DIFFA Dining by Design

 On sunday I went with my parents to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show at Pier 94 in New York City. My favorite part of the show was DIFFA's Dining by Design. According to Diffa.org; "Dining By Design brings together internationally celebrated designers and local talent to create three dimensional dining installations." Diffa stands for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. The annual Dining By Design fundraising initiative, which is showcased at trade shows across the country  gives the general public an opportunity to see inspiring decor from talented designers and  has raised millions of dollars for HIV/AIDS programs in the United States.  I was very inspired by these outstanding table designs and wanted to share them with you.  Unfortunatly, my pictures didn't turn out very well so instead of using my pictures I am using pictures from two outstanding blogs: Habitually Chic (http://habituallychic.blogspot.com) & Through the French Eye of Design (http://thefrencheye.blogspot.com). 

To read Habitually Chic's extensive coverage of Diffa's Dining By Design go to:

 http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-dining-by-design-2012-jonathan.html (Part 1)

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-dining-by-design-part-deux.html   (Part 2)

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-dining-by-design-part-iii.html   (Part 3)

Here's a look at most of the other tables at DIFFA Dining by Design. Enjoy!

Merchandise Mart Properties table above and below designed by DesignLush

Input Creative Studio

Domoore Designs 

I am in love with these chairs!!!! I am big Andy Warhol fan & would love to throw a party with pop art inspired graphics

Artistic Tile table designed by Thom Filicia

Tilton Fenwick

Nile Johnson for Philosophy Design Studio & Cheryl Umbles for Perspective Interiors

RDYC Interior Design + Architectural Development

Liebherr designed by Libby Langdon

jesGordon/properFun

I love the orange zebra print carpet & would love to do a party with colored ribbon hanging from the ceiling & walls. 

Shawn Henderson Interior Design

Dufner Heighes 

I love that photo wall! I think that is such a great decor idea for a birthday party, anniversary, Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Arpad Baksa

Such a cool outdoor party! Its a fantasy of mine to throw a party on a NYC rooftop (maybe I won't include the bird (pictured below) in my future decor set-up though, lol) 

Echo

David Ling

This is very modern & minimalist and I happen to enjoy that aesthetic. 

Eric Warner for Aesthete Ltd.

Marimekko with Studios

My absolute favorite table at the show! I love bright colors and big bold prints so this table was right up my alley!!!

Maya Romanoff designed by Roger Thomas

HBA

Herman Miller

Ethan Allen

Resource Furniture

Design Within Reach

Marchesa by Lenox

Marchesa is my favorite fashion label & I was super excited to see the tableware that they created in collaboration with Lenox and I of course loved the stunning  Marchesa dresses  in the corner

Goil Amornivat & Thomas Morbitzer & Tietz-Baccon

New York Design Center styled by Alexa Stevenson

 How cute is that Chanel bag  in the back of the chair! such a cool idea for a birthday  party for a fashionista. 

Fashion Institute of Technology

New York University - Mentors Isabel & Ruben Toledo

Loved this table! It reminded me of the secret garden 

Since Alfredo Parades of Ralph Lauren is being honored for his work with DIFFA, the Ralph Lauren team pulled out all the stops on their table within a cabin.

Benjamin Moore created an amazing book wall which set the tone for the table inside designed by David Stark Design. 

I thought having the pashminas on the back of each chair was a  very smart idea for a dinner  party. Its an easy & inexpensive way to add a pop of color to the room.  I was very excited   to see that David Stark collaborated on this table with Benjamin Moore. 

Jonathan Adler's design for the Kravet table which features his new fabric collection. I love this! the fabrics are gorgeous! 

 Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Photo Courtesy of:  Through the French Eye of Design 

(http://thefrencheye.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-2012.html)

I thought this table was amazing. The candle wax gave the table such cool texture!

St.Patrick's Day Dinner Party

I hope that everyone had a wonderful St.Patrick's Day! I wanted to share a St.Patrick's day dinner I created. I cooked traditional Irish food and used a green and white color scheme for my table. 

Inspiration: I knew that my St.Patrick's day table would feature the standard St.Patrick's day items such as; shamrocks, St.Patrick's day hats & shamrock garland. I had the green & white polka dot picture frame in my bedroom and I knew it would look perfect on the table. I love how the picture frame looks with the glitter shamrock inside. I also loved the Crate&Barrel Chase Green Plate and thought the plates would be a nice addition to the table. 

Décor: I decided to use a white tablecloth so that the green decorative items would pop on the table. I also decided to put the shamrock garland in the apothecary jar to add some height to the table. I scattered some glitter green shamrocks on the table, which gave the table some sparkle. I also bought some beautiful green & white flowers from Whole Foods. I found the "Lucky" cup at Party City and thought that the green & white lollipops would look good in the cup.  As a final touch I added some green votive candles, which gave the room some much needed light. 



Where I Brought Each Item: 

St.Patrick's Day hats, glitter shamrocks, "lucky" cup, garland and shamrock toothpicks (in the cupcakes): 
Party City, www.partycity.com


Plates: Create&Barrel,
Chase Green Plate;www.crateandbarrel.com


Apothecary Jar: Crate&Barrel, Delfina Covered Jar Small; www.crateandbarrel.com


Plastic Beer Mugs: www.partycheap.com/Plastic_Beer_Mug_p/50972.htm


Green & White Lollipops: 
www.orientaltrading.com/swirl-pops-light-green-a2-5_1491-12-1.fltr?Ntt=light+green+swirl+pop




Menu:
I knew that I wanted traditional Irish dishes for my St.Patrick's day menu. When I was in Ireland 2 years ago my friend & I had a delicious Beef & Guinness stew in a pub in Galway and I wanted to find a recipe to recreate that amazing stew. 


Irish Beer Bread & Garlic Dip: 
www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/813562/st-patrick-s-
day-party-menu-1

Self-Rising Flour Substitute: 
www.cdkitchen.com/features/tip/528/self-Rising-Flour-Substitute

Beef & Guinness Stew:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/690/beef+and+guinness+stew


Cupcakes: Pre-made from Stop & Shop


Beer: I served guinness & I also served magic hat (which is pictured in previous pictures with green food coloring). I decided to use a light beer such as magic hat so that I could add green food coloring to the beer & create green beer. (Not so easy to tell in these pictures)