusion of space by blurring boundaries between
walls and ceilings.
Organized by room and by specific color combinations, Colour
illustrates gorgeous uses for black and white, bold and dark colors, and even
neon.
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| A young Jane Fonda graces the cover of Michel Pastoureau's new book. Photograph by Horst P. Horst/ Conde Nast Collection |
French historian Michel Pastoureau plumbs
the depths of a single hue in Green: The History of a Color. A follow-up to the
author’s previous two volumes, Black and Blue, the book examines the evolving
place of green in art, clothes, literature, religion, science and everyday
life. As this thoroughly researched book
so elegantly illustrates, over time green has been a color of contradictions --
a symbol of life and luck, but also one of decay, greed and poison.
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| From The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matt Zoller Seitz |
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| From The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matt Zoller Seitz |
The Grand Budapest Hotel by Matt Zoller Seitz is a compendium
to Wes Anderson's critically acclaimed film released earlier this year. This is a visual feast for the eyes with rich
illustrations of set design, costuming, and art direction. The book includes
interviews with lead actor Ralph Fiennes and key members of the production cast,
making it a worthy read for any film buff or creative.
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| Photo of Architectural Color Design courtesy of Les Couleurs Swisse AG |
Architectural Color Design brings together all of Le
Corbusier’s 63 color palettes in one beautifully published volume. The palettes, created in 1931 and 1959, are
the basis of Le Corbusier’s comprehensive theory of colors known as the
Architectural Polychromy. The book is
not currently sold in the United States but can be ordered through Les Couleurs Swisse AG.
