A Progressive Dinner Party In Three French Quarter Courtyards

French Quarter Courtyard #1 - Before

So I get a Tweet a couple of months asking me if I was up for a styling job. I followed the Tweet to an email that led to phone calls that led to a most interesting job.

The premise was a progressive dinner party to take place in three French Quarter courtyards, a benefit for NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts), in particular for the Culinary School.

Target was the generous sponsor, with the one request to use the Smith & Hawken product they sent for the party and for a photo shoot to be used for their various PR needs.

And send it they did! Over $35,000. of beautiful merchandise that the Target product designer and I chose to fit the personality of each of the three courtyards.

It was a complex and interesting project from receiving and organizing all the product in a hot New Orleans warehouse, to arranging for the home owners' things to be taken away and stored, to dealing with copious amounts of trash that all the packing materials created, and all the regular issues involved in planning a party, with everything done in triplicate!

Target and their PR team in New York were spectacular, the vendors in New Orleans impeccable, the French Quarter hosts stellar, generous, and helpful, and NOCCA was involved in the best possible ways.

It was the beginning of our record breaking heat wave in New Orleans, but that did not stop people from attending the sultry party, with nearly $60,000 raised in one night of fun for NOOCA!

Let's start with courtyard #1.

Courtyard #1 - Before

Small and charming, with the old servant's quarters balcony at my disposal. The home owners are avid collectors, and one of their collections is of copper pots and pieces in their kitchens. Target offered me product from their Smith & Hawken line, and there were many beautiful copper pieces to choose from.




I used Smith & Hawken zinc lanterns in all three homes, starting with this one, where they lined the narrow alley way that is the entrance to the courtyard. I chose to use wax battery operated candles for the whole project.

Smith & Hawken zinc lanterns from Target

Courtyard #1 was used for cocktails and hors d'ouvres. Fifty people were invited, and 58 turned up! Obviously this courtyard is too small for that amount of people, so the house was open to guests as well.

Patio furniture and dinnerware, glasses, flatware, and napkins from Target

I used Smith & Hawken copper rain chains to festoon the balcony rail

Planters and pots and lanterns from Smith & Hawken for Target

A Smith & Hawken hammered copper hose bowl was used for ice on the bar

Colorful fans rest in a Smith & Hawken copper boot tray for guests to take and use - a jazz brass band of student musicians from NOCCA played for the Second Line to accompany guests to the next location - Note the color of the fans...

On to courtyard #2, where dinner was served. The front entrance of each home was decorated with Smith & Hawken accessories from Target.

Wreaths and urns from Target

Courtyard #2 is long, and at first glance very large by French Quarter standards. But where do I put 50 people for dinner? I wanted this to be a seated family style dinner.

Courtyard #2 - before

So of course! I had an acrylic pool cover installed. That's precious real estate!

Acrylic pool cover by Event Rental

I placed Smith & Hawken teak tables on top of the pool! Host chairs are also Smith & Hawken, but I could not use the teak dining chairs to accommodate 58 people, so I rented bamboo folding chairs. I wanted to use a chair with a low top line so the Target product on the table could be seen and featured. I was wearing two hats: Product Stylist and Event Decorator.

Art of the Feast party designed by Valorie Hart

I added oversize tissue paper spheres everywhere! I chose hot spicy colors. The lovely courtyard is muted and monochromatic, and I wanted to inject a feeling of festive Summer fun by using color.

Over size tissue spheres

A garden of tissue spheres

For the table: I chose to leave the tables bare, to show off the gorgeous teak wood finish. I added Thomas O'Brien dinnerware from Target, and tea towels from Dwell Studio for Target for napkins. I love mixing the sophisticated pattern and color Dwell uses. More Smith & Hawken zinc lanterns were used on the tables, and ceramic pots (also S & H) were used for bright bouquets made by Tommy's Flower Shop in the French Quarter (533 Rue St. Louis, 504 522-65630.

Dwell Studio dish towels were used as napkins

Bouquets on the table by Tommy's Flowers

In another part of the courtyard, I replaced the homeowners lounge furniture with a fabulous teak set from Target.

Courtyard #2 - Before

There is an incredible terra cotta stucco wall in the courtyard, that gave me my color cue. I requested rusty orange cushions and umbrella. I mixed in navy blue accessories. I think orange and navy look so sophisticated and fresh together.

Smith & Hawken outdoor living room styled by Valorie Hart

The product designer asked that I incorporate garden tools along with the planters, furniture, and another accessories. Sure thing! I knew there were all these existing metal trellises in the flower beds, so I hung the tools on each of them. I think it made for a very pretty product shot!

Smith & Hawken garden tools styled by Valorie Hart

You can get all these pretty things at Target

A ton of ginormous planters were sent for each courtyard. I didn't have the budget to buy mass amounts of plants for them. So when I could, I popped the home owner's existing plants into the planters. When that wasn't possible, I "made" plants by using a few cases of cut lemon leaves and leather leaf fern stuffed into to Oasis floral foam. These florist fillers are often maligned, but I loved them because they withstood the annihilating heat!!!!

Cut greens were "potted" into oversize Smith & Hawken planters

Let's look at the courtyard again the day I went for the first walk through...

Art of the Feast - Before

And here's the same view on the night of the party. An extra table had to be added at the last moment for extra guests coming. I always go from plan A to Z with a smile. I had to pull a couple of rental tables from other uses, and juggle the seating arrangement. I visually pulled it all together.

Art of the Feast - After

But wait!!!! There's still one more courtyard to go to for dessert!!!! The guests walked two doors down for more fun.

