Colour and Light

"Human beings feel a universal attraction to light. It is the source of life-giving energy . . . and where there is light there is color."

"Color is light made visible," says Donald Kaufman," and the atmosphere of the air we breathe and the quality of the light passing through it affect how we see color." A wall painted terra cotta in Santa Fe will look very different than a wall painted terra cotta in New York. By understanding the nature of the light and atmosphere in the place where you live, paint palettes for rooms can be selected that will enhance the light and create luminous effects.

In these inspiring pages filled with breathtaking rooms, Kaufman and Dahl have visited homes in different regions of the country and explored the particularities of the light and air in each to show how colors were chosen to enhance the available light. Whether it be the veiled light of the South and Northwest, the dry air and harsh light of the desert, the misted light of northern cities, the incandescent light over water, the clear light of the mountains, or the glaring light reflected from snow, each has its own way of interacting with color indoors. The reader also learns that, just as colors change with the region, they vary with the seasons and times of day. Molecules of air, water vapor, ice crystals, nearby buildings, or the tree branches and leaves we see outside our rooms all interact with painted interiors. We come to understand that the colors on our walls need not be fixed but can reflect the subtle changes that happen outdoors.

In Kaufman and Dahl's Color: Natural Palettes for Painted Rooms, the authors transformed forever the way we see colors in nature and in the paint on our walls. In Color and Light, they take us one step further to help us understand the role of the kinds of light we live with and how we can bring the sun's warmth and luminosity inside.

Donald Kaufman and Taffy Dahl, authors of Color: Natural Palettes for Painted Rooms, are founding partners of Donald Kaufman Color, the country's foremost color consulting firm. Their work with architects and designers has included collaborations with Philip Johnson, Richard Meier, Mariette Gomez, and Stephen Sills. Kaufman is also a painter whose work is represented in the Whitney, MOMA, and Hirshhorn collections. Dahl
is a ceramicist who, with Kaufman and Suzanne Butterfield, founded the full-spectrum paint line, The Donald Kaufman Color Collection. The authors live in New York City.

Dominique Vorillon is a photographer whose work appears in architecture, interior design, gardening, and travel magazines in both America and Europe. He divides his time between Los Angeles and the Loire Valley.

Christine Pittel, a contributing editor to House Beautiful, writes on art, architecture, and design. Her articles have appeared in Harper's Bazaar, Town & Country, House & Garden, and the New York Times.