Gorgeous centerpiece from Laura Jean of Observatory Boutique and Floral Designs by Laura Jean

This week's setting is a special one, not only because it's extra beautiful, but because it hails from our recent Dinner Series event - Dinner #30! It's hard to believe we've held 30 of these events so far, and this most recent dinner was definitely a special celebration. I'll keep my part short today, and we'll get right to Alex...

I met Laura Jean last Fall on her first visit to Didriks. Encouraging me to come visit her store with friend and designer Nicole Rueda Watts, I immediately fell in love with their design aesthetic and beautiful florals.

With our 30th Dinner Series in mind I started brainstorming, knowing that this one needed to be different and needed to be extra special. With a design passion as big as mine, I look at a lot of design sites and blogs. From that comes exposure to numerous collaborations and that was a big inspiring factor for the 30th Dinner Series.

Didriks has never worked together with other designers in creating a space to dine in. In the past we have settled ourselves nicely into the spaces we use but have never created a space solely for our event. What better way to celebrate such a creative endeavor than turning Austin Architects blank conference room into our dream oasis?! Laura Jean and Nicole were on board from the Dinner Series first mention.

Meeting weekly with both designers for the better part of 6 weeks, we created a theme from our longing for Spring, greenery, bright colors and warmth. We tried our best and (in my opinion) successfully brought the outdoors indoors.

Laura Jean worked tirelessly on both our wall arrangement, centerpiece and accoutrements that went beautifully with Nicole's vignettes.

Both florals and vintage decor brought life to my design and featured wares that would have never come together otherwise. The use of soft leather, brass, vintage mirrors and reclaimed wood mixed perfectly with the pop of colors used in Laura Jean's lush arrangements.

Collaborating with these two talented women was such a pleasure and a definite highlight in my Dinner Series design experience.

-Alexandra Boeri

Photo 1: A shot of the whole room set-up. We'll get more into that over on the Dinner Series blog.

Photos 2-4: Different vantage points of the beautiful table, which was dressed in a Libeco Home Napoli Vintage Tablecloth in Natural. Each place setting alternated, showcasing a mix of dinnerware: Jars Ceramics Vuelta Dinner Plate and Dessert Plate in Gray Silex, and Jars Ceramics Tourron Dinner Plate and Dessert Plate in Samoa.

Photos 5 and 6: Individual place settings. Atop each mis-matched set of dinner plates, we used a Libeco Home Serengeti Napkin wrapped in twine.

Photo 7: Sabre Natura Flatware in Turquoise, and a slice of delicious Grapefruit Cake. This is served on a Jars Ceramics Tourron Dessert Plate in Samoa.

Photo 8: Glassware: Simon Pearce Corinth Red Wine Glasses and iittala Kartio Large Tumblers in Forest Green.