cover image Color!: Punch It Up with Color--The Trading Spaces Way!

Color!: Punch It Up with Color--The Trading Spaces Way!

. TLC Publishing (VA), $19.95 (176pp) ISBN 978-0-696-21726-5

Whether you're looking to make a TV room more soothing or a kitchen more lively, this home-decorating guide by the folks behind the popular Discovery Network television show Trading Spaces provides a wealth of ideas for using color to renovate a space. The book presents more than a dozen of the makeovers that have appeared in the show's episodes, organizing them by""end goal."" For example, a renovation that transforms a pale blue-and-yellow room into a lavish brown-and-gold den falls under the chapter on creating a""Dramatic Finale"" (rooms""to elicit oohs and aahs""); the conversion of rosy pine bedroom into a Zen-like taupe-and-bamboo retreat appears in the chapter""Meditate on This."" Though some of the Trading Spaces books can dizzy the reader with the haphazard variety of their ideas, this volume avoids such pitfalls by focusing on one specific design concept. The design of the book is cluttered, however, with multiple fonts, big pull-quotes and a general air of chaotic enthusiasm. A quiz (""What's Your Color Attitude?""), a listings guide to different episodes, and handy how-tos (e.g., tips on applying gold leaf, arranging flowers and laying carpet tiles) round out this volume's offerings.