Designer Tip Sheet

To personalize an industrial loft and make it inviting for your guests, you and your support staff will have to think out of the big white box. Here, five Manhattan event designers share smart tricks for transforming raw space into the stuff dreams are made of.

• By Katie Charles
• Published Winter 2006

Skylight

David Beahm

(212-279-1344)

 

UNIQUE FEATURE
It has an outdoor space, and it's not just a square inside. I like the idea of having destinations within the venue.

BRILLIANT IDEA
Draping helps you define or hide an area; if you light it, it creates drama. Use lighting to tell a story: whether its leafy patterns, baroque design, or church-shaped windows.

CAVEAT
Don't book it on a Friday; it's cheek by jowl with the Holland Tunnel. Or at least wait until after rush hour.

Peter White Studio

Preston Bailey

(212-741-9300)

UNIQUE FEATURE
Its striking river view.

BRILLIANT IDEA
Incorporate water elements-fountains, aqua projections-throughout the room. Use the blues and purples of the night sky in your décor.

CAVEAT
The entrance and hallway need to be dressed and decorated, as it has a raw, industrial feel.

Sky Studios

Karen Bussen

(212-643-6880)

UNIQUE FEATURE
Its versatility for sit-down dinners and cocktail-style fêtes.

BRILLIANT IDEA
Make the upper loft a lounge and project moving images onto the walls: opening flowers, flying birds, or textured patterns.

CAVEAT
Guests must use the freight elevator; and for seated dinners, 100 or less people is best.

Splashlight Studios

Antony Todd

(212-367-7363)

UNIQUE FEATURE
The big terrace that looks through the skyline to the Hudson.

BRILLIANT IDEA
Do half-tents (canopies with panels to the floor) to break up the indoor space; have the dancing outdoors and canopied daybeds.

CAVEAT
The entrance isn't great and needs some work.

Studio 450

Jung Lee of Fête Design

(212-725-7268)

UNIQUE FEATURE
It has two floors and a roof deck, which gives you flexibility.

BRILLIANT IDEA
Make it look like a glamorous home (zebra pelts and zebrawood mirrors). Use black beads as room dividers in lieu of the space's sliding doors.

CAVEAT
There are three event spaces, but only one elevator.