Diffa's Picnic by Design
Michigan-based interior designer Corey Damen Jenkins opted for a Motown theme, featuring a suitcase decorated with photos of music legends and a trippy-looking neon-colored blanket.
Photo: Becky Yee Photography
Boden's Fall 2013 Viewing Event
London-based clothing company Boden hosted a viewing of its fall 2013 collection in New York on August 13 with its style consultant Zanna Roberts Rassi. Because the label doesn't have a stateside boutique, planners from Alison Brod PR chose to host the function in a suite at the Crosby Street Hotel. The fashion-editor invitees were also encouraged to bring their kids to check out the children's line, and the event had an appropriately sunny vibe with colorful snacks to match: the dessert table, laden with hot-pink blooms, held a rainbow-hued selection of macarons from the hotel's catering team.
Photo: Kyle Dean Reinford
Walter Surface Technologies New Global Headquarters Opening Party
To celebrate the opening of its new global headquarters in Montreal, Walter Surface Technologies hosted a bash on August 22. Some 100 local business leaders attended the function, which included some decidedly nonstandard entertainment: a synchronized performance between a metal-cutter and a harpist.
Photos: Courtesy of Walter Surface Technologies
The Parrish Art Museum's Summer Benefit
Earlier this summer, the Parrish Art Museum hosted its annual benefit in the Hamptons. The museum’s barnlike entryways served as a runway of sorts at the event, and super-long tables ran the lengths of the outdoor corridors. The setting gave diners the sense they were floating above the former potato fields that surrounded them.
Photo: Owen Hoffmann/PatrickMcMullan.com
To create a forest scene to display Louis Vuitton's collection at its Saks Fifth Avenue concept store launch, David Beahm used five kinds of mosses, built life-size trees using branches wound around metal frames, and decorated the area with other leafy plants.
Photo: Jeff Thomas/ImageCapture
BAM's Next Wave Gala
Held in late September at Skylight One Hanson in Brooklyn, BAM’s 30th Next Wave gala featured floral decor by Fleurs Bella. Some guests dined at the former bank's deposit slip tables, where the built-in lamps were engulfed in greenery, roses, and calla lilies.
Photo: Etienne Frossard
Opening of 'Otello' at the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera celebrated the opening of its latest production, Otello, with a post-show reception and dinner on October 9. Designed and produced by Tyger Productions and held on the Met’s Grand Tier, guests sat at 24-foot mirrored tables that reflected the dramatic architecture. Tall gilded crystal candelabras holding boxwood topiaries ran down the center of the tables, while gold Venetian glass chargers and flatware added to the look.
Photo: Gruber Photographers
LG Innovators' Ball
The Ontario Science Centre hosted its fund-raiser, the LG Innovators' Ball, in late October. In honor of the new exhibition “Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration,” the sixth annual gala had a retro "Fly Me to the Moon" theme, designed by McNabb Roick Events. In the dining room, retro rocket ships acted as centerpieces with red and orange flowers standing in as a "flame" at the base.
Photo: Josh Fee for BizBash
Storybook Ball
The 13th annual Storybook Ball was held October 20 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Sound of Music-themed decor included centerpieces of wildflowers accented with tiny guitars, designed by Winston Flowers.
Photo: Matt West
'Washingtonian' Bride & Groom Unveiled Event
The ever-chic black-and-white motif gets new energy with the help of dramatic metallic accents. At the setup by Events in the City, a gold sparkle wall and gold glitter flatware add festivity to an otherwise preppy look.
Photo: Rodney Bailey
'Washingtonian' Bride & Groom Unveiled Event
Monochrome weddings are getting an updated twist lately, as seen in the table and setup by Edge Floral Event Designers. Think understated—even rustic—furnishings that allow details like flowers and wallpaper to pop without looking overdone.
Photo: Rodney Bailey
'Washingtonian' Bride & Groom Unveiled Event
The rustic look has moved into the realm of total refinement, as seen in the setup from Simply Chic Events, which came complete with reclaimed wood and an Edison-style bulb chandelier.
Photo: Rodney Bailey
Poladora.com Launch Party in Chicago
Mexican themes lend themselves to such whimsy and colorfulness. The table from A Perfect Event shows off a well-executed, conversation-starting example.
