Colors of Home

A New Handbook Provides a Library of Hues

For those whose wallets are jammed with paint chips and who scour paint fan decks before they fall asleep, a new pocket-size handbook will be a welcome resource. "House Beautiful Colors for Your Home: 300 Designer Favorites" (Hearst Books; $14.95) is a reference packed with paint swatches in the tried-and-true colors of top decorators.

"The best ideas are simple," says Stephen Drucker, House Beautiful's editor in chief. The library of hues comes from the magazine's popular paint column, launched by Drucker in 2006. "Every month we come up with a problem, and we call between eight and 12 designers and say, 'Tell us what paint color you would use to solve this problem,' " he says.

You'll find Kelly Wearstler's favorite ceiling paint (Pratt & Lambert's Seed Pearl) and Charlotte Moss's idea of the perfect green for a dining space (Breakfast Room Green by Farrow & Ball). Seven local designers are among the experts whose recommendations are cited. "I always read that column myself because paint and color are my thing," says Washington designer Whitney Stewart, who shares five color tips in the book, including her suggestion for an entrance hall, C2's Quahog.

Drucker says lots of readers rip the paint column out of the magazine each month and keep it in a notebook. Thus came the idea of a paint chip compendium. "The book costs less than a gallon of paint," he says.

It might make a wonderful Christmas gift for the paint-obsessed person on your list.