Interior

September 20, 2013

4. Sayer's Club Front Room

SBE's Sayers Club now offers expanded space with a front-room bar and new food menu. Mirrors and velvet adorn the front room (which formerly housed Papaya King), where a new menu includes salads and pizzas, including the Green Goddess pizza with pesto, spinach, arugula, pickled onions, and burrata.

Photo: Ryan Forbes/Avablu

Bergdorf Goodman's Anniversary Gala by Bronson van Wyck

"The second the guests crossed the threshold, they were transported to another world, through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole. We raided Bergdorf’s warehouse and brought scenic elements from iconic window displays over the past 111 years—this was their 111th anniversary after all." —Bronson van Wyck

Photo: Billy Farrell/BFAnyc.com

Art Gallery of Ontario's Picasso Gala by Jeffry Roick

"The beauty of this design was the bold use of color, which complemented the essence of Picasso’s art without focusing on a specific piece of his work. It allowed guests to step into his world of color." —Jeffry Roick

Photo: Christina Gaspic

Love Tunnel

If you’re looking to disguise a staid-looking hallway in a hotel ballroom, check out Las Vegas–based FWR Rental Haus’s modular tunnel, which can display fully customized graphics. Mirrored surface tunnels are also an option. The rentable items are available nationwide.

Photo: Courtesy of FWR Rental Haus

With the stage in the center of the space, the production crew had its technicians in the balcony and placed lighting and cameras to the ceiling's truss system. Three enormous screens—a 25- by 60-foot display and two 20- by 40-foot ones—enclosed the hall, allowing guests to watch videos from any point in the hall.

Photo: Brian Brooks/MB Productions

Emmy Awards Governors Ball

This year the academy's Governors Ball got an imaginative enchanted forest theme, produced and designed by Sequoia Productions, led by Cheryl Cecchetto. Decor included stylized trees and an expansive canopy of futuristic faux foliage hanging overhead. Bill Ferrell Company and Sosa Sisters handled the scenic fabrication, and pieces from Classic Party Rentals, Lux Lounge Event Furniture Rentals, and Resource One linens contributed to the overall look.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

The event took over the Ritz-Carlton Toronto on September 22 and had a throwback vibe that nodded to the 1950s.

Photo: Nick Lee

Hargrove created a regulation boxing ring, surrounded by table seating for 1,800 guests, in the middle of the Washington Hilton ballroom for Fight Night.

Photo: Jack Hartzman for Fight For Children

Artsy Lanterns

Los Angeles-based artist Jorge Pardo created special-edition lanterns to hang above the tables at the Hammer Museum gala.

Photo: Stefani Keenan

Mercedes-Benz’s Arty Festival

Mercedes-Benz’s “Transmission L.A.: A.V. Club” multimedia festival didn’t integrate branding if it didn’t feel organic to the space.

Photo: Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA

Rental Trend: The Ghost Chair

At Clarks' annual meeting in July, held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, guests were seated in Ghost Chairs rented from Peterson Party Center Inc.

Photo: Michael Blanchard Photography

Exposed lighting adds to the color and the decor. At the Robin Hood Foundation's gala in 2003, event designer Avi Adler hung red tubular fluorescent lightbulbs over the cocktail area inside New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Photo: Courtesy of Robin Hood Foundation

Washing a space in red lights is a simple but effective statement, which is what Stoelt Productions did at New York's American Museum of Natural History for this year's Clio Awards.

Photo: Vero Image

2013 Holiday Party Trends: Decor Budgets Favor Lighting, not Elaborate Flowers

Budgets have started to include room for lighting and rentals once again, but when it comes to tabletop decor, hosts are opting for simple floral arrangements or lots and lots of candlelight. “Clients are choosing lighting over flowers for sure—it creates more of an ambience versus a big, expensive flower arrangement,” Gorjestani says. “Some clients just want simple—greenery and potted plants with twinkle lights.” In addition to candles and programmable lighting, one of the easiest ways to transform a room and make a statement this upcoming season is linens, as companies expand their inventory of patterned and sequined options. Pictured: In lieu of floral centerpieces at last year’s Ronald McDonald House Toronto holiday gala, McNabb Roick Events used crystal candle holders and sequined linens to decorate the tables.

Photo: George Pimentel for Ronald McDonald House

World Presidents' Organization New England Chapter Gala

The World Presidents' Organization New England Chapter Gala had a French theme in 2010, when it took over Boston's Langham Hotel. The dining room's decor, inspired once again by the Moulin Rouge, had feather-topped centerpieces that were illuminated from within.

