10 Minimalist Ideas

Elle’s annual Women in TV celebration took over West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont in January. The residential-like, understated hotel is not known for events with over-the-top decor, and accordingly, Elle’s event relied on candlelight and understated flowers for a dramatic look against glass windows.

To commemorate Harper’s Bazaar’s 150th anniversary, the magazine hosted what it dubbed the 150 best-dressed women around the world at a January event at L.A.’s Sunset Tower hotel, where candles in glass vessels of varying heights surrounded the pool.

In November, A.F.I. Fest presenting sponsor Audi hosted a private dinner in Los Angeles. Letting the Hollywood Roosevelt rooftop's visual drama speak for itself, the dinner set-up included a simple, unclothed table set with monochrome white chairs and flowers.

In January, W magazine hosted its It Girls event, hosted by Lynn Hirschberg in partnership with Stuart Weitzman. The event took place at Los Angeles’s A.O.C., where rustic chairs lined a simple, white-clothed table, topped with squat arrangements of colorful blooms and little else.

The second annual Dinner by Design presented by Caesarstone in support of Casey House and Design Exchange took place in Toronto in 2016. Guests to the exhibition viewed 12 original dining installations by Canadian designers, including a striking white set-up topped with a vivid colorful centerpiece that spilled from a clear sphere.

The second annual Variety and Nickelodeon 10 Animators to Watch event took place in Los Angeles in May. Sterling Social created the event’s look with a sleek, minimal white palette, allowing the animations and lighting on the sound stage to bring in the pops of color.

In October, InStyle presented its second annual awards at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. A black and white motif created a sense of elegance and intimacy for the A-list crowd.

For the Blaffer Art Museum’s annual gala in Houston in 2016, a ceiling installation used NASA space blankets to mimic the look of a meteor shower using only a simple, repeating material.

At its seventh annual film benefit in 2014, the Museum of Modern Art honored writer and director Alfonso Cuarón. The Academy Award-winning director's movie Gravity served as a design inspiration for the event’s interpretive design: Suspended from the ceiling of the museum’s lobby hung large metal sculptures trimmed with LED lights. The effect was dramatic, although the decor pieces took simple geometric forms in only black and white.

In November, Rolex feted the 40th anniversary of its Awards for Enterprise in Los Angeles. The presentation took place at the Dolby Theatre, and afterward a large screen lifted to reveal the dining area, which was set up right on the Dolby’s stage. Producer and designer Bounce-AEG played up the fact that the dinner took place on an actual theatrical stage, choosing Edison lightbulbs as the major design feature: Suspended at all different heights over diners, the lights resembled a starry sky. The decor element added drama while being simple and unfussy.