Someone recently left a nasty comment on another blog chastising them for having a party in this economy. I think a party is exactly what everyone could use right now, especially one that employs hundreds of people and brings designers together for a worthy cause. Last Thursday night, I had the pleasure of attending the Cocktails by Design party for the
2009 DIFFA Dining by Design event which I have to say was one of the most fun parties I've been to in a while!
For those who don't know,
DIFFA stands for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS and each year in different cities, designers and sponsors get together to create amazing dining tables for a Gala Dinner to benefit DIFFA. It is an event full of creativity, thoughtfulness and fun with designers coming out to support other designers.
I went to the event to support my friend, interior designer
Brad Ford who designed the most talked about table at the event! His theme "Change is Good" was conceived with the notion that everyone has spare change in their pocket that they could contribute to support DIFFA, hence the piggy banks!
As you can see in this photo, Brad created a bamboo table with a lucite top, with the help of
Siegfried's Basement, Inc., in which slots were cut in front of each place setting so that money could be dropped into the table as well as the piggy banks. The base which you can't see was created by
Morgik Metal Designs.
The napkins were custom embroidered by
Copper Pig in Russelville, Arkansas, Brad's hometown! I was thinking that Brad should start a furniture line. I'm picturing the table in a beach house with sand and seashells under the top. The glassware from
Roost is available at Gracious Home.
Here is my friend Kelly Reynolds making a donation into one of the slots. On a side note, look for a post about Kelly and her roommates who have created a line of hair accessories, one of which she is wearing, that they will be selling soon! You can also see the fabulous leather and suede campaign chairs in this shot that I loved! They were designed by
Jim Zivic and are available from
Ralph Pucci. The folding screens are from
Richard Wrightman Design, who also has a beautiful line of campaign furniture.
All of the piggy banks were collected by friends and family and also found on eBay. Brad mentioned that they might sell them after Monday's Gala Dinner but there is a rumor that since the response to the table was so great, DIFFA has asked if it could travel to all of the Dining by Design cities. I'll keep you posted!
As I walking through the event, who should I see but Kansas City interior designer John Rufenacht and his partner Richard Lara! What a fabulous surprise! John founded Dining by Design in Kansas City and I was lucky enough to meet him while I was there last June. Kelly and I had a great time chatting with the men about the tables, art, design and "kraft" night (inside joke)!
They also happened to be standing in front of another wildly creative table that to me looked like a formal dinner party that Jean-Michel Basquiat would have thrown!
As we were admiring the table, I was delightfully surprised to find out that it was designed by
Michael Tavano! I first met Michael at a dinner party thrown by Mathew White of
White Webb and now we keep running into each other all over town! He was asked by the
New York Design Center, where his showroom is located, to design their table and was inspired by the
New York Delft Tableware from
Lovegrove & Repucci that features scenes of New York and grafitti.
Here is a close up look at the china and
Street Napkins which are also from Lovegrove & Repucci. The sillver is from Christofle and the chairs are from
Baker, Knapp & Tubbs.
Michael named the table "Fine Dining. Urban Living." and set out to combine design elements from the NYDC showrooms with edgy street art. He contacted artist Christian Avila and explained his plan. Christian was very thoughtful in his design for the artwork in the space. He used floor plans as his canvas and "metaphors to express his interpretation of DIFFA's cause."
Christian depicted AIDS as a Ninja, the silent killer, while the Japanese symbol for life above it represents how far we have come in fighting the disease.
The gorgeous chandelier from
Schonbek was from
Metropolitan Lighting Fixture Co. and added to wonderful tableau.
Another favorite table was part of the
Student Design Initiative and created by
New York University, Tisch School of the Arts Department of Drama. They were advised by interior designer
Miles Redd who I met for the first time at the party and who couldn't have been nicer. Under his wonderful tutelage, the students created a wonderfully fun pixelated room.
I'm not sure if you can tell by the photos, but the walls are chain link and have interlocking plastic pieces inserted that create a decorative pattern. I have no idea what this product is called so if anyone knows, please feel free to share. I did find the
patent information online so you can see how it works. I love the pixelated Van Gogh painting and wine glasses on the table. Very creative!
Another fun and colorful table was designed by the students from
Parsons who were advised by interior designer
Vicente Wolfe.
The table from
Kravet was a mix of fun fabrics and beach buckets and fine china.
The
HP table matched it's new
Vivian Tam mini laptop with a mix of reds and pinks.
Another favorite table was designed by fashion designer
Tracy Reese. It had inspiration board walls and chairs wearing pretty dresses.
One of the first tables you saw when entering the venue was by
Tracy Stern. It was a riot of color and tea sets since Tracy has a line of teas and is opening SalonTea Bar on the Upper East Side.
It was fun checking out all the different china patterns!
Italian winery and DIFFA sponsor,
Castello di Gabbiano had a beautiful Tuscan table that was designed by
Marc Blackwell who also designed the china. My favorite part of the table were the side panels that looked to be plexiglass and were printed with sepia tones scenes of Italy and the vineyard. They were hard to photograph at the evening event which was a shame.
I love that the table evokes the feeling of an Italian winery that relates to the sponsor.
The
Center 44 "table" or in this case, chic little sitting room was designed by interior designer
Susan Lawton. I wasn't sure how they were going to eat dinner without a table. I was picturing them balancing little bamboo trays on their knees like Nan Kemper used for dinner parties in her home.
This table was designed by
Ralph Lauren Home and represents their new
Black Sands collection.
This spring table with mushrooms and birds was designed by Eric Warner. There were many more tables that I missed and I'm sure they will be on the
DIFFA website soon. It was a wonderful party to celebrate a wonderful event that benefits a wonderful cause and we all had a wonderful time! I applaud all the designers and sponsors who participated in Dining by Design this year and I can't wait to see what everyone does next year! This one will be hard to top!
This year's Hampton Designer Showhouse was very impressive and inspiring! We kept declaring each room we visited our favorite and the screened porch designed by my friend and fellow blogger and designer Brad Ford was declared a favorite by everyone who has seen it according to the ladies in charge. I spoke to Brad and he said that when they were walking through the house looking at the rooms before they were assigned, he knew right away that he wanted the screened porch since it reminded him of his home in Arkansas. He said, "I've always been influenced by nature and natural resources and the room really resonated with me."
After he officially had the room, he began to think about what classic ideas are associated with a porch and his first thought was a porch swing. But of course since it was not only for a showhouse but a showhouse in the Hamptons, he had to take it to the next level. He custom designed the upholstered swings and even though the concept is very strong, it's also very simple and elegant. Brad also said, "I didn't want to take away from the amazing view." The soothing neutral colors definitely don't interfere with the view outside and along with the gentle movement of the swings, they make the room very relaxing. Exactly how you want a house in the Hamptons to feel! 
Brad added a lot of thoughtful details throughout the room that he said really came together at the end. The mirror which is wrapped with rope was designed by Christian Astuguvielle and is available through Holly Hunt and the sea grass area rug add more natural elements, as do the wooden tables from Tucker Robbins. He had also seen the photo of the Tribesman (below) at the Clic Gallery in New York and knew he wanted it for his room. The photo and the Tucker Robbins tables that were made in Africa, started to lend a primitive feel to the room but all of the elements work perfectly together. A couple of other designers have African pieces and great art in their rooms so this year's house has a really great flow and I can't wait to post more of the rooms! 
Brad Ford is not only a wonderful designer but a really wonderful person who has stayed true to his Southern upbringing and he will also be featured in the September issue of Country Living! Look for it on newsstands soon and please stop by the Hampton Designer Showhouse and see his beautiful room! 
