Every spring, the editors of KC Magazine begin looking through their emails with a little more anticipation than usual. We're waiting for our annual chance to stretch our artistic muscles-an opportunity that comes via an invitation to create a tablescape for Dining by Design, the yearly fundraiser for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA).
A national event taking place in cities all over the United States, Dining by Design was founded right here in Kansas City in 1980. What started out as a dinner party among a cause-minded group of friends has grown into one of the year's premier design events.
And so, when our invitation to participate as table designers arrived, we once again eagerly began planning KC Magazine's table.
The gala, which took place the weekend of May 21, was a particularly exciting event: Nationally renowned interior designer Thom Filicia was an honored guest. Most well known for his stint as the design guru on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and, more recently, on Style Network's "Dress My Nest" and "Tacky House," the Emmy Award-winning Filicia also has authored two books on interior design and was named one of House Beautiful magazine's Top 100 American Designers. No pressure, right?
Turns out, all this year's designers had to do to impress this national design icon was act natural-and think outside the box.
"The biggest mistake people make in interior design is playing it safe," Filicia says. "They aren't confident in their decisions, so they don't explore and have fun. You don't always have to worry about being tasteful."
Bold or subtle, taste was a main ingredient in this year's Dining by Design tablescapes. Many designers took color as their muse. Indeed, it was a simple bottle of Knoll Textile's "Knoll Red" nail polish that inspired the KC Magazine table. A brilliant hue of coral-infused red, the polish pays homage to Knoll's signature upholstery color.
KC Magazine Creative Director Erin Calvin matched the polish to an interior paint color, which she then applied to a table cloth canvas in a geometric pattern. Paired with a Knoll Textiles table runner and organic accessories-including two striking horn lamps-from Madden-McFarland Interior Design, the table cloth made a powerful yet understated impression. Candles from Kansas City-based Mixture, along with orange bud vases from Black Bamboo, which this fall began selling Knoll furnishings and this spring debuted a new space at 114 Southwest Blvd., completed the look.
Knoll had an impressive presence elsewhere at Dining by Design. The company designed two tables of its own-one that played up a color-based theme a huge white screen accompanied by caf-style tables, and another with a striking collage of Herman Miller logos, design schematics and photographs. Cards printed with graphic, retro designs served as the centerpiece for the latter.
While color was a central component to many table designs, other designers took a particular theme as their inspiration. DIFFA KC board member Richard Manes' entry, titled "You Wear It Well," transformed his table into a couture closet. Rather than opting for the typical chair covers, Manes adorned his guests' chairs with men's shirts and used his collection of vintage men's ties (which once belonged to his grandfather) to delineate each place setting. A miniature closet in the center of the table-stocked with hats, costumes and accessories for both men and women-offered endless photo ops at both Friday evening's informal Table Hop and Saturday evening's gala dinner.
Willoughby Design Studio also took on a specific theme. Its designers used their space to create a store stocked with cheerfully graphic products branded as "Wishes," "Possibilities" and "Dreams." Bright spring flowers marched down the center of the table, accompanied by place settings in vibrant hues. It was a particularly hopeful tablescape that battled both the uncertain times in which we live and the disease DIFFA is dedicated to eliminating.
That's what it is all about. Dining by Design is a yearly reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent in the face of HIV/AIDS. While modern medicine has come a long way in fighting the disease, it still affects the world in which we live.
A national event taking place in cities all over the United States, Dining by Design was founded right here in Kansas City in 1980. What started out as a dinner party among a cause-minded group of friends has grown into one of the year's premier design events.
And so, when our invitation to participate as table designers arrived, we once again eagerly began planning KC Magazine's table.
The gala, which took place the weekend of May 21, was a particularly exciting event: Nationally renowned interior designer Thom Filicia was an honored guest. Most well known for his stint as the design guru on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and, more recently, on Style Network's "Dress My Nest" and "Tacky House," the Emmy Award-winning Filicia also has authored two books on interior design and was named one of House Beautiful magazine's Top 100 American Designers. No pressure, right?
Turns out, all this year's designers had to do to impress this national design icon was act natural-and think outside the box.
"The biggest mistake people make in interior design is playing it safe," Filicia says. "They aren't confident in their decisions, so they don't explore and have fun. You don't always have to worry about being tasteful."
Bold or subtle, taste was a main ingredient in this year's Dining by Design tablescapes. Many designers took color as their muse. Indeed, it was a simple bottle of Knoll Textile's "Knoll Red" nail polish that inspired the KC Magazine table. A brilliant hue of coral-infused red, the polish pays homage to Knoll's signature upholstery color.
KC Magazine Creative Director Erin Calvin matched the polish to an interior paint color, which she then applied to a table cloth canvas in a geometric pattern. Paired with a Knoll Textiles table runner and organic accessories-including two striking horn lamps-from Madden-McFarland Interior Design, the table cloth made a powerful yet understated impression. Candles from Kansas City-based Mixture, along with orange bud vases from Black Bamboo, which this fall began selling Knoll furnishings and this spring debuted a new space at 114 Southwest Blvd., completed the look.
Knoll had an impressive presence elsewhere at Dining by Design. The company designed two tables of its own-one that played up a color-based theme a huge white screen accompanied by caf-style tables, and another with a striking collage of Herman Miller logos, design schematics and photographs. Cards printed with graphic, retro designs served as the centerpiece for the latter.
While color was a central component to many table designs, other designers took a particular theme as their inspiration. DIFFA KC board member Richard Manes' entry, titled "You Wear It Well," transformed his table into a couture closet. Rather than opting for the typical chair covers, Manes adorned his guests' chairs with men's shirts and used his collection of vintage men's ties (which once belonged to his grandfather) to delineate each place setting. A miniature closet in the center of the table-stocked with hats, costumes and accessories for both men and women-offered endless photo ops at both Friday evening's informal Table Hop and Saturday evening's gala dinner.
Willoughby Design Studio also took on a specific theme. Its designers used their space to create a store stocked with cheerfully graphic products branded as "Wishes," "Possibilities" and "Dreams." Bright spring flowers marched down the center of the table, accompanied by place settings in vibrant hues. It was a particularly hopeful tablescape that battled both the uncertain times in which we live and the disease DIFFA is dedicated to eliminating.
That's what it is all about. Dining by Design is a yearly reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent in the face of HIV/AIDS. While modern medicine has come a long way in fighting the disease, it still affects the world in which we live.
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