Country decorating is full of classic colour combinations, some of them inspired by natural features such as flowers and foliage, others acquiring familiarity through traditional use - blue and white china, red and white gingham, and the green and cream dairy shades of old-fashioned pantries. This book demonstrates why the best combinations work so well and how to use them.

Organised into five distinctive themes, it shows country rooms furnished and decorated in irresistible shades, along with sources of inspiration and practical information on how the colours work together, to help you recreate the effect for yourself. Each chapter begins with an introduction to the theme and its colours, then six pages of glorious pictures show the colours in use, followed by pages demonstrating specific fail-safe combinations of two or three colours (outlined for each chapter, below).