Cool ideas

For its XO Cafe Noir party in 2011, Patrón tapped Abel McCallister Designs to create lamps made from empty liquor bottles and fringed lampshades.

As part of Brooklyn’s Northside Festival in June, whiskey brand Jameson hosted the Black Barrel Lounge, where guests could enjoy music from indie artists and get the chance to experience a demonstration by Master Cooper (aka barrel maker) Ger Buckley. Accordingly, the space was decorated with chandeliers made from deconstructed flame-charred Jameson Black barrels.

In June, Target celebrated the launch of its fashion and home accessories collection with charity organization Feed by hosting a rustic-Americana-themed dinner party in Brooklyn. The lighting fixtures above the bar in the dinner tent were crafted from Feed U.S.A. for Target plates and cups.

At a private event hosted by Adidas during the N.B.A.'s All-Star Weekend in 2012, Night Vision Entertainment incorporated the footwear brand's Superstar shoes into an overhead display. To hang the installation, producers attached suspension cords to laces that were tied around the bottom of the shoes.

For Z100's All Access Lounge, a preshow festival for the 2011 Jingle Ball concert, presenting sponsor Coca-Cola incorporated subtle branding into the Hammerstein Ballroom's decor with a hanging installation of Coke cans.

In June, jewelry company Stella & Dot teamed up with liquor brand Midori to host a happy hour event on the rooftop of the London West Hollywood. Small shelves were built into the press wall in order to display emerald green accessories from the line alongside the green-colored booze.

In June, Skyy Vodka hosted Skyy and Sea, the official opening event to New York’s Governors Ball Music Festival, aboard the Hornblower Infinity yacht. The nautical theme was reflected in the event’s step-and-repeat: White shelves held bottles of vodka and branded lifesavers.

Also at the Skyy and Sea event, guests could spin a prize wheel to win items like a hat, a bikini, or sunglasses. The pointers on the wheel were made from empty Skyy bottles.

At a Vogue Eyewear party held in Los Angeles in March to fete the brand’s spring summer campaign, shades were frozen inside blocks of ice along with flowers, making for striking arrangements on bar tops.

Dubbed the Dramatically Different Party, skincare brand Clinique's June 18 bash at New York’s 620 Loft & Garden celebrated its iconic moisturizer. As guests entered, they encountered a hallway lined with more than 4,000 bottles of the 45-year-old lotion.

At a Toronto event marking SodaStream’s partnership with Kraft, held in June, a custom step-and-repeat was made out of shelves filled with artfully arranged products and logos.

In honor of Barbie’s 50th anniversary, Mattel created a real-life version of the doll’s Malibu Dream House where repeating rows of the iconic toy formed an eye-catching wall.

Earlier this year in New Orleans, Jes Gordon designed a Super Bowl party for M&Ms where highboy tables displayed arrangements of roses and eucalyptus nestled in vases filled with the chocolate candies.

At an EBay event in 2009, the centerpiece of the room was a giant chandelier that comprised more than 1,200 items found on the online auctioneer’s Web site.

During the 2010 Super Bowl, Bridgestone stacked its tires to create highboys at the ESPN the Magazine Next Big Weekend party.

At the Marfa Film Festival in Texas in 2010, the We Came In Peace-designed Café Bustelo Filling Station was marked by the coffee brand's yellow-and-red aluminum cans. In addition to using the cans as planters for cacti, the designers crafted them into chandeliers and lighting installations.

At Ecolab's client appreciation party at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago in 2010, Kehoe Designs made a registration desk using the cleaning product company's soap dispensers and glass racks from restaurant dishwashers.

Godiva is known for its annual chocolate-themed lounge at InStyle’s Golden Globes after-party, but in 2009 the chocolate brand made a bid for attention on Valentine’s Day with an over-the-top chocolate-covered suite inside New York’s Bryant Park Hotel. Envisioned by interior designer Jonathan Adler and interpreted in chocolate by event producer Larry Abel, the suite featured a lavish display of Godiva products including a mosaic of individual chocolates arranged beneath a glass-topped dining table.

To celebrate the Shops at Target launch in May 2012, the retail giant hosted a party at the IAC Building in New York, for which designer David Stark suspended products from the various collections as decor. For example, doggie treats from Target collaborator Polka Dog Bakery were hung in a spiraled, chandelier-like installation.

Decorative paper lanterns and purple lighting marked the entrance to the World’s Best Awards at Center548 in New York's Chelsea neighborhood.