Introduction You've just unlocked the front door to your brand new condo, walked into the terra-cotta-tiled hallway, across the oak plank living room floor and into the kitchen where, with a huge sigh of relief, you set the box of dishes down onto the faux limestone ceramic floor. Your new home has been painted pristine white throughout, and sisal-effect wool carpet has been laid in all the bedrooms. The bathrooms are tastefully neutral with white fixtures and stone-effect vinyl tiles on the floor. Congratulations! You have a blank canvas upon which to stamp your own personal style. But where do you start? Or you've just bought an older home. The hallway has a black and white tile floor laid on the diagonal. A mint green carpet decorates the living room. The kitchen has been given another jolt of color with a bright blue rubber floor. Upstairs the bedrooms reflect the personalities of the previous occupants -- pink shag-pile carpet in 10-year-old Lisa's bedroom, walnut-effect vinyl in sporty teenager Matthew's room and lilac velvet-pile carpet in 16-year-old Lori's room. The parents, in a burst of East meets West enthusiasm, have gone tastefully neutral with taupe carpet in their master bedroom. Pulling up all the flooring just isn't an option, what with the college fund, the car loan and the new mortgage, but you're just not sure how to decorate your new home to your own taste. What do you do? This book will guide you through the sometimes daunting task of decorating your home. Whether you live in a newly built condo, a 1950s ranch-style bungalow or a Victorian townhouse, the starting point is often flooring. This book features more than 180 decorating schemes, incorporating paint colors and fabrics in neutral, cool, warm and vibrant tones. The schemes are inspired by a wide range of flooring, from natural materials like stone, wood, linoleum, sisal and wool carpet through colorful man-made products like rubber, vinyl, poured concrete and resin. So whether you prefer contemporary neutrals or country color, you'll find a scheme here to suit you and your home. Excerpted from The Home Decorator's Color and Texture Bible: 180 Complete Schemes for a Harmonious Home by Adrienne Chinn All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
