Dining By Design

Finnish textile, decor, and apparel brand Marimekko created an installation for the DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) DINING BY DESIGN event in New York. The event unites talent from the realms of fashion, interior design, art, and architecture to create impressive dining environments.

The public was invited to view the installations from March 23-25 in conjunction with the Architectural Digest Home Design Show at Pier 94. Marimekko's Color Therapy exhibition will be featured at the Gala Dinner tonight, which will serve as the finale to the five-day-long DINING BY DESIGN celebration.

Fittingly titled Color Therapy, Marimekko's tablescape exhibition showcases the exuberant colors and mesmerizing patterns the design house is known for. Inspired by the way bold colors and patterns can seamlessly fit into the everyday lives of people, the Marimekko team used fabric patchwork techniques to pack in a dizzying assortment of beautiful textiles.

Click below to shop an assortment of Marimekko products for your home!

If you haven't found enough tablescape inspiration from my Napa-inspired tablescape, the Novogratz tablescapes, or community posts like this, hang on to your hats, because I'm about to blow you away with some amazing tablescapes from Dining by Design. Last night I attended the opening night of DIFFA's Dining by Design, an annual event that's celebrating its 10th year. Proceeds from Dining by Design benefit low-income patients at the San Francisco’s largest — and the world’s first — HIV/AIDS clinic. It's an incredibly worthy cause, and many of the designs showcased at the benefit are often jawdroppingly cool.

The photo above is actually the entry to Will Wick's and Gary Spain's tablescape for Restoration Hardware, whose secret garden theme was beautifully executed. Take a peek at more of this garden, as well as many others in the slideshow below. They're sure to inspire you to decorate in an unexpected way this holiday season!

Keep reading for photos of bird-impersonating drag queens, photoslide tipis, turtle shell place settings, and much more!

On Wednesday, Nov. 17, and Thursday, Nov. 18, top talents in the worlds of fashion, interior design, art, architecture, and fine cuisine will collaborate to design awe-inspiring dining environments for DIFFA's 10th annual Dining by Design. You can check out the incredible table designs in person at the Table Hop & Taste Preview Party on Wednesday, and a gala dinner and silent auction will be held on Thursday. If you can't make it, check out other Dining by Design events across the country.

One table that I'm definitely going to make a beeline for is Restoration Hardware's "Secret Garden" installation, created by designers Gary Spain and Will Wick. I recently caught up with Gary Spain to chat about the table design and his tips for creating tablescapes.

CasaSugar: The theme for your Dining by Design tablescape is "Secret Garden." What inspired this theme?

Gary Spain: The theme was really inspired through a process of discovery. We came across several beautiful shutters in a Belgian garden, which served as a jumping off point. We then found some amazing garden crates, which we turned over and topped off with waxed canvas cushions to use as stools. These two great finds inspired us toward a secret garden setting.

Keep reading for Gary's tablescaping tips, as well as a sneak peek of the stools!