Diffa Showcases New Ideas (Part Two)

David Beahm's two tables at the event's entrance had white tulips and calla lilies swooping up toward strands of crystals hanging from the ceiling—a design meant to suggest the people lost to AIDS ascending to heaven, he said, and to acknowledge Diffa's work funding AIDS organizations.

To showcase its work, framing products company Larson-Juhl brought in Jonathan Adler, who put walls of framed, octagon-shaped mirrors behind a table topped with his china and accompanied by framed silhouettes set as place cards. Our favorite touch: the contrast of tall cherry blossoms with sputnik-shaped chandeliers.

Artistic Tile's founder and C.E.O., Nancy Epstein, used natural materials—like cowhide floor tiles, zebra-print seat covers, and dramatic tall lamps made of stacked driftwood—and the pearlescent finish of the company's blue ceramic tiles, which covered tables and rear walls of the dining space. Chandelierlike sculptures hung over tables and featured branches and wicker balls stuffed with soft blue LED lights.

Architecture and interior design firm Gabellini Sheppard Associates worked with Swarovski crystal and B&B Italia furniture to create a sparkling silver-and-white fantasy that incorporated shimmering carpet, a geometric chandelier and—most dramatically—a spread of jewel-like crystals that covered the tabletop.