Book is a must for the paint-obsessed

THE WASHINGTON POST
"Pottery Barn Home," the latest decorating how-to from the flourishing home furnishings chain, comes with a treat for early buyers: The first 20,000 are boxed with a free paint fan deck of the Benjamin Moore paint colors (nearly 350) that have been used in the store's catalogs, books and retail stores.
Clay Ide, a senior vice president for Pottery Barn and executive editor of the book, said "the No. 1 asked question" from customers, outside of merchandise queries, concerns paint selection.
"It's clear to us that paint is the starting point for any design process," Ide said. "It's all about choosing the right paint. For example, someone will know they want yellow, but they just don't know the intensity. Do they want orange yellow or lemon yellow?" An edited collection, he said, helps make those choices easier.
Ide said Benjamin Moore did not pay for the great publicity it's getting from Pottery Barn, but he did not rule out any future financial arrangements between the two companies. "This is the first step in a partnership," he said.
Even if you're not among the paint-obsessed -- or a fan of Pottery Barn -- don't overlook this book, which is compiled from the best of the chain's other books on specific rooms. About 30 percent of the material in "Pottery Barn Home" (Oxmoor House, $39.95) is new, Ide said.
Beyond big photos, the book has lots of basic decorating information that is often tough to figure out, such as how many people can fit at a dining room table, how low to hang a chandelier, designing a mantel display and a checklist for an ergonomically correct home office. One quibble: Despite its edited fan deck, it doesn't always say what paint colors are used in which photos.
But the book still makes a worthy entry in the holiday shopping season.