FOOD FOR THOUGHT – Dining by Design Event

This year’s Dining by Design event, sponsored by DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, was a splendiferous experience of over the top, eye-popping table settings that are sure to elevate our own table settings for the upcoming holiday season.

Held at the San Francisco Design Center’s Galleria, the venue provided the perfect backdrop for thirty-five imaginatively created table designs presented by members of the Bay Area’s architecture and interior design community. The largest were on the main floor, while each of the other three floors gave guests the opportunity to promenade amongst the tables while nibbling on delicious treats, sipping wine, and socializing. 

Words cannot properly convey the level of creativity and imagination, never mind the scope of the elaborate construction and detailing that went into each of the tables. Fortunately, that’s what pictures are for, so without further ado, browse and enjoy.

Made of cardboard, this presentation is a total environmental experience designed by John Lum Architects for 7x7 and California Home + Design

Hart-Howerton's constructed steel cage included an exotic bird.
Designers wore animal handler suits, just to be on the safe side.

Restoration Hardware's environment,
designed by Gary Spain with Will Wick,
was garden-esque and serene.

The Design Center's own presentation was elegantly assembled by Candace Barnes.

Billy Cook collaborated with Gump's for this tasty treat.

Valley Forge Fabrics' intimate tented table was created by Brayton Hughes Design Studio

Gensler and Haworth's presentation was a teepee wrapped in photographer's slide viewing sheets to tell their story.

Ralph Lauren Home brought their ponies to the show
with this horse show gazebo

Tiobet Therapeutics table was serene yet stimulating.

If you like watching TV while dining,
then Hok and Teknion with Sidemark's designs are perfect for you!

Panels behind Kravet's table setting of fabric covered boxes
and exotic floral arrangement make for an intimate dining experience.

Hartmann Studios' environment was a study in blue light with lucite chairs to keep the space feeling airy.

The Academy of Art School of Interior Architecture and Design
fulfilled their name perfectly!

Antiques & Art Exchange display included 4 mirrored pillars
from the Doris Duke estate for added glam.

Napa Valley Linens took their assignment literally and created this touching memorial to AIDS victims.

Several designers collaborated on creating International Furnishings and
Design Association's festive presentation.

Pollack Architects, Steelcase and GCI's presentation was very,
well, architectural and modern, of course!

Adeeni Design Group creatively combined elements for Poggenpohl's table.

Ketel One's table was designed by Jute, using elements from
nature to tell their story.

Split wood as only nature can do is the table underneath the setting that was
designed by MTP Architects and Ted Pratt
for the table sponsored by Drs. Diane Havlii, Art Martinez and Brad Hare.

Only one word can describe this display by Kriste Michelini Interiors for
Barbara Waldman and Dennis Winger's table, and that word is "YUM!"

John Gidding Designs Inc. is responsible for this intriguing table for
HGTV. Note the table itself; a true work of art.

The light fixture is the main attraction with each table setting different in
Shari Steele Designs and Studio Karliova table

Dots of light from the custom chandelier are reflected on the
surface of Studio Bradfield's table design.

Kaye Fleming Design and Atmospheres by Joseph Cunningham's
table uses light and flowers as the focal point.

Ian Stallings' design for Chandler Properties' table uses nature in a
grand scale to add drama and intimacy.

How The New Yorker magazine sees San Francisco is the inspiration for
Michael Friedes table designed for Sterling Bank & Trust -
The  Seligman Family Foundation

Wilson Campos Designs uses whimsy for MOMS Pharmacy's table.

For a change of pace, The Weaver Design Group presented this
table setting that was inside McCrae & Company's showroom.

If you look  very closely, you can see real fish swimming inside the vases
 on  Edward Nglam's intriguing table design for John Vaughn and friends.

The Rustic Chateau table was designed by Mimi Durand-Suhl,
and tells its story perfectly.

Imagine Alice in Wonderland lost in the Egyptian museum.
Designer Donald O. Greene makes it easy to do in his fantasy filled tableau.

The Emerald City is the fantasy presentation by Wildflower Linen and
Passiflora Designs.