Photo: C. Saville Photography
Wedding Salon Los Angeles Showcase
Flowers are no longer strictly contained by vessels. Sofitel Los Angeles let blooms trail from an oversize arrangement—a similar look to the Recording Academy's Bollywood-inspired after-party for the Grammys.
Photo: Nicola Borland Photography
Wedding Salon Los Angeles Showcase
Planners may already have seen this theme evolve: chandeliers, chandeliers, chandeliers. At the Wedding Salon showcase Premiere Party Rents hung one from a wedding canopy. For corporate events, the ceiling treatments can be hung from tent ceilings, above food stations, or over an arrivals carpet.
Photo: Nicola Borland Photography
'Modern Luxury Brides South Florida and the Caribbean' “Evening of Bridal Luxury” Event
Illuminated chandeliers are eye-catching additions to weddings and corporate events alike. The floral and crystal chandelier installed by Karla Conceptual Event Experiences and lit by Frost Florida, packed a punch in purple.
Photo: Maloman Photographers
"Love is in the Air" Event at the New York Botanical Garden
Live musical acts are borrowing inspiration from the evocative 1920s period. Costumed entertainers took the stage at a collaboration between the New York Botanical Garden and Stephen Starr Events.
Photo: Lina Jang Photographers
Vitality conference breaks, including open-faced Parma ham sandwiches with sun-dried tomato spread, ricotta, and basil, available at all SwissĂ´tel Hotels & Resorts locations
Photo: Courtesy of SwissĂ´tel
Outdoor break, including a carving board, international cheeses and breads, and paella, by Lake Lanier Islands Resort in Buford, Georgia
Photo: Courtesy of Lanier Lakes
Florida Orange Break, including orange-laced cookies and macarons, orange chocolate-covered cherries and apricots, orange-ginger muffins, frozen orange pops, crystalized orange rings, and a variety of orange-flavored beverages, by Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida
Photo: Creative Focus Photography
New York-style deli station, including potato knishes, grilled pumpernickel bread, the Pickle Guy pickles, local mustard, and Schaller & Weber deli meats, by Westin New York Grand Central
Photo: Westin New York Grand Central
Popcorn Couture Cinema Break, Âincluding mixtures such as All American (bow-tie pretzels, peanuts, and M&M’s), Rio Bravo (chipotle chili powder, corn chips, and lime), and Bedtime for Bonzo (banana chips, NestlĂ© Buncha Crunch, and toasted Âcoconut), by Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin in Orlando
Photo: Courtesy of Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin
Interactive American Apple Culinary Break, which involves a specialist teaching the craft of creating apple pie, as well as a spread of apple tarts, fresh apples, and apple juice, by the Park Hyatt Washington
Photo: Courtesy of Park Hyatt Washington
Lemon Break, including a lemonade display, lemon tarts, lemon sorbet, lemon candies, lemon confit, lemon drops, lemon shooters, lemon chiffon cakes, lemon crème brûlées, lemon rum babas, lemon napoleons, and lemon meringues, by Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa in California
Photo: New Port Beach Marriott
Charcuterie selections hanging from a steel bow, by Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek in Florida
Photo: Courtesy of Wyndham Grand Orlando
Breakfast bites, including French toast sticks, fruitinis, mini yogurt parfaits, bite-size beignets, and cereal Âshooters, by W San Diego
Photo: Courtesy of W: San Diego
Cookie station, including Oreos, pecan sugar Âcookies, and gingersnaps, as well as ice cream, lemonade, and sweet tea, by the Trump SoHo in New York
Photo: Courtesy of SoHo Trump
Savory break spread, including Thai chicken satays, sushi and sashimi, smoked mountain trout and crème fraĂ®che on cucumber, edamame, Âand seaweed salad, and vegetable Âsmoothies, by Lake Lanier Islands Resort in Buford, Georgia
Photo: Courtesy of Lanier Lakes
Local treats spread, including pecan caramel turtles, trail mix with chocolate-covered coffee beans, pretzels, and dried cherries, brisket quesadillas with poblano ranch dressing, chocolate and dulce de leche tartlets, assorted Sweet Leaf iced teas, and coffee, by Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort in Austin, Texas
Photo: Courtesy of Hyatt Regency Lost Pines
Refreshment break buffet, including chicken chutney salad in phyllo cups, hummus with celery and carrot sticks, Very Berry shooters, mango-carrot nectar, and homemade granola with Greek yogurt, by the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort Executive Conference Center in Arizona
Photo: Hilton Tuscon
Build-your-own trail mix and smoothie station, including the Ready Set Glow smoothie with açai berries, flaxseed, and coconut water; and the Jump Start smoothie with blueberries, bananas, Greek yogurt, and flaxseed, available at all Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Photo: Courtesy of Kimpton
Also available through Pressed Cotton are chalkboard tags, $3.50 each, which can be used as signage or place cards or can be hung from the neck of wine bottles to designate tables.
