LIVING COLOUR, PAULA PRYKE - Tapa dura

"Living Colour" taps into the trend for simple flower arrangements that appear effortlessly modern while at the same time making a dramatic colour statement. It is about how colour plays a central role in characterising an interior, and how flower colour contributes to this, offering a constantly changing source of interest, which can be added or taken away to suit different moods and occasions. The book uses bright and bold flower shapes to show how to inject vibrant colour and energy into living spaces. It recognises how little confidence people have when introducing sources of colour into the home and demonstrates how to boldly mix-and-match key floral palettes, using nature as its guide together with Paula Pryke's fine-tuned sense for wild and wonderful colour blends.

Paula Pryke runs a successful flower business that has a reputation for innovative and brilliantly colourful floral designs. She is one of the prime movers for making a bunch of flowers into a fashion statement, using startingly simple and effortlessly modern designs. Her work has been featured regularly in all the leading magazines and on television. She has been described by the Evening Standard as the most brilliant florist in London and by Harpers and Queen as the florist of the nineties. Her floral talent is in constant demand and, at present, she is working with Richard Branson's recently established Virgin Bride enterprise. Sir Terence Conran also favours her for the floral decoration of his design and restaurant empire. As of June 1999, Paula will also hold the concession for the flowers at the department store Liberty, in London's West End. Originally trained as a teacher, Paula has a flower school in London. She also lectures and gives floral demonstrations in the USA and Japan where her work is becoming increasingly sought after.