For more information about DIFFA's Dining by Design, you can visit their web site by clicking here.

All photographs by Beryn Hammil.

Resources We Love – Laura Villaseñor

A Wonderful Surprise in A Simple Request

Recently, a friend was visiting San Francisco and we spent a joyful day together going to museums, catching up with each other, and sharing our delight in having a few hours together where 3,000 miles weren’t separating us.

At the end of the afternoon, as we were crossing the courtyard of the Legion of Honor museum, I politely asked a young woman if she wouldn’t mind taking a photograph of the two of us with my iPhone’s camera. She politely agreed, but I detected a faint shrug, and took the iPhone from me. She suggested an alternative place for us to stand than where we were; she put our backs to the setting sun. A few seconds later, click, click, and we were digitally recorded for posterity.

But wait! As she handed me my iPhone, she reached into her tote bag and pulled out a professional camera. What’s happening?

Unbeknownst to me, this young woman is a professional photographer and wasn’t satisfied to capture our happy moment with just a cell phone’s camera, even an iPhone!

In thirty seconds she snapped half a dozen pictures with her own camera. Done! Thank you’s were expressed, and I gave her my business card so she could email me the pictures.

A few hours later the pictures arrived in my in-box. OMG!  What she captured was no less than amazing. Not so much the subjects, modesty prevails, but the lighting, the emotions, the depth of feelings that my friend and I share; all recorded by this women’s amazing sense of the moment. And all in thirty seconds!

After looking at Laura Villaseñor’s web site I was astounded at the images I saw there. Not satisfied to send her just an emailed thank you note, I called and we agreed to meet for lunch. We met a few days later, and I sat in rapt attention, listening to her amazing story:

After studying photography and working for 12 years as a photographer in her native Mexico, Laura Villaseñor came to San Francisco four years ago to study photography at The Academy of Art College. Her talent was immediately recognized by the college and she received their prestigious Presidential scholarship.

The images she captures of her subjects contain, as she says, “the essence of the person.” That’s her main objective when looking in the viewfinder. “That, and the feeling of the moment. It changes quickly, and I have to be sensitive to what’s happening in front of me.”

Her studies have included how to maximize the images she captures. “Now the photographer has the lab in the computer, so changes can happen there instead of someone else doing it.” With the true eye of an artist, Laura now has the ability to completely control the final image the viewer sees, both of the subject and her ability to capture it.

Laura photographs people, of course, but also architecture and interiors for designers, special events, and being an artist who sees the world somewhat differently than the average person, what she sees is reflected in her fine art images. Her work has been seen on numerous magazine covers in Mexico, as well as in marketing and PR campaigns.

Laura Villaseñor’s professional photography web site is viewable only with computers and devices that have Flash players: http://www.lauravillasenor.com/, but in the meantime, here’s a small sample of her work to peruse.

Into the Wood - SF Junior League's House Tour

When two great organizations collaborate to present homes for viewing, the results are nothing less than amazing!

Elle Décor magazine and the San Francisco Junior League put their teams together to present a tour of five homes in the St. Francis Wood neighborhood of the city.

One home, the Elle Décor showcase house, experienced a major transformation at the hands of some of the city’s best interior designers. Three of the other four had designers’ magic wands waved over them to reveal their full potential in short order. The fifth house, a California Spanish style home that’s on the market, had selected areas fluffed and buffed to put its best face forward. All of them are worth seeing if you have an interest in what the highest quality materials can look like when the imaginations of great designers are at work.

Each home has its own unique style; they’re architecturally different from one another, yet there’s a similarity in how fabrics and colors are harmoniously combined in each to create a sense of elegance, grace, and comfortable living.

Pay particular attention to how tile has been used in bathrooms and kitchens. The patterns are interesting, the materials in some cases unusual, and the applications are most interesting.

All five homes are open for viewing on Saturday, November 6^th, and the “showcase house” will also be open for two more weekends; November 13^th and 14^th and November 20^th and 21^st. 

For more information about the tour, its location and hours, please visit the Junior League’s web site and follow the links there.

Here are a few images to whet your appetite to see great design applied in imaginative ways.