Photo: Courtesy of Pressed Cotton
Earlier this year at TEDActive, the official TED conference simulcast held in Palm Springs, TEDx planners from around the world expressed themselves on an interactive chalkboard wall.
Photo: Marla Aufmuth
Ronen Rental’s chalkboard bar features chalkboard panels set in an aluminum frame. The bar comes in two sizes: six feet long and four feet long. Available to rent in South Florida, chalk is included. The company can also make custom stencils for easy personalization.
Photo: Courtesy of Ronen Rental
Pressed Cotton sells gray-washed wooden chalkboard boxes, from $19 each, that can be filled with plants or flowers and used as centerpieces. Have the boxes do double duty by using chalk to write table numbers on the side.
Photo: Courtesy of Pressed Cotton
To promote its first book, blog Design Sponge toured the West Coast in 2011. At a book signing in Los Angeles, guests could pose in front of—and draw on—a chalkboard backdrop created by event and styling production company Bash Please.
Photo: Rachel Thurston
For a corporate event held in one of the hotel kitchens at the Atlanta Hyatt, Steve Bales of Bold American Events & Catering built floor-to-ceiling chalkboard walls on which he personalized each guest’s apron by scrawling his or her name next to it.
Photo: Troy Kelly Studio
To build buzz for its latest product collaboration with charity organization Feed Projects, Target threw a rustic-Americana-theme dinner party underneath the Brooklyn Bridge in June. Freestanding chalkboard signs set up outside the open-air venue in Brooklyn Bridge Park helped guests find their way.
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
Also at the Target event, chalkboard menus placed near the bar areas displayed the cocktail hour offerings.
Photo: Nilaya Sabnis
At the National Stationery Show in May, black-and-white stripes accented a stationery suite printed on a chalkboard-style background from Something Detailed.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The Southern-hospitality-infused welcome bash at the Engage! luxury-wedding business summit, held in June at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, featured a chalkboard map that outlined the various locations of the four-part event.
Photo: Andrew Henderson
Available to rent throughout California, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Lounge Appeal’s Beachwood Chalkboard table allows guests to doodle on the surface. The 2- by 4-foot table comes in 42-, 30-, and 18-inch-tall versions.
Photo: Courtesy of Lounge Appeal
In 2006 at the Robin Hood Foundation benefit, designer David Stark created towering hand-drawn sketches depicting New York scenes across more than 35,000 square feet of chalkboard. Guests could add to the work with bowls of chalk placed on the highboy tables throughout the cocktail area.
Photo: Susie Montagna
Imperial bench, Kings dining table, and Majesty throne, prices upon request, available throughout California, Arizona, and Las Vegas from Lounge Appeal
Photo: Courtesy of Lounge Appeal
Beechwood table and stools, prices upon request, available throughout California, Arizona, and Las Vegas from Lounge Appeal
Photo: Courtesy of Lounge Appeal
D’Rose sofa in fuschia, $625, available in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami from Luxe Event Rentals
Photo: Courtesy of Luxe Event Rentals
Napoleon dining table and armchairs, price upon request, available nationwide from CORT Event Furnishings
Photo: Courtesy of CORT
At the 2009 awards reception for Commercial Real Estate Women, a national association representing women in the industry, fishbowls holding live goldfish were embedded into the bars, adding to the evening's aquatic theme.
