5 Gorgeous Table Settings for Fall

Five Vancouver designers go head to head to create the perfect table setting

This week, GE Monogram’s Dinner by Design kicked off Vancouver’s design show IDSwest with a friendly competition and dinner gala among the city’s top designers benefitting the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundationat Chinatown’s trendy Imperial restaurant.

The participants had just 24 hours to create a 3-D dining space. The result was 10 show-stopping dining room settings featuring everything from an all-white table to a magical woodland theme. Check out the results and grab some ideas for your next soirée.

Dinner Anastasia – Kelly Deck

Vancouver design darling Kelly Deck took inspiration from her grandma for this retro dining space design with a twist. The innovative and colourful cross-stitch panels are a nod to the past while the metal laminate sheet backing with an updated camouflage design keeps the space firmly in the here and now.

Dining table and chairs, Inform Interiors; metal laminate sheets, Wilsonart; hanging light fixtures, Spencer Interiors.

Scandinavian Rustic – Sophie Burke

This soft, light and rustic space is accented by dried garden flowers, bleached woods and antlers.

“I really just wanted to create a natural, organic-feeling, comfortable space,” says Robert Ledingham Memorial Award winner Sophie Burke.”The Nordic style just embodies that for me.”

Table and wishbone chairs, Inform Interiors; lights, 18Karat; accessories, Heather Ross Natural Eclectic

White Noise – Evoke

Co-founders of Evoke, David Nicolay and Robert Edmonds, created this dining concept with a very clear purpose. “‘White Noise’ represents a dining experience where all ambient distractions fade away, bringing the diners and meal into focus. Now, more than ever, there is a growing visual distraction in restaurant design where the patron has become secondary to the room concept. Add to this the constant ‘reportage’ of the meal via social media and the art of dinner conversation is vanishing.”

This design gets more and more interesting as you notice each layer of whiteness become more distinct; the most arresting feature being the painted white-on-white snippets of conversation on the surrounding walls.

Chairs, Patrick Norquetby Inform Interiors; table, Norwest Architectural Millwork

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – Filosophi

Filosophi founder Erin Bishop says that she wanted to “steer clear of using any actual diamonds, and just embrace the psychedelic ’60s!” for her colourful interpretation of the iconic Beatles song by the same name. Her use of colour, prints, textures and an oversized vintage boat centrepiece really captures the mood and fantasy of the era.

Flowers, Evan Orion of FLOWERZ; boat, Scott Landon Antiques; fabrics, Spool of Thread

Robert Blaney – Into the Woods

High-profile designer Robert Blaney reached back to his childhood for inspiration on this project. His love of the story A Teddy Bear’s Picnic was the starting point for his fairytale dining creation. Lanterns and tree stump table settings offset the abundance of moss covering the space. A live tree extending through the centre of the table serves as the magical centrepiece.