The Barnes, Take 2: An Evening in the Garden

Within 24 hours, we were back at the Barnes Foundation - this time for a seated dinner for 200 guests.  Our challenge was to create an atmosphere of intimacy in a vast space; we did this by placing all of the farm dining tables at one end of the Court while letting the other side be used for dessert after the gallery tours.

When I first started brainstorming about the design for this particular evening, I knew immediately I wanted it to invoke the garden and the grounds of the Barnes Merion campus. We designed over 80 arrangements in a dizzying number of sizes and styles in a variety of garden containers - cement, antique wire and metal, mercury glass, stone, antique ceramic, glass, tin - in the jewel tones of spring: cerise, purple, cobalt, yellow, orange, acid green. On the rustic farm tables (squares and rectangles), the flowers looked completely at home and natural. The effect was spectacular.

Because there were so many arrangements across the seventeen tables, I wanted the visual impact to be effective both from a distance and up close.  To do this, I created a series of solid color arrangements of a single flower to line the longer tables on either side of the enormous multi in the middle. As I have said before, one flower used en masse is terribly effective, especially when working in large spaces. For the square tables, I used four different types of containers and I created huge, round centerpieces that I placed on a piece of slate in the middle.

I simply loved it!

Flowers pictured include: ranunculus, agapanthus, hybrid delphinium, skyline roses, larkspur, stock, belladonna delphinium, white navonna lilies, brunelo lilies, Sarah Bernhardt peonies, Kansas peonies, Festiva Maxima peonies, craspedia, yarrow, dusty miller, white hydrangea, curly willow, voodoo roses, lime green hydrangea, myrtle, bells of Ireland, Lady's Mantle, bupleurum, seeded eucalyptus, salal, pittosporum, fresh green moss.

The 17 tables - setting up

Cocktail tables for the Terrace

Cocktail tables ready to be placed

A square farm table arrangement

A shot of 3 of the 10 long farm tables

One of six vase arrangements that flanked the antique wire basket

Long tables had three arrangements of a single color and flower on either side - a total of six

Orange ranunculus

Blue delphinium

Green hydrangea and lady's mantle

Purple stock and bupleurum

Kansas (cerise) peony and Sarah Bernhardt (medium pink) peony

Yellow skyline roses

View towards front courtyard entrance and reflecting pool

Registration table and flats of wheatgrass for placecards

A view of the head table at night - see the interior garden through the glass

The Barnes, Take 1: Festive Brights

This week, I had the honor of designing the flowers for two of the very first events at the Barnes Foundation. What a thrill! The Barnes Foundation just opened up in its new location on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia and it was such a treat to work in the space just as the world is going mad to get inside to take a look.

The Court, the primary space for the event, seems deceptively simple - dark wood floors and neutral walls - but upon a closer look, one sees the detail in the stone, the fabric panels and the incredible light canopy. Outside on the Terrace, the cleverly constructed outdoor fireplace and planted trees makes one feel as though one is in a private garden, not in the middle of the city.

For my first event, my corporate client hosted 350 people at a cocktail reception. To accommodate the guests and the flow of the evening, there were over 40 cocktail tables of varying heights placed throughout the Court and the Terrace.  Upon entering the Barnes, guests were greeted by an antique rusted metal urn teeming with corkscrew willow and flowers and surrounded by flats of burlap-wrapped wheatgrass.

When designing in a large space, I believe that one must work with it and not try to compete - one should merely complement. So much of the beauty of the Court is seen with eyes upward and I wanted to change people's line of vision when walking in the room. To do so, I placed two towering architectural wire urns on the central food and wine stations, french flower buckets and glass pilsners around the perimeter, and on the Terrace, I placed a tiered wire container overflowing with flowers on the food station.

Next up will be the second night, which was a completely different look and feel. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this first glimpse of a bright, festive night at the Barnes.

Flowers pictured include: white hydrangea, lime green hydrangea, Dune gerbera daisies, snapdragon, voodoo roses, orange unique roses, bells of Ireland, Navonna lilies, orange brunello lilies, lady's mantle,  trick dianthus, mini green hydrangea, bupleurum, salal, pittosporum, curly willow.