Vital Color

Vital Color: Color themes for Every Room, By Joanna Copestick and Meryl Lloyd. Ryland Peters & Small, $19.95.

This is one of those home decorating books that you actually have to read, because otherwise the pictures don't make much sense beyond just being pretty pictures.

Vital Color is worth the investment for the homeowner who is serious about getting the color right in a room and doesn't want to pay for an interior decorator to call the shots. It discusses color theory, and which shades marry best with others.
(Review by Jennifer Sergent).