Gray and gold is another color combination that seems very fitting this time of year. These colors seem to be more soothing and elegant, a nice switch from the dark red and forest green we find ourselves surrounded with each December. While browsing around through a slew of home decor items, some nice ones popped up as you can see. What are your thoughts on gold and gray?

pendants · candle holder · chair · bowl · stool ·  carafe

room 1, 2

The Last Range of Colours by Miles Aldridge was shot for Vogue Italia back in 2007. These playful, ultra saturated photos are quite fun despite the confused, uninterested, insensate, comatose, insensible looks of the models--all great adjectives, and pretty much the complete opposite of any that would be used to describe these colors.

Click on any of the images to create your own palette.

Doshi Levine is an eclectic industrial design studio based in London, UK and operated by Nipi Doshi & Jonathan Levien. The design duo combine their diverse backgrounds and disciplines to “celebrate the hybrid and explore the coming together of cultures, technology, story telling, industrial design and fine craftsmanship.” Check out these colourful furniture pieces sure to add some dynamic to any room.

My Beautiful Backside

The design for “My Beautiful Backside” was based on a illustration called “The Garden of Life” by Indian illustrator Naveen Patnaik in which a princess is “surrounded and supported by multiples of pebble shaped cushions.”

Though silver is my metal of choice, I can appreciate the beautiful tones of gold. Just look at this fun selection, you can certainly appreciate it. Combine gold with brown and an even richer feel is created. I have to admit, while browsing through the many different objects I came across many horrid looking ones. Many more of those than pleasant looking ones, in fact. So, perhaps more designers will again embrace this color combination and create more appealing pieces in the future, because when done right it is such a beautiful thing.

pendant · glassware · pillow · mirror · pouf · bowl

room 1, 2

To keep me in a cheery and warm mood, the color trio red, green and yellow helps quite a bit. This trio is a bold one, and is a great color for children and for adults, just look at the fun items below.

bowls · arrow · pendants · soap · coasters · pillow · linens

room 1, 2

If there's any good excuse for a new party dress, it's New Year's Eve. Once the holidays wind down--after the family get-togethers are over and the kitchen is finally clean--the last day of the year arrives with no obligation other than to celebrate the year that's passed. It's a true celebration, and maybe that's why ladies trend toward the brightest, shiniest, most fun components of their wardrobes. Of course, there are different kinds of New Year's Eve parties, and several go-to fashion sites have recommendations at the ready. The Fashion Spot has a few ideas for formal and casual events, WhoWhatWear helps you transform pants and skirts into party-worthy ensembles--New York Times style reporter Eric Wilson even offers dressing advice from a few drag queens: "I think feeling your very best is knowing that you’re comfortable in everything you’re wearing," said DJ Lina Bradford. "Having something too tight or that you’re not feeling is a no-no." Because around here, we feel color, I've culled 10 bright cocktail dresses to get your wardrobe creativity flowing. My advice? Find something you'd want to wear again, doll it up with a pile of bangles or a big crystal necklace, and have a great time.

[Gryphon, Rag & Bone; http://www.shoplesnouvelles.com]

We've come a long way since industrialization and Mr. Ford's assembly line that made the first affordable automobile giving everyone the opportunity to buy a car in "any color as long as it's black." While the reality was that Mr.Ford's Model T first came in grey, green, and red, his stated "only black" policy finally came into effect in 1913. At the time, he was only concerned with the time and cost to produce each vehicle, and black paint was cheap and durable. Today, the same manufacturing ideals and process are still used but we've moved into a world of color and customization.

One of the great examples of color customization is the sneaker. For years it has been possible to apply your favorite colors and design sense to a pair of shoes. This type of flexible manufacturing will continue to develop and we expect to see this kind of customization applied to many other product categories in the future.

Another way to cover your color loving customers is to add a color product search to help them sort through the increasing number of color options. According to Alon Atsmon, the CEO of Picitup, "47% of the top 100 online retailers offer color search, only 26% of those ranked 401-500 deploy it," but from handmade indie sellers, to sporting goods, to home interiors, many companies have already integrated a color search. And now the color search technology is catching up with this new demand, or at least one company is trying to spread color search to the masses:

Picolor

Picitup process your stream of images, carefully, separates the main object from its background and accurately extracts its color. Later on once a user clicks on the color palette; only products of the selected color would be presented.

Once a month, we'll be taking a look at fashion in film--characters, colors and costume design. Working together to create a believable persona, in the movies, the clothes often quite literally make the man. Or, in the case of today's character, they make the 18th-century queen-to-be.

Director Sofia Coppola's 2006 Marie Antoinette is loosely based on the real life of its title character, the Archduchess of Austria who married Louis-Auguste, the Dauphin of France, in 1770 at the age of 14. In history and in the film, the marriage isn't consummated--a sticking point in the story. Instead, Marie (portrayed by Kirsten Dunst), who has little political sway and finds herself frustrated with life at court, throws herself into more frivolous pleasures--clothing, gambling and makeup. When the king of France passes in 1774, the Dauphin (portrayed by Jason Schwartzman) becomes king--making Marie Antoinette the new queen.

Pink and gray remind me of the eighties: sneakers, sweaters and decor. Even though thoughts of the eighties flood might flood your brain, pink and gray are again a current trend. Does the combination remind you of the eighties? If not, then what? How does it make you feel?

agate bookends · bench · poufs · carafe · tealight bowl · pendant · pillow

room 1, 2

NASA's mobile robots Spirit & Opportunity have been exploring Mars for six years now, 25 times longer than predicted. Due to the extended life of the robots the photographic team, headed by Jim Bell, has had more time to capture the Martian landscapes with lighting, framing, color, depth of focus in mind. To date, the robots have sent back over 250,000 photos. Some of which have been selected for Jim Bell's recent book Postcards From Mars, which contains over 150 full-color-process prints.