PhotoshopDesign

As Benefit of  the Doubt was wrapping up his month of posts focused on color in film he brought to our attention this nice little list of "The Best Uses of Color in Film, Ever, Both Foreign and Domestic" put together by the great Martin Scorsese. The list includes 1o american and 10 foreign films that Scorsese believes demonstrate a masterful use of light and color.

"Films use light and color to tell a story in a special narrative way, which delivers a strong emotional and intellectual impact on the viewer," Scorsese said. "That made a very strong impression on me and has affected how I try to use color in all of my films."

The lists were the idea of Philips Electronics, which was looking for a way to promote its Ambilight FlatTV displays.

Here are the top ten English language films in alphabetical order with a little palette love:

Barry Lyndon (1975)

With blue and yellow I automatically think collegiate, most likely being that these are the colors of the University of Michigan. Even though I tend to correlate the two, it is easy to get the colors outside their scholastic association by using different variations of the hues. To prove this I have stumbled upon some charming accents as well as a couple of aesthetically pleasing interiors.

pillow | tea towel | plate | bottles | bath towel | post-its | pendant | vase

Often times, when fashion is described as "architectural," the word captures a general sense--geometric shapes, stacked layers, hardness and roundness and softness. But in the case of United Nude's shoes, "architectural" is the first--and most apropos--word to use to describe the labors of love from Dutch designer (and architect) Rem D Koolhaas.

Koolhaas has said multiple times--most prominently on United Nude's Web site itself--the line began with "a broken heart." Wanting to boil architecture down to "the smallest and most vulnerable scale, that of a woman's foot," Koolhass started United Nude with the Möbius, an openwork sandal formed from a single strip and inspired by Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe's famous Barcelona chair.

Koolhaas partnered with shoemaker Galahad Clark to bring the idea to life, and now the two have developed a full range of architecturally inspired, coolly colorful footwear. The Eamz is based on Ray and Charles Eames' famous office chair and footstool, the Stealth draws on the straight lines and style of a Stealth F117 fighter plane. Every shoe has a true architectural aspect--much like the artistic, just-opened New York flagship store.

For more, check out an interview with Koolhaas here, and below, take a look at a healthy handful of some of United Nude's offerings.

I have to say, when I hear or see orange and blue together the New York Knicks come to mind. Doesn't really seem appealing when it comes to to home decor, does it? Well, even though these two colors seem as if they would not fit properly as decor, they certainly can. A toned down, softer version of the color duo can be refreshing in small doses. Just look at these examples. How do you feel about orange and blue being used together in the home?

dishtowel | fish soaps |vases | glasses | pillow | bowls | chair s

Though my favorite colors have to be blue and green, I can appreciate many of the other colors that exist. The ones that I tend to always go back to,
other than the favorites, seem to be black and gray. I guess it is their neutral and chic qualities that appeals to me. There also seems to be an awful lot of gray floating around in the design world at the moment, so maybe it's subconscious thing as well.

Do you find yourself  drawn to certain colors that are 'hot' at the moment? What do you think of gray and black?

lamp | planter | pillow | coral jar | nut cracker | mirror | decanter | throw | vases | chair

Interior: 1, 2

If you're looking for some vintage color inspiration, or a little from the unusual category, check out the progress of Lisa Congdon and her project, A Collection a Day. Today is only day 155 so we still have plenty look forward from the 365 day project.

From her collection page:

This is a blog documenting a project that will span exactly one year, from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. On each of those 365 days, I will photograph or draw (and occasionally paint) one collection. Most of the collections are real and exist in my home or studio; those I will photograph. Some are imagined; those I will draw or (occasionally) paint.

Pom-Pom's are a terrific way to add fun colour to your reception. If you're crafty (or not) and are willing to get your hands dirty, this one's for you. This is something you don't want to be doing the week of though.

As I have mentioned before, I am coordinating and helping with the design for my little brothers wedding coming up here in just 2 short weeks.

A few Weekends ago, my Mom, and partner in crime for the wedding decor, spent some time putting mock tables and accessory layouts together. As we were coming in from a walk after all our projects were done for the day, my mom says,"I have decided not to add another project to our already big list of things to do." Of course, not two hours later did we come across these wonderful pom-pom's (pictured right)! So what do two crazy girls do with an idea? The very next day we gathered supplies and started dying 1,400 mini coffee filters a variety of lavender hues. We started at 3pm and she left after midnight. So much for not adding another project! I'd like to add that my mom has dyed over 3,000 more coffee filters on top of the original 1,400. When we get a bug in our bonnets we're all about business.

On to the actual project and our experience. The original idea came from a small photo (again, pictured right) from the last months issue of the Martha Stewart Weddings. When we originally spied the photo we naturally assumed they were made from coffee filters. As we figured we could get the general idea ourselves, we tried looking up a how-to on the subject with not much luck. So we did what we do best and made it up.