Decorators today have the freedom to choose any colour they want for a paint. They can match it exactly to a fabric or wall-covering but paint, in the form it is best known as today, has taken centuries to evolve. From the early fifteenth century, paint colours reflected wealth - the enormously difficult blue, so expensive to make, green, yellow and red all going through dear, difficult processes before cheaper techniques could be found. The speed with which this technology has evolved over the last few decades has been phenomenal and no thought is given today of any difficulty in manufacture. Farrow and Ball, synonymous with first class paint and wall-coverings, are behind this lavish history of paint and paint techniques. Spanning five centuries, it is an invaluable guide to the history of its colour and uses - from whites in all their variations to the sumptuous reds, sunny yellows and mellow greens and tranquil blues. With many of their paints named after the houses they were first used in or the rooms they first adorned, it explains the often eclectic colour names for which Farrow and Ball are infamous. Photographed by Ivan Terestchenko, the pictures capture the charm and vibrancy of real paint, many in their original, historic settings. A must for all amateur and professional decorators interested in decorative history and the use of paint in its myriad forms, this work admirably demonstrates paint's influence on design today. - Lucy Watson
