If you think that happiness comes in a paint can (and I do), there’s no such thing as too many books about colour. Here's a new one for your reading list.

In The Right Color: Finding the Perfect Palette for Every Room in Your Home, author Eve Ashcraft undertakes the task of explaining the complexities of colour selection. She is a colour expert who has been dubbed the “paint guru” by the New York Times.

Ashcraft begins with a story to explain the process of creating a colour scheme inspired by a porcelain saucer. You quickly learn that matching is for amateurs and she’s a pro.

In the section called Color in Context, she considers the impact on colour of many elements, including light, setting, contrast and surface materials. She explores other options for ceilings besides white and discusses whether or not to highlight trim. Here, she also explores colour “rules” that may needlessly limit your thinking on the topic.

She looks at colour choices room by room and, at the back of the book, offers a selection of “28 colours that work” from her own paint collection.

- Jane

Dave's Two Cents:

Have you ever wandered into a big-box church of home improvement looking for a simple can of paint and been blown away by the rainbow of colour chips displayed? The author gives us the benefit of her expertise to choose among this amazing variety.

When all is said and painted, the “right colour” is your choice, whether you pay the painter or the paint store. Why not invest a gram of research to prevent a kg of regret?

- David Ramsey