Pepper Design Blog

Beautiful Inspiration… and Styling Tips from the Pros

When it comes to beautiful presentation few do it better than the bona fide Stylists, so I thought it might be fun to take a quick look at one of my favorites for a few ideas and inspirations for a future party. Lo Bjurulf is a prop and food stylist for Agent Bauer:

An earthy garden party complete with veggie centerpieces, beautiful blue glass bottle displays and enough casual draping and carefully placed silverware to create a realistic and stunning table. This would be so fun this summer and easy to pull together for an impromptu gathering – everything on the table could probably be found in your kitchen right now, from simple plates and glasses to veggies from the fridge!

This next one is one of my favorites – I think of it as a Moroccan Barnyard Dinner Party!

The images are whimsical and imaginative but offer great inspiration for thinking out of the box. What I love about the storyboard is how it highlights the understated importance of staging a party so that it’s as eye-catching for all of your guests as you’d hoped it would be.

Staging basics offer a few rules we often forget, like:
*decorating at all eye-levels (bright pillows on the floor, a show stopping centerpiece mid-height and a beautiful chandelier just above the head – or how about those billowy curtains in the backdrop?)
*choosing the proper setting (no need to find a barn…)
*incorporating colors that work well together (be it complimentary or contrasting)
*and don’t forget the finite details that makes everything come together (such as the flower blossoms scattered like confetti in the image below or the softly stacked afghans that leave guests appreciative of a considerate hostess on a chilly night – I actually attended a party where they were readily available and I couldn’t wait to start my own collection for guests).

So beautiful! I’m so inspired by these images and the creative possibilities…

A Pink & Gold Princess Party by Amy Atlas

Amy recently designed a princess party for Brooke Shields and daughter Grier, who celebrated her 4th birthday in style. She sent over these adorable pictures full of inspiration.

From Amy: “Grier is a girly girl and Brooke wanted Grier to feel like a princess at her birthday party. After all, what mom wouldn’t want her daughter to feel like a princess on her special day? We swapped out the typical pink and purple princess party look with a sparkly light pink, rose, and gold color palette. We brought in lots of stars, wands and tiaras into the design. Of course, there had to be a sweets table! However, being that it was a kids party, we made a small dessert table so that the kids weren’t overwhelmed with too many sweets. Included on the table were princess cupcakes, cookies, and some candy for the kids and adults. The little princess and her pals were twirling their wands and dancing throughout the party to princess music. It was really cute!”

The details are adorable! Amy Atlas never fails to impress.

More fun details in this People Magazine story about the Princess Party.

For the full write-up, including a few neat prepping pictures and behind-the-scenes moments, check out Sweet Designs (Amy’s blog) and princess party posts part 1 and part 2. Photography by Allan Zepeda.

Spring Inspiration Board: Cherry Blossoms!

I’m going out on a limb here… but I love these branches so much that I’m predicting cherry blossom-themed parties and weddings to be one of the ‘it’ decoration ideas for Spring 2010. What do you think? Don’t a few branches in bloom make a beautiful inspiration piece?

I know with these images I’m won over {sigh}:

Made from curly willow and origami paper, Curbly shares a beautiful way to create your own DIY branch centerpieces. Perfect for a shower, wedding, tea party or dinner with friends.

And to complete the perfect party, how does a cool and refreshing blossom iced tea, rhubarb martini or rose champagne sound? Yes please!

The perfect drinks for a cherry blossom celebration:

The adorable pink sugar cube recipe (in blossom shapes) can be found here. More lovely images from Martha:

Hello Naomi designed beautiful cherry blossom cupcakes that match this theme perfectly (bottom left image above).

I’m so very inspired by branches – they remain a staple with most of my decorating and cherry blossoms have just moved to the top of my list. I wish they were a bit easier to get a hold of though… if anyone has any good resources, do share!