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Fab Fetes: DIFFA

April 14, 2011
Uncategorized

I always try to make a point of checking out the Design Industry Foundation Fighting Aids tabletop “Dining By Design” showcase. It’s one of my favorite work-related events to attend. Basically, you walk into a giant NYC Pier which is taken over by all the most fabulous florists and event planners who have oftentimes partnered with corporate sponsors and/or linen vendors to create the most magnificent tabletop displays. Think centerpieces. Think grand floral presentations. And get ready to be wowed. Here are some of my much overdue pics from my recent March visit.

I’ll start with one of my favorite displays. It was a setup sponsored by Benjamin Moore Paint. David Stark, the event planner credited for this masterpiece, took the challenge of creatively displaying paint colors to a whole new level when he concentrated on a simple, repeated motif..an egg.. an ode to the upcoming Easter holiday perhaps? Not sure but this lovely little room made me smile as I peeked through the windows and curtains.

I’m a huge fan of repeated, ornate frames on walls as decor as evidenced from my previous blog posts. So I couldn’t get enough of the fun, faux frame walls. If you look closer, you’ll see that each egg represents a new Benjamin Moore color, sometimes repeated through the placecards and egg holders at each place setting.

Does anyone else love the trompe d’oeil chandelier, frames, birds and window? It looks like David had a lot of fun designing this room. This room is simply EGGcellent!

This next display looked like a cozy, fashionable restaurant booth – one that I wouldn’t mind dining at. This is by Kravet Inc.

They say that purple and yellow are complimentary colors because they are opposite each other on the color wheel…er that is what I learned in my high school art class at least. I guess this picture sort of proves it. Don’t the custom linens look rich?

Notice the table has holes… not the most practical table but it makes for a great conversation starter I guess.

And here’s the perfect table for your next romantic Valentine’s date.

I’ve heard of a bed of roses but a table?

I once rented a water wall similar to the one shown at this next dining table. It was back in the day when I worked with David Tutera and was playing around with enormous event budgets. $15,000 for a water wall? Yea sure, why not? Ahhh those were the days…

This dining area had a similar streaming effect but with ribbons – a far less expensive decor option 🙂Celebrity event planner, Preston Bailey actually mentored a group from the Fashion Institute of Technology to help create this mushroom themed table.I didn’t get a close-up of the mushroom and ribbon exterior but found one on another blogger’s site. Thanks Heather Clawson from Habitually Chic

The rest of the photos are mine shot with my Canon s90 a slr -35mm hybrid that I just love.

I guess everyone is eating mushrooms (and grass) for dinner. Hmmm think I’ll dine somewhere else.

Fresh and fruity is how I’d describe this next set by Todd Moore.

Notice the little umbrellas on each plate mimicing the umbrella centerpiece?

Modern environmentalists will love this next one. How about re-using cardboard as decor?

The simple color palette allows for texture to really be the star here. Let’s hope that all this cardboard goes to the recycle bin once the traveling exhibit finishes.

In contrast to this subdued creamy palette, this next room popped with shades of pink offering a mod/modern almost game or music video like scene. I just wished the event planner had chosen pure white ottomon cube covers rather than using those off-white canvas slipcovers. Do you agree?

The Terra Morehouse for Velvet Antler design is another of my favorites but I’m afraid the pictures just don’t do it enough justice. I found it to be quirky, calm and modern all at once. And I’m in love with the furry pillows. Plus if I had to vote on the most unique centerpiece this one would win!

Speaking of new and interesting centerpieces, check out this table with the frame cluster!

Can you see how the silverware and butterflies both look like they were dipped in yellow paint? What about the glasses stacked on top of each other? Quirky details like this throughout the day amde the close-up all that much more rewarding!

I’ll continue the pictures and post another time. For now,if you like what you saw here, check out the listed cities for this is a traveling showcase. It may be coming to a city near you!

Kansas City	April 30-May 1, 2010
Detroit	August 12-14, 2010
Chicago	November 4-6, 2010
San Francisco	November 17-18, 2010
New York	March 17-21, 2011

Secrets To Stylishly Designing a Kids’ Table

March 26, 2016
Birthdays , Celebrating , Decor , Tablescapes

If you saw my last post recapping Dining By Design, otherwise known as DIFFA, the leading trade show for table decor and party design, you know I love a fabulous tablescape! Here, I’m going to share with you some of my top tips for designing a stylish kids’ tablescape using pictures from my daughter’s bunny birthday party that I just produced!

