Interior Style: How to Use Color Throughout Your Home

This book helped me pick the perfect blue for my living room after I had failed 4 times before. Its a gorgeous watery blue-green called "Woodlawn Blue". The pictures are lovely and EVERY picture tells you the paint colors that were used on the walls and trim (and ceiling if appropriate). All of the colors are Benjamin Moore (it's a Benjamin Moore book). Candice Olson, my favorite designer, uses Benjamin Moore paint in her designs. You just have to be careful because some of the pictures may not represent the paint exactly - there are always variations in the color due to lighting. Once you find one you like, get a sample and try it in your room. Home Depot has 8 oz samples for only $3 - cheaper than the BM ones which are only 2 ounces. What I do is get the chips from the BM store and have them matched for a sample at HD. The book also has a great section at the beginning where it lists color families and variations within each family and a list of colors that fall into each category. Its great if you know the general color you're looking for like "gray-brown" and you know you don't want certain undertones like "yellow-brown". It also helps you to coordinate colors through the different rooms of your home. I recommend this to anyone who has trouble picking paint colors or obsesses about paint color.