In her first monograph, designer Gil Walsh proves that when it comes to color, she is fearless. “I want to show that there’s more to life than beige,” says Walsh, who decided to focus on color in the tome after laying out her portfolio for the first time in a long while. “The message was so clear,” she admits. “Color, color, color” was the key ingredient uniting her various projects, which encompass a variety of styles and periods.  
Walsh, who has offices in Martha’s Vineyard and Palm Beach, established her eponymous firm in 2007. She has helmed a wide range of commercial and residential projects, including the restoration of Fallingwater—Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic masterpiece in Mill Run, Pennsylvania—which she describes as a “golden moment” in her career. Moving seamlessly between classical residences and more modern homes, Walsh uses rich jewel tones, soft pastels, and bursts of bright hues to imbue each space she designs with a sense of place and vitality.  
Gil Walsh Interiors: A Case for Color (Gibbs Smith, $40) provides an in-depth and sumptuously illustrated look at Walsh’s masterful use of color. Whether she’s designing a cozy, beachfront cottage or a sleek, Art Deco retreat, Walsh primarily turns to a home’s setting for palette inspiration. “A room rarely exists in a vacuum,” she explains. “One needs to consider what’s outside the windows, where the light comes from, what the adjoining spaces are, and most importantly, when and how the space will be used.”

While Walsh admits that she’s the kind of individual who sees color first, she understands that for many, incorporating new hues into their interiors can seem daunting. To make the process a bit easier, Walsh recommends finding a point of reference or inspiration to start. “It can be a piece of art or a rug or a piece of porcelain,” she says. “Use that as your guide in building your color story. And be fearless.”

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