As a party planner, I’m a little jaded when it comes to party decor. I’ve pretty much seen it all. So when I plan my own, I like to stray from the ordinary and try to feature some unique items to wow and surprise. For instance, for the bunny birthday that I threw for my daughter’s 3rd birthday, I added a whimsical wow factor with a tall, supersized sunflower centerpiece.

I bought the tall silk flowers during a sale at Michael’s. Don’t you love that place?? And I purchased the picket white fences from a Chinese wholesaler. The secret to keeping everything in place?? Flower foam, hot glue, yellow grass and juice boxes to weigh everything down! It created an immediate fun factor to the table and was a conversation piece as you walked into the room!

You’ll see that the party space (within our building) fortunately had free kids tables and chairs for us to use but the chairs were a mish mash of different colors so I made them uniform with some spandex yellow seat covers (adult sized) and fitted them with a chair sash turned into a bow. I bought both materials wholesale which made them cheaper than renting and now I can use them for future events or sell/rent them out to others! Finally, I covered additional side tables (used for the pet adoption) in coordinating gift papers and covers.

The trick to creating a couture feel without the couture prices at this kiddie table, was in color coordinating EVERYTHING. Be super strict about matching exact shades when it comes to purchasing napkins, straws, forks, cupcake toppers… Everything will look much more custom and professional if you do! It bothers me to no end to see something a shade or two off when I have already sent snippets of the exact fabric for the cake maker to match. i.e. Juliet’s 1s birthday party.

That’s why I often customize my table decor down to the very last detail. Notice the paper runner, the frame turned into a tray, the milk bottles covered in coordinated papers and ribbons, and the covered styrofoam to stick the lollipops and chocolate bunnies in.

And to go along with the Easter timing, I presented each child with their own berry basket in lieu of a dinner plate. Inside you’d find, a pink napkin, bunny-shaped sandwich, bunny trail mix (popcorn and cheerios), pretzel sticks wrapped in a yellow and white polka dot mini-bag, & a cupcake holder filled with fruit. The milk jars featured the child’s beverage of choice.

Knowing that the pool table would be in the background, I also crafted the yellow and white backdrop that you see above. With help from Mialandyn Events who helped build the actual structure out of foam core, tape and wood, I covered it in coordinating fabrics, floral garlands and gift wrap on the other side.

When designing your tablescape, always consider what you’ll see in the background of your photos. In this instance, I didn’t want a pool table to be in all my pictures so I dressed it up, used it as the food and dessert station, and created a photo opp area on the other side of it making double use out of the one backdrop piece! (That coordinating box that you see above by the way is simply a diaper box covered in fabric and it was great for kids to stand or sit on). I’m a huge fan of creatively using what you have to save money.

Here’s what it looked like on the other side during setup (The dinner menu of baked salmon, pulled pork, sweet plantains, beans and rice had not arrived yet). Those Easter hats that you see hanging from the ceiling there by the way were given to each child in lieu of a party hat. They were SO cute ON (one of my amazing finds in the Target $1 bin!)

To summarize, here are some useful secrets from a professional party planner turned mommy planner that you can use when designing a kids’ tablescape:

Color – Coordinate EVERYTHING. Be Hitler when sticking to this rule and your table will thank you for it!
Consider the background for your most important shots. What’s behind the cake? What’s behind the kids’ table? Remove or disguise eyesores.
Add a themed centerpiece. Not only is it a conversation starter but it can really stand out and turn your average kids’ table into a standout stunner!
Think out of the box. How about an enlarged candle in a cake, for a one year old’s birthday (the kind you’d stick in a candlestick?), how about a coordinated paper place mat that they can draw on, safari hats instead of birthday party hats for a safari themed event?
Decorate your chairs. Hang birthday hats from them, use them as place cards by assigning a child’s name to each one, hang a giftable cape on each one for a superhero themed party, slide tutus on them for a girly get together.