Floral

With Andy Warhol art on the walls of the atrium, Eric Michael and Jack Lucky used a 1970s-inspired color palette of bright orange, yellow, pink, and neon green. Perfect Settings provided linens in each of these colors to create alternating color blocks from table to table.

Yours Truly Lighting and Decor added an ambience to each room with uplighting, plus texture gobos, in a few spaces in the same color palette.

The Rotunda had a Mexican-themed look with white and gold linens accented by tall green, red, and yellow tulip centerpieces on each table.

Playing off the purple walls of Gallery 2, the tables brought together purple, green, white, and lime-green elements accented by purple uplighting.

Each place setting had purple napkins atop blue chargers and white linens with a purple, orange, and lime-green geometric pattern. The short centerpieces incorporated the same colors with the addition of pink to further brighten up the table in the darker room. Moss-green chair covers and lime-green votive candles completed the look.

Gallery 4 is home to many classic paintings that feature the color blue. In turn, the three dinner tables had blue velvet damask linens with matching chair cushions. A similar damask gobo on the ceiling drew the eye upward along with the tall candelabra centerpieces of pink, purple, coral, and red roses.

Gallery 5 has numerous landscapes lining the walls that lent the space to a springtime theme. Though pink is commonly used in such cases, the team chose to go a different direction with peach and coral linens and chairs.

Small Lincoln Log-style wood boxes filled with pink, coral, and orange tulips, roses, and calla lilies topped each of the tables.

The green walls of the Large Mantel Room brought to mind the image of a garden. Living ivy walls, tree centerpieces, and birchwood chairs set against natural-colored linens created an indoor garden atmosphere.

Low-lying jasmine floral arrangements, purple votives, and plum linens added spots of color to the indoor garden ambience.

The team softened the natural masculinity and darkness of the wood walls in the Small Mantel Room by using a light color palette of white, light grey, and metallic linens and chairs.

The candelabras on each table held an unusual floral combination of white orchids and succulents—a combination of the masculinity of the room and femininity of the white flowers and linens.

The Salon Doré is the most inherently opulent of all the galleries with its gilded walls. Working with that inspiration, Perfect Settings provided red linens with sheer overlays and ornately decorated gold chargers and flatware.

Gold rosette chair covers matched the napkins on each place setting.

Organizers moved the main bar upstairs on the bridge of the atrium this year, which better served the wandering dinner guests as well as the attendees of the after-hours dance party Club Corcoran hosted by the young professionals group 1869 Society. Matching current design trends, blue and white chevron linens covered the front of the four-sided bar.

Blue and white hiboys matching the chevron print on the bar provided seating across the bridge during the cocktail hour and after-party.

At the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum's Butterfly Ball in Chicago on May 3, the gala had a farm-like atmosphere. Playing off the event's "Savour Nature" theme, Event Creative brought in vegetable-centric decor. Tables were decked with miniature gardens potted with tomatoes, colorful peppers, asparagus, and kale; around the centerpieces, fairy lights in miniature Mason jars added to the elegant yard-party vibe.

XO laptops replaced flowers as centerpieces in the dining room, flashing images of bouquets and alerting diners to their next course.

The hot-air balloon stands 20 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds, while the carousel is 13 feet tall, 16 feet wide, and weighs 6,000 pounds. Both installations feature theatrical lighting and are accompanied by festive music. Bailey said he looked to childhood inspirations to complement the existing whimsical theme of the Wynn atrium.

At Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Gardens' spring display last year, more than 800 live butterflies fluttered inside a 36-foot-long greenhouse. Around its perimeter, four live monitors showcased the metamorphosis of the pupae living inside as they transformed into butterflies. Species came from around the world, including Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Kenya. A 26-foot-tall windmill, weighing approximately 9,000 pounds, drew guests into a garden filled with tulips, mums, and poppies, as well as a larger-than-life display of 17-foot-tall tulip decor pieces. Overhead, 40 oversize blue raindrop-shaped pieces sprinkled spring showers throughout the garden.

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens’ spring 2012 exhibit had a Dutch village theme with a rotating windmill and a floral exhibition showcasing tulips, azaleas, hibiscus, and lilies. A carousel, waterfall, and ceiling-hung hand-painted parasols completed the look, while live harp and violin performances added to the experience.

Giant six-foot tulips and 10- and 6-foot flowered butterflies created photo opportunities throughout the Waterfall Atrium and Gardens at the Palazzo Las Vegas for Spring 2011. The centerpiece of the garden was a 25-foot gently flapping butterfly that used motion-sensor technology to blink at passersby.

