Color through the centuries

The choice of color is crucial to the success of any decorating project, according to the author, a professor of color theory at the New York School of Interior Design. It has been that way since our prehistoric ancestors began painting their caves with earth pigments. Not surprisingly, this book reads like a textbook as it traces the use of color from those caveman days to our modern times.

Although it would be a beautiful addition to any coffee table, as Harry Abrams books usually are, the examination of the science, symbolism and psychology leans to the academic. Novice decorators looking for some simple help picking a color scheme for the family room need not consult this tome. But anyone interested in how interior design and the perception and use of color have developed over the centuries will find this book an interesting read.

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-- Robin Greene Hagey