The assignment: an elegant evening for a debut in black and orange The goal: avoid a Halloween-y look Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Highlight the company’s logo 2. Use several shades of orange with deliberate pops of black 3. Details, details, details Drawing inspiration from the logo The logo for Fourth Wall Ensemble is a black and white square, and the company selected orange to…
The assignment: an elegant tablescape to celebrate the big news The goal: use as many shades of pink as possible Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Variety, variety, variety 2. Personal touches 3. Selectively using gold Keeping it varied The host requested many shades of pink (which I loved). I knew that I wanted to use as many pinks as possible while staying within the parameters…
The assignment: a dark birthday celebration on Friday the 13th The goal: keep it moody, but not scary Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Mix the metals 2. Explore colors other than black 3. Keep it intimate Mixing the metals Metals set the temperature of a look, and mixing is an easy way to add drama (in this case, moodiness) to any occasion. I tried to find as…
The assignment: a colorful tiki celebration The goal: bright flowers and bright fruits Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Avoid blues 2. Help the fruit stand out 3. The brighter the better Avoiding blues with a touch of green I was careful to avoid blue in the decor because I wanted it to stand out against the blue house and pool water. I knew I needed…
The assignment: a pink birthday explosion The goal: feature as many shades of pink as possible Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Use equal parts disco, cowgirl, and Barbie pink 2. Keep it cool 3. Choose one accent color to soften the look Using equal parts The birthday girl had one request- pink – and just loved the idea of including disco balls and cowgirl hats…
The assignment: name place settings for a post-wedding brunch on Easter morning The goal: keep it fun and on theme Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Use the room as inspiration 2. Keep it personal Using the room The queen’s room at Brennan’s is stunning. What stands out first (to me) is the fleur de lis-patterned wallpaper, and I knew that I wanted to tie it into the…
The assignment: a Halloween birthday featuring no tricks, all treats The goal: a melting pot of Halloween and fall Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Use (approximately) equal parts Halloween and fall 2. No empty spaces! 3. Pick one color to weave throughout Using equal parts This look is just as much Halloween as it is fall which makes it fun to look at. There is a ton…
The assignment: an after-dinner gathering featuring just cake and champagne The goal: color, color, color Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Stack cake stands for added height 2. Use long-stem roses for visual interest 3. Add several pops of coordinating color A small, but tall, cake Even though this was an intimate celebration for five, I still wanted to honor the birthday girl with a big look. One of…
The assignment: a homemade tea party for eight The goal: keep it vibrant and make everything from scratch Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Avoid matching 2. Don’t be afraid to mix it up 3. Florals, florals, florals Avoiding a match We needed something fun to do during the height of the pandemic, so we decided to throw ourselves a tea party (something we’d never done before). At…
The assignment: a golden birthday celebration The goal: incorporate a secondary theme, the Golden Girls Tricks to pulling off the look: 1. Gold, gold everywhere 2. Incorporate the guests into the theme 3. Keep the florals colorful Making it golden Since this was my daughter’s golden birthday and the Golden Girls are a beloved family tradition, it was only fitting that her golden birthday would include the girls. I…