For Summer 2011, the Waterfall Atrium at the Palazzo Las Vegas was transformed into a bog garden. It featured three hand-sculpted frogs that sat in the center of the water feature, accented by water lilies, cobra lilies, mosses, ferns, and water reeds. Whimsical jeweled dragonflies dotted the gardens in vibrant oranges, hot pinks, and chartreuse greens.

Late last year the Wynn Las Vegas unveiled two floral installations conceptualized by Preston Bailey—a hot-air balloon and an animated carousel, which will live in the property’s atrium indefinitely. The installations were crafted by Wynn Design and Development and Forte Specialty Contractors. Constructed with a core made of fiber-reinforced plastic, the sculptures are adorned with more than 110,000 flowers, arranged in a vibrant color palette.

For its spring 2013 installation, the Palazzo Las Vegas suspended 60 floating cherry blossoms from the glass dome in the Waterfall Atrium, making it look like the pieces were falling from a tree. The sun passed through different positions throughout the day, offering different shades and shadows—and photo ops for guests. The waterfall and infinity pond complemented the falling blossoms, and knotted grape vines (recycled from fall decor) along with cherry blossoms added to the branches to give a Japanese feel to the gardens.

For spring 2012, a combination of 6- and 10-foot hand-painted canvas magnolias and butterflies decked the Palazzo Waterfall Atrium. Thousands of stems of forsythia were used on the waterfall and gardens, and thousands of hyacinth plants in purple, pink, and white filled the entire atrium garden with fragrance.

The spring 2011 installation at the Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens brought bright blooms and a playful carnival. Four gardens were filled with scents of tulips, hydrangeas, and daisies, and the look included a colorful Ferris wheel, moving carousel, and greenhouse full of butterflies. The moving 11-foot-tall carousel weighed more than 8,600 pounds, and was adorned with 330 clear bulbs and colorful acrylic balloons with a cedar ticket booth. The 40-foot full-scale Ferris wheel was decorated with animated lighting, and a stone-based rustic greenhouse housed more than 500 live butterflies from around the world.

For a chic, outdoorsy feel, set tables with items available in Chicago from Tablescapes (or go for a similar look): Vintage Crystal Basketweave charger, $7.50; Cutout Lace plate, $3; Christian silver flatware, $0.80 each; rectangular plate, $1.50; Traditional silver demitasse spoon, $0.65; mini glass jar, $0.90; Vintage Etched glassware, $2 each; Rust Satin napkin, $2.50; Silver napkin tie, $2; Aged Farm square tabletop, $45.

Tablescapes also has pieces that work for a whimsical, rustic look: Bronze Iridescent runner, $12.50; Ivory Hemstitch napkin, $3.60; Dancing Garden charger, $7.25; Sevres salad plate, $2.25; Mother of Pearl flatware, $0.90 each; Mother of Pearl napkin ring, $2.50; Aged Farm square tabletop, $45.

The Mint Agency used sand, shells, and bowls holding live fish as centerpieces at the September premiere dinner for Spring Breakers during the Toronto International Film Festival.

At a Belvedere-sponsored event during the 2012 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, chevron-patterned linens topped cocktail tables, and sunflower bouquets served as centerpieces.

LoLo Event Design offers hand-painted handkerchiefs that can serve as table numbers at a garden event. Set alongside flowers in a terra cotta pot, tables get a more casual feel than an elaborate formal centerpiece—just right for an alfresco event.

At Barbra Streisand's fund-raiser for the Cedars-Sinai Women's Heart Center in Malibu, colorful floral arrangements in wooden vases played off the outdoor setting.

For the Cedars-Sinai Women's Heart Centerdinner, held inside Streisand's home, neutral tones and fresh-picked centerpieces formed a summery setting.

At Diffa’s Dining by Design event in Chicago, an attention-grabbing booth was Haworth's table designed by 4240 Architecture. Inspired by the concept of urban agriculture, the table had a wall aquarium and live flowers, vegetables, and greenery.

Also at Diffa, Sarah Dippold Design's table had small tureens that held earthy arrangements of mosses, berries, and succulents.

At a Chicago launch party for wedding registry site Poladora.com, Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event set a festive, colorful table with Mexican inspiration.

At Diffa’s Dining by Design event in New York, Croscill's table resembled a canopy bed. It was covered in a bright pink quilted tablecloth and surrounded by clear Chiavari chairs.

At Girari Sustainable Event Furnishings’ tabletop design competition at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, event producer Alexandra Rembac-Goldberg of Sterling Engagements designed a showcase table with a bubble theme. The entire look was placed inside a clear bubble structure from Casa Bubble.

Also at Diffa in New York, Rachel Laxer Interiors with Robert Kuo designed an ode to Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard with a centerpiece of moody floral arrangements and fresh fruit.