With winter still holding sway, now's a good time to catch up on reading about home decor. These books offer some good ideas if you are planning some changes.

• u u

Too often, the word "neutral" gets a bad rap in home decor. Immediately we think beige, tan — and boring. Some even charge that neutrals are a refuge for people who don't like color, or perhaps are even afraid of it.

"Perfect Neutrals: Color You Can Live With," by Stephanie Hoppen (Watson-Guptill, $35), preaches that we all need to expand our definition of neutrals. Shades of blue, green, even red, purple and brown are what she calls "dirty" neutrals, colors that are just as versatile as buff and cream but "are so much more interesting and uplifting to live with."

Hoppen, a London art gallery owner, has written several books about decorating and color and knows the word neutral conjures up an image of "rather dreary, nondescript beige." She tries to change that with beautiful photos of rooms painted violet, celery and tangerine, explaining how they work with other colors.

Advertisement

"Perfect Neutrals" is more user-friendly than your average coffee table book, thanks to the paint index at the back of the book. High-end custom mixes? Not here. Most of the colors are from Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore.

"Influential Country Styles: From Traditional American to Rustic French and Modern Scandinavian" (Watson-Guptill, $35)

Best-selling antiques author Judith Miller's book looks at country traditions around the world and their impact on contemporary design. The dozens of photos and text detail the resources used in home decor and offer advice on how to re-create the look.

"Interior Design Details: 1,000 New Ideas for the Home" (HarperCollins Publishers, $39.95)

Smart technology and eco-products are among the thousands of ideas presented in this book, a guide to picking the right elements for restyling a home. Design details for kitchens, walls, bathrooms, ceilings, stairs, doors and lighting are covered. Included are works of Frank Gehry and Daniel Libeskind, among others.

"Casa Mexicana Style" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang Inc., $40).

Vivid photos and text capture the beauty of Mexican architecture. Readers get a close-up view of 30 homes, from restored townhouses to rural haciendas, brilliantly colored city apartments to sun-drenched seaside beach houses. The more than 250 photos detail the cultured architecture produced by the blend of native Mexican tradition and Spanish influence.