Ad Categories: Home and Garden

Looking for ideas to take your home out of hibernation and entertain for spring? There were tons on display at DIFFA’s annual Dining by Design event at NYC’s Pier 94 a few weeks ago. Here, guest blogger Naomi Cooper reports on what she saw. For more inspiration, mark your calendar for Dining By Design here in Chicago in November.
 

Architecture firm Slade added a pop of color to the simple-line style that they are known for by taping up its tables and chairs in duct tape featured in an array of colors. Not a good idea if your table is an investment piece or if your walls are covered in prints, but a perfect solution for covering up the imperfections on a great flea market find. Try out the color blocking trend by applying strips to a white Parson’s table like one sold at West Elm.
 

Kravet used designs from its new fabric collection to transform its table into a real gem. There were jewelry boxes covered in lush patterned textiles and each one was filled with a place setting in a bright hue. The orange-leather trimmed table with grommets, smoked glass inlaid tabletop and orchid arrangements take it guests on a journey through the silk trading routes of long ago. If you are less of a jetsetter and more of a homebody, add a frilly table skirt and some other feminine touches and guests will feel as if they are seated at a dressing rather than a dining table.
 

Your eco-conscious guests will sing your praises and you won’t have to worry about washing dishes when you host a party where everything from your utensils to your centerpieces are made of paper. That’s what the New York School of Interior Design did with its table. You can find disposable bamboo, plates, serving utensils, flatware and more at Bambu. Create an arrangement of paper petals. Visit Paper Source for paper flower-making kits.
 

Former supermodel Cindy Crawford brings her laid back entertaining style to the masses with her new line for JCPenney. The collection’s simple lines and shapes, plus a color palette of Tiffany blue, cream, and chocolate brown work for both the host and hostess.
 

The black and white neo-classical place settings, lamps, and gold candelabras are perfect for a Marie Antoinette–themed bridal shower. All you need are some French macaroons in pastel blues and pink and white cupcakes with iced flowers in fuchsia and turquoise. This table was by Rodarte for Knoll Luxe Fine Textiles by Bradley Stephen.

—Naomi Cooper

Traditional or modern? Choose your event Thursday: For the former, from 5-8 p.m. Crosell & Co. will celebrate its newly designed MacKenzie-Childs. Guests can get a sneak preview of the shop before it opens to the public the following day. Spend $150 or more from the new collection any time during the opening party and/or weekend trunk show and get a MacKenzie-Childs heart plate. For the more modern-minded, I’ll be giving a short talk on outdoor entertaining at Vesta’s Fuego grill event starting at 6 p.m. Architects, landscape designers, and others interested in checking out Fuego’s new Element grill are welcome to enjoy Goose Island beer, BBQ, and demos. I hear the weather is going to cooperate! RSVP to crhornof@vestachicago.com.
 

-JAN PARR

When designer Thomas O’Brien was in town a couple weeks ago to speak at the Antiques Fair, Hickory Chair in the Mart held a breakfast in his honor to show off its O’Brien collection. Though not designed by the honoree, this fabric caught my eye: note how it makes the antique-style stool so very modern.

—JAN PARR

The Design Centers inside Sears stores in Aurora, Schaumburg, and Vernon Hills are offering free two-hour design seminars this Saturday from 1–3 p.m. On May 22, seminars on tile and lighting will be offered.

—JAN PARR

On Sunday, you can tour six late 19th-century and early 20th-century private homes in the Belmont Harbor neighborhood, including this 1906 greystone renovated and designed by interior designer Tom Stringer and his partner, Scott Waller. Working with Rugo/Raff Architects, the two refurbished the home from top to bottom. Tickets to the 22nd Annual City Style House Tour are $155. At least two of the homes we have seen on previous tours have landed in the pages of our magazine.

—JAN PARR

It’s coming on that time of year again, and you’re going to need wedding gifts. If the brides and grooms you know don’t have a registry or you want to go rogue, these pewter and glass trays from Pierre Deux are terrific ideas, and well priced at between $50 (8” x 12.4”) and $120 (11.6” x 23.4”). These trays will play with any type of décor, from modern to cottage to classic or glam. They’ll also make nice hostess gifts.

—JAN PARR