Photo: Courtesy of Art of the Event Inc.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago's Fantasy of the Opera Gala

The Lyric Opera's February event in Chicago had a "Midnight in Paris" theme. In the lobby of the downtown opera house, Event Creative designer Jeffrey Foster erected giant replicas of Parisian street signs. An illuminated windmill nodded to the iconic signage of the Moulin Rouge; downstairs, cocktail tables were covered in giant tutus in a cheeky reference to the dancers.

Photo: Rick Aguilar

'Phantom of the Opera’ 25th Anniversary Gala

The producers of the gala that followed The Phantom of the Opera's 25th anniversary performance on Broadway created a dramatic look for the event's entrance at the New York Public Library. A projection of red light formed a virtual red carpet on the grand steps, surrounded by hundreds of LED candles.

Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash

'People' and Entertainment Industry Foundation SAG Awards After-Party

Designer and producer Tony Schubert of Event Eleven gave Sunday's People and Entertainment Industry Foundation SAG Awards After-Party in Los Angeles a romantic look inspired by the 1930s and 1940s. That included using soft antique white drapery, red roses, and two massive custom Deco chandeliers.

Photo: Nadine Froger Photography

Frost lit the room in a dark blue hue that played off the bright colors of the light sculptures.

Photo: Dan Rest

2013 Sparkle Lounge

For this year's Sparkle Lounge—an annual client appreciation event held January 10 for vendors, clients, and partners of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington—Hargrove built four large communal tables with bold black-and-white geometric patterns.

Photo: Stephen Bobb Photography

In the cocktail area, the design was more streamlined than last year, with a key installation as the focal point. Crafted by David Stark, the structure in the shape of the number 100 was embedded with old computer chips and circuit boards, which were later recycled.

Photo: Billy Farrell/BFAnyc.com

CyberCoders Masquerade Ball

Kapture Vision produced a holiday bash with a masquerade ball theme for CyberCoders on December 15 at Newport Beach Dunes Resort in Newport Beach, California. Fire dancers and stilt walkers greeted guests, who entered into a black, gold, and purple space illuminated by 10 crystal chandeliers.

Photo: Callie Biggerstaff

Photo: Luke Kraman

Private Wedding

For a wedding at Cipriani Wall Street, Beahm created three tree-like installations behind the head table.

Photo: Ron and Deb Photographers

Private Wedding

A neutral palette made for a sophisticated feel at a wedding at the Four Seasons Restaurant.

Photo: Roey Yohai Photography

Private Social Event

For a private social event in the Tent at Lincoln Center in New York, projections covered the ceilings and vines curled around oversize centerpieces.

Photo: Arnold Brower

Private Corporate Event

Candles snaked down the staircase at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for a private corporate event.

Photo: Courtesy of David Beahm

The New York City Ballet Gala

The New York City Ballet gala took over Lincoln Center on September 19. Designed by Bronson van Wyck, the decor included overhead replicas of hot-air balloons in cheery hues of red and white. Inspired by the notion of an early 20th-century party at the Grand Palais in Paris, the balloons were filled with 6,000 cubic feet of helium and were tied to the balcony rings with gold cording. The abundance of helium helped the balloons appear to hover magically above the crowd.

Photo: Julie Skaratt

An Arty Ceiling Treatment

In 2010, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's Lynda & Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion opened with a masquerade gala for 1,000 guests. Art from the Resnick's collection came to life by way of projections under the dinner tent.

Photo: Line 8 Photography

A Photo-Plastered Tent Ceiling

In 2009, the Annenberg Space for Photography opened in Los Angeles with a tented party where a dramatic scrim hanging overhead showed a kinetic display of still images.

Planners set up tables of different sizes and shapes on the stage at the Wang Theatre.

Photo: Michael Blanchard Photography

The 80-foot screen hung on a curved truss in front of the columns in the National Building Museum’s Great Hall.

Photo: Robert Isacson

New York restaurant Tipsy Parson hosts an annual Kentucky Derby party, and in 2013 the outing at Drive In Studios had plenty of quirky details from Matthew Robbins Design and Gifts for the Good Life. Two horse-shaped props stood at the entrance to the event, decorated with black hats and oversize award ribbons.

Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash

In the dining area, tables and chairs were covered in various shades of blue and green silk shantung linens.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Large hanging canvases painted with the High Line’s logo, along with suspended mirrors, lined the perimeter of the space.

Photo: Nadia Chaudhury/BizBash

Students from the Illinois chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers went with a woodsy theme, using natural elements like branches, seashells, moss, and animal hides throughout their showcase.

Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash

Bright accent flowers, a black-and-white-patterned table, and gold seating popped against the grass flooring at the Cambria display, which was designed by Fredman Design Group.

Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash