Five Years of Table Design for Lenox Hill Gala

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Tamara Matthews-Stephenson is the creative talent behind Nest by Tamara, a captivating journal dedicated to interior design, history and lifestyle inspiration. With a passion for design and a keen eye for aesthetics, she shares her expertise and insights. Tamara has established herself as a prominent figure in the world of interior design and her design philosophy is rooted in the idea that a well-designed home can elevate the quality of life, combining beauty with functional everyday living. Her blog is a testament to her dedication to helping readers achieve this balance. Beyond her writing, She is also an accomplished interior designer who is known for her talent blending diverse styles which has earned her a loyal following and recognition within the interior design industry. She has worked on a wide range of projects- from luxurious urban homes to cozy beach houses. Additionally, she is the Creative Director and Owner of root cellar designs, LLC, an artisan line of textile and wallpaper sold exclusively to the design industry. She designs and manufactures her wares in the United States and sells her line through trade showrooms around the country. Connect with Tamara Matthews Stephenson through email at rootcellardesings@gmail.com and at nestnestnest.blogspot.com for weekly stories, or through her fabric and wallpaper designs at rootcellardesigns.com and embark on a journey to transform your living spaces.

Posted by Tamara Stephenson April 17, 2019

Five Years of Table Design for Lenox Hill Gala

Our Table Designs For This Year's

Black Tie Event Are All Coming Together-

Sneak Peeks of Our Creative Process

All the moving parts for tomorrow's table top design at the annual Lenox Hill gala are coming together- it will take place in Cipriani's Grand Central Station space, a former historic bank. Susan and I (we are the design duo of root cellar designs) created a new fabric collection this spring called Gems. It's 8 jewel-colored patterns. When we were invited to decorate a table for this black tie dinner and gala (to raise funds for the local Lenox Hill Neighborhood House on the Upper East Side of New York City), we said yes. Actually, we have said yes five years in a row- this will be our fifth time decorating a table. It takes months of planning, days to put together and few hours to celebrate. Each year a designer is honored, there is a cocktail hour where everyone "oohs and aahs" over the fifty or so tables in this beautiful room. Designers from all over the country are hand-picked to participate, and we are grateful to be a part of this spectacular and philanthropic event.

This year's theme is The Future Is Today. We thought long and hard about that idea, and how we would fit that within our brand new collection. To us, the future lies in our planet, the ocean, the sky, the creatures, the gems of the earth. There is no future without these lovelies, so we channeled all of that to create a table in a green, blue and tiffany-colored palette. We hand-painted a globe to sort of replicate the ceiling of Grand Central Station (since this is where the gala will be), and we created table linens, bespoke chair covers and dinner napkins in our new Sateen Luxe textile in three new designs. We created maypole ribbons in a gauze material to create a world-like maypole feeling on the table with vintage French hand-painted fish plates, vintage blue glasses and a towering cake-like display of 150 tiffany boxes encrusted in white roses. We will add globe-like gold arrangements, gold votives and all on this prism-like green table linen. This is our future! More photos later but here's our vision.