Color and Light: Luminous Atmospheres for Painted Rooms

by Christine Pittel, Taffy Dahl, Donald Kaufman

Examining the unique characteristics of light and air in different regions of the United States, a complete guide to using color explains how to enhance available light through the use of paint colors and how to make the best color choices for our homes. 20,000 first printing.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517704013
• ISBN13: 9780517704011
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishers
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 3.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.4" x 12.3"

Customer Reviews

A unique and wonderfully inspiring book

Two reasons to write this review. One is to counteract, or attempt to balance, the negativity of some of the other reader's reviews. The other is to bring to notice this exceptional book. The ideas that atmosphere, air and geographic location can influence color are not novel thoughts - Dutch master painters and the Provence of Van Gogh come to mind. But to apply such theories to the architectural and interior use of color has not been explored by enough people. Donald Kaufman was first an artist - this obviously influences his perception and methods of working with paint. The book is fascinating for the way it balances ethereal ideas with practical suggestions. The power and influence of localized light is described with excellent prose as well as lovingly selected photographs. Alongside such beauty are supremely helpful suggestions for using color and light in your own environment or in the spaces you are creating for others to enjoy. I have all three of Donald Kaufman and Taffy Dahl's books. Now I await a fourth!

The World of Color

This and the two related books (Natural Palettes and the Suzanne Butterfield book on palettes based on D. Kaufman colors)should be read attentively by anyone faced with painting a room. As beautiful as some of the illustrations are, these are NOT coffee table books to browse through. They are full of practical information for painting rooms, including rooms like mine with dark woodwork, hardwood floors, uneven walls, odd-shaped and leaded glass windows, etc. For example -- balancing cool and warm, contrasting or matching color values, using hue to stand up to strong trim, using flat paint to create a soft, smooth wall surface, what to do with dark rooms (Don't paint them white -- the resulting shadows emphasize that they are dark.), the importance of mixing paint colors without using black pigment and the importance of having the full spectrum of pigments in any paint hue, the effect that the color of light in the room will have on the wall color, and much more. The room descriptions are not prescriptions for what one must do but rather examples of the many different effects that can result using fully-pigmented paint of different value, hue, contrasts, etc. under different light conditions. The Butterfield book is a fairly simple presentation. "Natural Palettes" and "Color and Light," particularly the latter book, are sophisticated illustrated explanations of the basic "rules" of light and color through some of the myriad possible results. Read these three books with attention and be rewarded with an appreciation of color and light everywhere(in every house, apartment, store, restaurant, office, etc., on the street, the highway, in the sky, city, country -- you won't be able to help it!) Read these books and you will see, know and care about color and light forever. You'll also have no problem painting your rooms.

Useful and Illuminating

Beautiful book with great practical advice about how to choose colors for your home. I've gone gaga over Donald Kaufman's paints, and, although they are expensive, they are only a fraction of the price of Martha Stewart's line for Schreuder.

Kaufman's extra-ordinary eye

Donald Kaufman has been making custom color house paints for decades with extra-ordinary results. This and his previous book(s) give examples of his exquisite eye and ability to create unique palettes for a wide range of environments,

A Feast for the Eyes

I have had this book on loan from the public library for over six weeks and can't bare to part with it. The library wants their copy back, so I'm going to have to buy my own. I was attracted to the book, not because I wanted guidance in painting the interior of my house, but because as an amateur artist and photographer, I am interested in color theory. The palettes of these interior and exterior settings as they relate to natural light is inspirational and beautiful. This is not a "how-to" book, but offers scope for the imagination. I tend to paint all my interior rooms off-white because I think that brings more light into the room. This book challenges that thinking by demonstrating through photographs of rooms in the natural light of various geographic areas how nature works with the color palette to illuminate interiors. The text supplements the photographs by explaining how this works. I like this book very much.