Oftentimes when you see photos of amazing scenes posted by businesses like Display Group — and we admit, we’re definitely guilty of this from time to time — they’re just dripping with design. Rich color, dozens-to-hundreds of lights in up-, down-, under-, and ambient, eclectic mismatches of obviously matched sets, and all of the other trends make parties that look awesome…and cost ALL the money. So today we’re going to talk a bit about how to design a minimalist party — one that relies on the setting itself along with a few potent décor items to set a mood that is simple without being simplistic.
Step One: Find a Simple Space
In a lot of cases, the idea of minimalist party is killed before it begins because many party venues are naturally visually complex. If you’re renting, say, any given room at the Big Rock Chophouse, you’re renting a room that is already filled with vibrant colors, powerful ambiance, and firmly established décor. Certainly there’s a lot of events that match those themes quite well, but you’re already way past minimalist just by renting the room. So you need to start with a much more straightforward space, like the tent setup at The Reserve in Birmingham — a big, open square with windows and a vaulted ceiling.
Step Two: Reduce Contrast
One of the most powerful ways to minimalize a space is to reduce contrast between most of the elements. The primary agents of visual contrast are color, pattern, texture, and lighting — so to keep a space feeling as simple as possible, match the tables, chairs, walls, and other elements in each of those respects. If you’re going with the ‘event in a tent’ theme for example, stick with white tablecloths, white or silver chairs, white plates, and so on, with similar patterns and mostly ambient lighting.
Step Three: Pick the Exceptions
If you reduce contrast to zero, of course, then nothing stands out and you don’t have minimalist, you have Spartan. And not the ‘with-your-shield-or-on-it’ kind, either. So you should pick a couple of elements — to stand out. In general, you want at least one of those elements to be purely decorative and to establish the theme. For example, in that all-white all-soft-lines tent environment, you might choose to have the light fixtures hanging down from the ceiling be billowing clouds that change color between sky blue, sunrise orange, and sunset pink as the event proceeds. Then, pick one functional element to match, like choosing a robin’s-egg-blue for the main plates while keeping the rest of the platterware white.
By choosing a minimalist design, you reduce the number of exotic lights and decorations you have to rent to pull off the party you want — without reducing the power of the space or the power of the memories that your party will generate. Talk to Display Group’s event experts about your upcoming event today, and we’ll help you design a minimalist event with maximum impact.
