NYSID SPRING GALA, NEW YORK

Dark Eastern Magic

There can be few tasks so challenging for an interior designer than working for the New York School Of Interior Design (NYSID). But that’s exactly what we had to do when we were called upon to design a table at a Gala Dinner at the prestigious Metropolitan Club to honour master designer, Mario Buatta. Hosted by Avenue magazine, a sponsor of the NYSID, the pressure was on to showcase our table design skills.

If designing for the NYSID wasn’t daunting enough, there were 28 other eminent designers designing their own tables. The battle was on!

When it comes to interior design, Mario is known as the ‘Prince Of Chintz’ so we took that as our theme, employing Chinoiserie to honour the style seen frequently in his work. More specifically, we drew upon one of his quotes for inspiration:

‘People are often afraid to go dark, but once they have, once we have pushed them to the other side, they never forget it.’

A charcoal chintz tablecloth was chosen as our centrepiece, from the design of a Chinoserie toile printed in France, CA, in 1786. This was offset by gold, silk and two stunning Ormolu Empire candelabras set with black candles. These were joined by a duet of 18th century Dutch tole chestnut urns in the traditional Schooner form gilted with flowers and foliage onto a black background to complete our dark, traditional, yet subtly eclectic oriental theme.

A splash of vibrant colour was added for contrast with a striking arrangement of orange Fritillaria Imperials and Orchids Oncydium from Japan woven together with Corail Firecracker by master decorators, L’Atelier Rouge.

What the Avenue Show table design illustrates is our ability to transform an ordinary dinner table into an extraordinary setting. Call 212-439-1818 to see what we can do for you.