Sometimes it takes more than a traditional flower arrangement to make an eye-catching centerpiece or tabletop display. Surprising objects like old-school microphones, toys, and teapots can tie in themes, grab attention, trim the budget, or even encourage guests to snap Instagram pics that spread the host's message. Here's a look at some unique ideas for tabletop decor.
At the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS' Dining by Design benefit in New York in 2012, David Stark's installation for Benjamin Moore used real books and hand-made pop-up books to highlight the concept behind the brand's slogan: “A whole new chapter in paint color technology is being written.”
Photo: Ronnie Andren for BizBash
For a holiday event for Herbalife, Sterling Engagements designed tabletop vignettes using metallic and glass objects in visually interesting and varied shapes.
Photo: Michael Hedden/Evoke Photography
At a screening of the James Brown biopic Get on Up in Washington in July, André Wells incorporated such objects as old-school-style microphones and records into floral centerpieces to channel the movie’s musical premise.
Photo: Courtesy of Andre Wells
Floral and event design company Amaryllis hosted an industry New Year's Eve party in Washington where a golden bust surrounded by an orb was part of an effort to weave in some statement-making European flair.
Photo: Kate Headley
For an event for Munchkin baby products in Los Angeles in November, Jeannie Savage of Details Details used toys on the tabletops to "evoke childhood memories," she said, for the bloggers, event planners, and influential mom guests in attendance.
Photo: Jessica Claire
At the Miami Heat Charitable Fund annual gala in January, A Joy Wallace Catering, Design & Special Events created a tropical-looking table with centerpieces comprising Mokara orchids, calla lilies, and roses with accents of blue thistle—all built around a 3-D acrylic cube that encased replicas of the three Miami Heat championship rings.
Photo: Cendino Teme Photography
For the 2010 St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School's sports-theme benefit in Washington, held in the school's gymnasium, centerpieces were oversize versions of athletic objects by commercial sculptor A.J. Strasser.
Photo: Stephen Elliot/Mud Productions for BizBash
The Bafta Los Angeles Tea Party, held on Golden Globes weekend in Los Angeles, used various decor pieces and objects to advance its British theme—including a Union Jack-splashed tea kettle holding white roses.
Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Jaguar Land Rover
During Golden Globes weekend this year in Los Angeles, W hosted an event at A.O.C. in celebration of its picks for so-called "Hollywood It girls." Covered glass dishes on the tabletops provided feminine flair alongside pink blooms.
Photo: Donato Sardella/Getty Images for W Magazine
At the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund gala in Bradenton, Florida, in 2007, coffee beans filled cigar boxes on high-top tables to match the event's tropical theme and mood.
Photo: Courtesy of Showorks Inc.
In what could be described as a meta interpretation of a traditional floral centerpiece, David Stark used twine to create flower-shaped centerpieces at the Museum of Arts and Design's Visionary Awards gala in New York in 2007.
Photo: Gustavo Campos
In September, the renovated Riverside ballroom at Austin, Texas's Radisson Hotel & Suites Downtown opened with a food-centric event that saw produce contained in veggie cartons as decor.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Rock candy made for a more budget-friendly and unexpected—not to mention edible—centerpiece at Chicago's Children's Ball in 2008.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash
