Best of 2016: The 12 Best Tabletop Ideas of the Year

Also at the Luxe Launch showcase was a table called “Boho Gypsy Princess” designed by Bluebell Events and Mark’s Garden. Clusters of flowers by type from Revelry Event Design filled vessels of varying kinds and heights.

At NBC Universal’s Golden Globes party in Los Angeles in January, candlelight and varying metallic objects dotted long communal tables under pierced metal chandeliers as the focus in the center of the party space.

At the Icon Mann Power 50 Pre-Oscar dinner in Los Angeles in February, each table was curated in honor of a historic black man—including Nelson Mandela, Malcom X, and Fela Kuti—and had memorabilia significant to that person’s legacy. Soapstone sculptures by South African artist Tendayi Guwamombe were intended to signify strength, solidarity, and family; the 500-pound sculptures were imported from South Africa for the event.

In Los Angeles in June, Luxe Linen and Rayce PR hosted the Luxe Launch showcase event. “Gold Metallique” linen from Luxe set a backdrop for a rustic-meets-glamorous look in antique ivory and blush tones at the table known as “Memoirs Of Romance," designed by Charis Events & Design and Avant Garden Events.

Thought-bubble placemats inspired by Hank Willis Thomas' exhibition "The Truth Is I See You" served as tabletop decor at the Public Art Fund's spring benefit in New York in April. The messages transformed into different languages thanks to the optical illusion design. Design came from 360 Design Events.

The Tate Americas Foundation's artist’s dinner, which took place in May in New York, featured decor and architectural centerpieces by David Stark that were inspired by the sharp geometry and twisting shape of the Tate Modern’s new building, which was soon to open.

David Stark and his team designed the sixth annual Brooklyn Museum's Artists Ball, which took place in April at the New York museum. Inspired by Constantin Brancusi’s sculptures, particularly the “Endless Column,” and the party’s white-hot theme, Stark transformed the space with towering totems made from stacked rolls of household and industrial paper goods. They rose from the dining tables in varying heights, up to a soaring 21 feet.

At the Luminato Festival in Toronto in June, tabletops drew inspiration from minimalist decor and clean lines. Toronto architecture firm Partisans custom-designed the centerpieces for the opening gala, and the look became a focal point of the evening.

The dining tablescape at New York’s 9/11 Memorial & Museum benefit dinner in September featured a hologram prism, which displayed the Survivor Tree through the four seasons (the charred trunk of a Callery pear tree, which became known as the “Survivor Tree,” was pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center site after the attacks and remains alive on the grounds today).

Revlon hosted its annual philanthropic luncheon in Los Angeles in September in support of the beauty brand’s Women’s Health Mission, which in part served to raise awareness for this year's philanthropic initiatives including Revlon's second annual Love Is On Million Dollar Challenge. And from that initiative came a “love” theme executed in clean, graphic decor including centerpieces: clean white block lettering spelling out “Spread the Power of Love,” with red roses set in black vessels at the base, running the length of long, spare tables. The idea was to infuse Revlon branding into the space in a way that did not detract from the philanthropic messaging.

When David Stark created the decor for a Culture Lab Detroit dinner in September 16, he took inspiration from Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen's Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, a multimedia examination of chicken breeding; Vanmechelen incorporates the project in his solo exhibition at the Detroit art gallery Wasserman Projects, where the dinner took place. To pull in the theme, Stark topped tables dressed in natural canvas with raw wood risers that held open egg cartons, containing 80 dozen eggs. After the party, the eggs went to the Oakland Avenue Urban Farm to be sold alongside their produce.

Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS hosted its 13th “Dining by Design” in Chicago in November. The design showcase included a table from DL Couch designed by Harken Interiors, where woven textures were juxtaposed with patterned napkins; leafy plants, feathers, and stones added a natural feel.