Photo: Tony Brown/imijphoto.com for BizBash
Another trend spotted on the Diffa floor: black-and-white stripes. The Architectural Digest table featured the striking pattern on the china, the surrounding columns, a giant paper lantern, and the table itself. A centerpiece of brightly hued anemones and poppies popped against the stark palette.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
A cute touch at Michael Amini's Old Hollywood-themed table: film canisters serving as chargers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Diffa's four-day event ran alongside the Architectural Digest Home Show. Attendees entered the Diffa section of the trade show floor by walking through a tunnel of exposed lightbulbs that hung overhead.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
At Gensler and Herman Miller's vignette, the dining table was surrounded by walls covered in thousands of Hershey's Kisses wrapped in purple foil. Attendees were invited to take one as a symbol of the "many hands it takes to spark positive change."
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
As part of Diffa's Student Design Initiative, five of New York's top design schools created installations for the showcase, under the direction of industry mentors and within a strict budget. Students from the Pratt Institute, working with mentor Arpad Baksa, used Pegboard, twinkle lights, and individually placed test tubes to create a sparkling rendering of a world map.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Maya Romanoff and the Rockwell Group collaborated with the producers of Kinky Boots to create a dining environment that would celebrate the April 4 opening of the Broadway show. A chandelier of patent leather boots interspersed with red lightbulbs floated above the red tabletop, and the wall panels were designed to resemble laced-up corsets.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
As a nod to the walls at the Kinky Boots table, Romanoff stitched corset-like napkin holders.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Many designers had spring on the mind, with several environments dedicated to garden motifs. Rachel Laxer Interiors with Robert Kuo designed an ode to Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard with a mural of an 18th-century woman falling from a swing and a centerpiece of moody floral arrangements and fresh fruit.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Rachel Laxer Interiors' table settings included moss-covered chargers and—similar to the Kinky Boots table—corseted napkin holders.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The Eric Warner for Aesthete table, hosted by Tracy Reese, also jumped on the spring bandwagon, featuring faux butterflies and lightbulbs hanging from an overhead trellis, as well as a wall displaying patterned fabric panels and a silhouette made entirely out of moss.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Beacon Hill conceived a Midnight Garden vignette, which was hidden behind walls of boxwood shrubs draped in patterned fabric. The moody setting included an arrangement of twinkle lights, moss, orchids, and silk butterflies.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Aerin Lauder designed a table for Kravet that showcased her yet-to-be-released fabric collection for Lee Jofa, covering the table and surrounding walls in a purple damask-patterned linen. The table settings included rattan chargers and bamboo flatware.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Kenneth Cobonpue's table was enclosed inside a sort of wicker birdcage. At the center of the organic wooden table was a mound of moss topped with bowls that held live Betta fish; directly above was a chandelier composed of glass jars holding faux fireflies.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Echo Design’s table celebrated nature by encasing artfully arranged insects, butterflies, and shells inside a clear tabletop. Several of the company’s patterned scarves were backlit on the surrounding walls.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The New York School of Interior Design led by Marc Blackwell set up a table that paid tribute to the fight against AIDS with a table runner composed of hundreds of red ribbons.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Titled "Dinner in the Boudoir de Madame," the installation created by Charlene Bank Keogh, Adeline Olmer, and Blane Charles was designed to look like the apartment of an eccentric socialite. Housed inside the base of one of the Lucite coffee tables were several pairs of red high heels.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Federico Delrosso for Corinthian Capital Group built a dining room inside a fabricated rooftop-style water tower. New York City rooftop views were projected onto the walls inside.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Resembling a canopy bed, Croscill's table was covered in a bright pink quilted tablecloth and surrounded by clear Chiavari chairs.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
