Dining By Design – DIFFA Fab Decor

Dining by Design is DIFFA’s marquee event showcasing designers, manufacturers and creative individuals who bring their vision and passion to the table.  It’s seriously my favorite ‘trade show’ and I feel so lucky to live in NYC and to have attended it for the past 5+ years.  Dining by Design runs March 17 – 20 in conjunction with the Architectural Digest Home Design Show and all event proceeds go toward DIFFA’s work to fight HIV/AIDS.  This year, I was invited to a special media sneak peak and personal tour through the space.  There were so many fabulous finds – too many to feature here so I’ll focus on sharing my favorite creative spaces that featured my favorite colors, black and white.
This all white room sponsored by Benjamin and Moore featured variations on their white paint options.  Each square art piece that hung on the wall for instance, was painted in one of their popular shades of white and noted (title style) with the exact paint chip color. What a beautiful way to showcase your whites!
DIFFA dining by design
The florals, chairs and tablescape were simply breathtaking, don’t you think?
benjamin moore, dining by design 2016
Another all-white room that had me gasping was one designed with Crate & Barrel products.  Look how they created that art installation on the wall with their plates and bowls!
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I now NEED to have those furry white chairs.  They’d look so fab next to my dining table.  And can’t you just see them at a vanity or office space too?  Also, can we talk for a minute about those cloche platters??  They make me want to move to a suburban house just to have the room to store these beautiful finds!
Moving onto the next space, this one featured a live grafitti artist who we were excited to see decorate the walls right before our very eyes. I couldn’t help but imagine how much fun my daughter would have had scribbling all over the walls and furniture in the same manner..
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He was kind enough to pose for pictures and give me this amazing Pra-DUH sticker which I will treasure forever.  Hands off my sticker, Juliet!  This one is MOMMY’S!
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Here is the finished room.
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Imagine getting to dine with a zebra, and a fashionable one at that!  This room’s fusion between fashion, function, and furnishings was from Echo, a brand long known beautiful prints and patterns.  Many know of the brand from their famous scarves, but they have creatively branched out into wraps, bags, rugs, table linens, wall coverings, gloves, outerwear, beach ware and more!  At their booth you could see the brand on the hale bay bench fabrics, on their wallpaper and on the tenting.
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Also interactive, they encouraged selfies with their polka-dotted zebra named Dot.  Who could resist?
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Kate Spade.  I just love everything about the brand.  To me it exudes happiness.  I love the bright pops of color against graphic black and white elements, the usage of stripes and polka dots and their quirky advertising.  So I was super psyched to see their table decor come to life at DIFFA.

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kate spade diffa

Wouldn’t this be such a fun, girly place to have a girls’ brunch?  I would die.

For more video coverage of DIFFA 2016, follow me on Instagram @stylishlystella where I re-capped even more highlights!  And click here to see some DIFFA blog posts from past years!
Please leave a comment below with what your favorite vignette was. I’d love to hear!

Museum of Feelings as Experienced by a Toddler – Glade Popup

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A free, interactive place to take your NYC kid in the neighborhood?  A place to create your own art and have a mood ring like experience?  It all sounded intriguing to me so I dashed on over with my minifashionista to check out what all the buzz was about at the Museum of Feelings at Brookfield Place.  Turns out it is a very cool, albeit thinly veiled pop-up by Glade, who creatively immerses you in their latest scents as your travel through a mysterious maze of ‘exhibits.’ Juliet started off loving her freebie – the shiny piece of cardboard she was instructed at entrance to refract light.

museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

The docents poetically waxed on about the responsive mood wall, the dividing of your shadows and how fragrances act as the muse to inspire visitors to explore their emotions.  Of course, Juliet only heard ‘yada yada yada’ and was more interested in the mixing of all her favorite colors.  ‘ooh blue, ooh red, oh look at THAT! YELLOW!’

museum of feelings, museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kidsJuliet courageously ventured forward despite the darkness and enjoyed getting to experiment with her newfound glittery cardboard. If I were a more knowledgeable mom, I would have used this opportune time to teach her about how light refracts and the science behind it but I am not, so we resorted to a playful and elementary discussion on the prettiness of the lights.  (Sorry kid.)

museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

We were told this room was about feeling optimistic.  The reflective pass card apparently activated sensors that triggered ambient audio and light.  Berry scents filled the room. 

J’s feeling status? curiously excited.

The next room labeled, ‘Joyful’ was J’s favorite. This staffer distributed these glasses and encouraged us to think about the feeling of being young during the holiday season. That was easy!

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She couldn’t believe her luck upon entering through its dangling green, light-up vines and she laughed as they tickled her every move.  Infused with Glade’s Balsam & Fir Winter Collection fragrance, this modern forest appeared never-ending thanks to the room’s mirrored and reflective surfaces.

museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

J’s feeling status? Playful!

museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

This unique room definitely gave me a feeling of gratitude – for being a NY mom and being able to take my toddler to such cool places.

The ‘Feel Invigorated’ room inspired by the Glade® Blue Odyssee scent, transported you into a world where a colorful halo followed and tracked your every motion.

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J’s feeling status? upset (She was the only one without a halo since she was too little to be tracked by one)

The next room was a fun one for my tech-savvy toddler.  Use the futuristic ipad to control the floral images in the room and be rewarded with the scent of Blooming Peony & Cherry, we were told.  This kaleidoscopic room was totally trippy and inspired Juliet to lie down to truly enjoy the magnificent wonder of it all.

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This girl really knows how to enjoy a view!  Only a toddler could get away with this, right? haha

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J’s feeling status?  Pensive

Glade’s popup was supposed to inspire calm with the help of  Glade’s Lavender & Vanilla fragrance.  Fog clouds enveloped you while scents and sounds further transported you to a heavenly peace.  And it did.  That is until, Juliet practically screamed out, ‘UH-OH Mommy, I POO-ed!!”  museum of feelings, museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

Uh-oh is right!  Thanks for emitting your own cloud of odor, J!  Suddenly, we saw the room clear out and only we were left to ‘immerse ourselves in our feelings.”  (i.e. feelings of guilt and remorse)  The room suddenly went from heaven to hell in a split second.  Where’s the bathroom?? lol

J’s feeling status?  Disgusted.

(new) scent:  a mix of lavender and diarrhea  ( I do not suggest Glade try and market THAT).

museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

After exiting, we found ourselves in what was relatively, a ginormous room dedicated to taking selfies.  (This is a modern museum after all).  The above pic was the only one we hurriedly took since we were, you know in a rush to change the poopy mess.  But for those fortunate enough not to have a diaper filled with pooh, you could stick around and have this magical machine read your current mood and artistically display it (for all the world to see) in a colorful photograph like the ones below!

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museum of feelings, glade popup, popups, nyc popup, popup for kids

Oh yea and you could also buy yourself a Glade candle souvenir but we were to pooped out to do that.

This interactive installation is on Brookfield Place’s Waterfront Plaza and is open to the public until December 15. And I highly recommend it!
Monday – Saturday – 11:00AM – 9:00PM
Sunday – 11:00AM – 7:00PM 

brookfield place ice skating

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