Design IDeas

A total of 200,000 stems of red and white roses, shipped in from Colombia and Ecuador, decorated the event. A team of 150 staffers worked to prepare the floral decor.

The step-and-repeat in the museum lobby featured the same oversize flowers used in the pop-up garden at the cocktail hour.

Students of the Harrington College of Design were inspired by birds' nest-weaving techniques. Using found objects such as newspapers and plastic bags, they wove patterns into the walls surrounding their table, which also held natural accents such as flowers and branches.

In his vignette for Pagoda Red, designer Pavel Juricek set the table with blue-and-white Delft china. In lieu of traditional floral centerpieces, mossy bits of wood ran down the center of the table and illuminated trees sprouted out of one end.

On Sarah Dippold Design's table, small tureens held earthy arrangements of mosses, berries, and succulents.

Project Interior's table was one of the most interactive. Guests grabbed a pair of large golden scissors to snip affirmative statements written on small pieces of paper from an overhead canopy. The statements included phrases such as "Act With Love" and the Matisse quotation "Creativity Takes Courage."

Black and gold—a popular color scheme this year—dominated the Project Interiors setting.

VOA Associates Inc. designed a booth for Steelcase. Inspired by a sculpture in Texas called Prada, Marfa, the structure looked like a mini pop-up store within the showcase and was called—naturally—Diffa, Marfa.

Inside the Diffa, Marfa structure, photos of Prada, Marfa lined the walls. On the shelves, teeny cacti were planted in mason jars with dirt and stones. Guests of the Saturday-night gala were invited to take home the plants as souvenirs.

Carnegie's table, designed by Gensler, had a nautical theme. The table was surrounded by sails and was topped with rope-tied vases holding water and live fish. From the show floor, guests peeked into the vignette through a  circular window reminiscent of a ship portal.

Inspired by the concept of metamorphosis, the table Hok designed for Halcon had branches, logs, and lumber. Plates were topped with tiny twigs.

At the table that Charles Crispin designed for Legendary Floors LLC, glass balls decked plates as an avant-garde take on fruit. The local Talisman Glass Studio was commissioned to create the decorations and completed the task in just two days.

A particularly attention-grabbing booth—and one that had attendees buzzing—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.

Kaufman Segal's quirky setting for Oscar Isberian Rugs Inc. had wooden hands, roses sprouting out of teacups, and more small cacti plants.

Leopardo's table, designed by Interior Architects, had a Mad Men-era vibe. The circular glass table was topped with fashion and art books, cut-crystal decanters filled with brown liquors, and a box of cigars.

Harley Ellis Deveraux's table for HBF/Gunlocke had a camping-inspired look. The installation held candlelit lanterns, old suitcases, plaid pillows and blankets, pinecones, and baskets filled with worn cooking utensils.

Jenn-Air's table, designed by Krengel & Associates, had cook-tops built into its surface. The table also had napkins and light-up ice cubes with the brand's logo.

Inspired by textile artist Alexander Girard and a child's bedroom, Herman Miller's table designed by IA Chicago was surrounded with colorful pillows. After the event, the pillows were donated to the Boys & Girls Club.

The foresty vignette from Kadlec Architecture & Design had candles, butterflies, and a floor filled with autumn leaves and glittering pinecones.

An origami-like chandelier hung over the CS Interiors table designed by Kaufman Segal with Jesse Chicago. The table also had centerpieces filled with tightly rolled up magazine pages and arrangements of pink and peach roses.

At the table from Shaw Contract/Vortex Enterprises, designed by Box Studios, laptops and tablets showcasing images of food replaced traditional place settings.

Knoll/Spinnybeck Leather's vignette, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz Interior, had the look of a city apartment. Brightly colored lounge furniture filled the space, as well as a graffiti-style painting that spelled out "Grit and Glitz."

Reminiscent of an artist's studio, a table for CS Interiors designed by Casa Spazio with Atelier Turner had paper walls, ample brushes, and open jars of paint. Guests were encouraged to get creative and add to the background mural.

Marc Blackwell designed a table for national sponsor La Crema and filled the space with whimsical, sea-inspired touches. Glass domes covered seashells that were spray-painted gold, and small sea urchins covered porcelain soup tureens.

Designed by Jonathan Adler, Kravet Inc.'s table was surrounded by patterned walls with lantern-shape cutouts.

Kehoe Designs' eye-catching booth had an oversize stallion statue, a curvy, mirrored bar, disco balls, and color-changing light.

The guilty-pleasure phenomenon 50 Shades of Grey inspired Nelson's vignette for Teknion. In the monochromatic space, handcuffs served as napkin-holders.

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

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.

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.

Little World Design specializes in sculptural, botanical objects and installations. Owners Heather Pando and Manuel Acosta favor long-lasting materials, like branches, seed pods, feathers, moss, stones, linen, and even real butterfly wings.

For place settings that tie into the rustic, all-natural trend, rent Swift & Company’s 500 new Capri wood chargers for $7 per piece. Crafted from reclaimed wood and made by hand in the company’s Houston workshop, the chargers’ patinas and distress marks make for a striking tabletop element.

In January, the Walrus Foundation hosted a fund-raiser with travel-themed decor in Toronto, where Balloon Trix created centerpieces meant to resemble hot-air balloons.