David Stark returned to create an installation for paint company Benjamin Moore. The entire room—from the floor to the chandeliers—was painted in a kaleidoscope of colors, and on the back wall, an LED screen looped a video montage of Stark's team designing the space from start to finish.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Orange was popular color choice this year. Marc Blackwell painted an entire wall in the hue, covering it with an eclectic collection of china. Nearby, a giant tree-stump table displayed a oversize drum shade lamp as a centerpiece, surrounded by orange and white tulips. A charming touch: porcelain birds at each place setting made chirping noises.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Vern Yip also went for orange with his design for Fabricut, which included an oversize, damask-patterned drum shade chandelier and a centerpiece composed of fabric flowers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The table Frette designed for The New York Times was housed inside a black-and-white striped cabana. With rustic wood accents, fresh oranges, and arrangements of olive tree branches, the tabletop had a Tuscan countryside vibe.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The design from New York University students mentored by David Rockwell and Barry Richards was dubbed "Desconstructed Closet"; the table, chairs, and backdrop were all made using wire hangers.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Interior design firm EDG's offering was a collapsible, portable dining unit, designed to be used as a pop-up restaurant or alongside food trucks. The chandeliers were made from plastic straws, and the table centerpieces included frosted Mason jars holding votive candles.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
At the Ralph Lauren Home table, vases filled with fluffy white ranunculuses echoed the oversize white paper lanterns glowing overhead. A slate waterfall backdrop flanked by palm tree trunks completed the tranquil scene.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Flexform & Dror's tribute to water conservation included chalkboard walls that had water factoids scrawled across them; at the center was a moving projection of a waterfall.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
The table by Rottet Studio and Morgans Hotel Group displayed leather walls, exposed lightbulbs, and dishware that resembled curled-up book pages.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Working with Jes Gordon, students from the Fashion Institute of Technology composed a black, white, and gold look. Overhead, black-and-white portraits hung from a circular, glowing chandelier.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
At PatrĂłn's area, the walls were draped in sheer chiffon, and hanging tequila bottles held flickering votives.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Stefan Steilish composed an installation of individual tables separated by Lucite dividers. The idea behind the design was that people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS can feel isolated, but once that person looks beyond, he or she realizes that others are facing the same fears, and connection is possible.
Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash
Louis Vuitton took over an entire section of Saks Fifth Avenue when it launched its women's concept store inside the department store in 2009. As a way to fully brand the space, the luxury French fashion house and event designer David Beahm crafted an elaborate forest, which included a leaf-covered gate.
Photo: Jeff Thomas/ImageCapture
The June 25 American Academy of Hospitality Sciences' Five Star Diamond Awards ceremony took on A Midsummer Night's Dream theme, which saw Benny Ofer of Daniel Events design an enchanted garden with flower-covered stands and hanging grapevines inside the Addison in Boca Raton, Florida.
Photo: Munoz Photography
Designed to resemble an overgrown—but elegant—Italian garden, Bulgari's intimate dinner for the launch of its Mon Jasmin Noir scent in 2011 had sounds of chirping birds, a cocoon-like grove of greenery, and smells of lemon, jasmine, and lily of the valley. Gold candelabra wrapped in vines, lush arrangements of white and green flowers in Italian terra-cotta compotes, sprigs of jasmine, and Meyer lemons on the branch formed the centerpieces on the long communal dining table.
Photo: Francine Daveta Photography
With the tagline, "Where the grass is greener," the March 2013 gala dinner and auction for the Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School had a garden theme. Rather than using live plants, Peggy Young & Associates covered the Santa Cruz, California, school with artificial turf, including the dining tables and the auction display where guests searched for items amidst the faux grass.
Photo: Courtesy of Peggy Young & Associates
During September Fashion Week in 2011, Alice & Olivia turned a raw studio into a whimsical garden for the showing of its latest collection. Grassy flooring, white lawn furniture, and trees hung with accessories set the scene.
Photo: BFA
Creating a garden within a garden for the Chicago Botanic Garden's Summer Dinner Dance on June 21, HMR Designs hung birdcage chandeliers strung with white lilies and covered poles with trellises in the dinner tent. Banners decorated with botanical prints of flowers added to the look.
Photo: Courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden
Channeling English gardens as a nod to the "AngloMania" exhibition, the 2006 gala for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute placed tables in mini garden plots, dividing the museum's Englehard Court using espalier apple trees surrounded by blooming bulbs of daffodils, hyacinths, and ferns. Moreover, grass covered the floors, 30-foot-tall spirals of wisteria vine wrapped columns, and the dining tables were bare willow wood.
Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
