Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint Workbook is your creative companion if you don’t just want to “paint away” with Chalk Paint™, but really want to develop your own style. It is a sketchbook and practical guide in one – designed for touching, writing in, trying out, combining and collecting. Just like a good workbook should be: not just for reading, but for using.

The book ties in with the style worlds that Annie Sloan described together with her co-author and son Felix Sloan in “Room Recipes for Style and Color”. While “Room Recipes” takes you by the hand with step-by-step instructions and how-tos, the workbook turns the perspective around: It’s your turn. You use the impulses, but make your own decisions – colors, shapes, patterns, contrasts, effect in the room.

The workbook is divided into clear sections and deliberately provides space for your notes, thoughts, small color tests and style experiments. You can play through different combinations, sketch patterns, build palettes and record what works for you. This will gradually create your own personal reference book – full of your ideas, your favorite combinations and your practical findings.

Particularly practical: integrated pockets help you to collect inspiration material directly in the book. Whether magazine clippings, color cards, fabric samples or small found objects – everything that feeds your style has its place. The workbook quickly becomes a kind of creative archive that you can pull out again and again when a new project comes up or you get stuck on a color decision.

If you often waver between “I like it” and “Does it really suit my home / piece of furniture?”, this workbook is worth its weight in gold. It helps you to make conscious choices instead of mixing and matching at random: What mood do you want the room to have? What contrasts make a piece exciting? Which patterns look calm, which lively? And which colors tell your story?

Ideal for you if you love Chalk Paint™, like to plan, create mood boards or finally want to bring a clear line into your style – without losing creativity. It’s also a really nice idea as a gift for DIY fans and furniture artists because it’s not “just another book”, but a tool for real projects.

Product details: Papeterie, published on October 15, 2015. author: Annie Sloan. Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars (184 reviews).

My tip: Put it where you work – and use it like a sketchbook or scrapbook. The more often you fill it, the clearer your eye for color, style and effect will become.