Courtyard #3 - Before

Courtyard #3 belongs to someone many of us bloggers know and love. She's my fellow "New New" as she calls us, someone from New York and New Orleans. Her home was used for dessert. Again this third courtyard is a tiny gem, so a bar was set up there, and some seating for anyone wanting some sultry romantic ambiance. So the dessert buffet done by Sucre was set up on the dining table. Do you recognize it?

Dessert at house #3

I used garden ornaments from Smith & Hawken on the table: peacocks for whimsy, and mini birdbaths to hold macaroons.

Sucre did the macaroon topiary!

Small pastel bouquets were placed around the sitting room...Tommy's did these too (and all the flowers for all three homes).

Here's a total hint of whose house we are in!

Target handed out swell SWAG bags, that were placed all along the stairway

Of course I styled up the coutyard in this house too. The house is very French, so I chose things from Target accordingly.

Just to remind you of courtyard #3 - Before

Strings of copper shaded lights were festooned overhead, like the ones you often see in courtyards, restaurants, and even over narrow streets in Europe. Ceramic garden stools (from Target) took the place of larger furniture (and they have lights in the bottom!). Zinc lanterns were place around the courtyard. As night fell, I wanted the courtyard to twinkle, to be magical.

I had to "borrow" the linen covered table that was supposed to be the bar for the overflow of dinner guests at courtyard #2. So I used the owner's kithcen table as the bar, with a huge Smith & Hawken copper hose bowl for iced bottles of Proseco, and copper boot trays for glasses.

Courtyard #2 - After

Lights strung overhead were magical

French style peacocks, copper pots, zinc lanterns - all from Smith & Hawken

Styled for a product shot, but still cute for the party

Whew! Just reading all this and looking at all the pictures must have worn you out!!!!

I loved every minute of this project, and I hope you enjoyed a little insight into my work world, and I hope you got some good ideas to use for your next party. Do check out Target and get some of these things. The summer sales are in full swing, and there is still alot of summer entertaining to do.

And speaking of summer entertaining, go on over to Eddie Ross and read about his backyard bash. Alberto and I went to it a year ago!!! How fast another summer has rolled along.

Eddie Ross Backyard Bash

We bloggers were all there one year ago!

All photos of Art of the Feast by Valorie Hart
Except dessert buffet - photo by Sucre
Read more HERE

Balls! And I Urned It

With all that happened in Canada, I lost a couple of holidays. Did Halloween happen this year? I guess I had my own scary Halloween in Calgary.

We had our kids come and visit us in New Orleans around the first of December for a four day weekend. It was the first time they saw us outside the hospital, and I was so proud of them making plans to come and see us sooner than later.

I had to whip the house in shape for them, something I do with all my love. I wanted to get the Christmas decor up, because this time together would be our Christmas together.

But this old vamp is slowing down, so I kind of slacked on the Christmas decorations I usually do, the whole Breakfast At Tiffanys Holly Golightly tree and trimmings HERE and HERE

I dug around in the shed and found a pre-lit tree from years ago that I used in our dance studio The House of Tango. We've been living in our current home for nearly six years, so you can imagine how much I had to dig around in a junk filled shed to find it.

Click on images for larger views~

Visual Vamp Christmas 2010

I dragged a garden urn in from outside, and shoved the tree in it. One reason I like to think this is an "easier" tree to decorate, is that I use huge over size gold balls to trim this tree. So that was that: Big balls and a pre-lit tree in a big ass urn this year! I guess I earned the rights to a slacker's decor this year ha ha.

Cholo says it's all good Mom

I added some gilded garland around a mirror and a gold tinsel wreath to the entrance table near the door, and a pair of square gilded leaf wreaths on the striped doors. I put the tree in front of a tall window in the dance parlor this year. We needed all the room we could get in t he living room, with the family visiting.

It all looks rather old fashion and charming.

Gilded leaf garland on the entry table mirror

I didn't do much in the living room, except for throwing the gilded leaf garland around the big clock, and plopping an emerging Amaryllis plant on the coffee table. I hope it blooms on Christmas day.

Visual Vamp living room
Christmas garland around the big clock

But then I added Cholo! He is always the perfect model and decorative accessory, and he gives me lots of kisses.

Cholo in the living room

I didn't drag out all the big guns this year, but kind of went for stuff that was easy to reach in the cupboards where I store the Christmas decorations. I grabbed the infamous "Eddie Ross" wreath I made last year, which is still a misshapen hot mess, that I force into looking pretty. I hung it on the mirror in the dining room.

Visual Vamp undecorates the dining room for Christmas

Eddie Ross glass ball wreath hangs on the mirror

I added a white lacquer tray that I got at Pier 1 for the holiday bar, and plopped a glitter ornament in a glass. Not much, but just enough. I am learning that restraint can look festive.

Visual Vamp holiday bar tray

A handmade Italian bowl got a collection of vintage ornaments I just scored at a tag sale across the street from our house. Check out the Christmas card Alberto got from The White House!

Christmas card from the Obamas!

Not many people send Christmas cards anymore, so the ones we get are treasured. Photo cards seem to be more popular than ever. I especially love the one with the greeting: Amazeballs! Can you tell me who sent it?

Amazeballs! Some people still send Christmas cards!

The large white Italian ceramic bowl filled with vintage ornaments is on the built-in buffet area in the dining room.

Visual Vamp dining room - built in buffet

I decorated the outside of the house for the kids too. I use the same decorations I have been using since we moved here, including a wreath I made from vintage satin balls.

Vintage satin balls make a pretty wreath

The tree really does look pretty seen through the window from outside of the house.

Peeking through the window at Casa Visual Vamp
A large garden urn holds the Christmas tree

All the neighbors know me for using the ginormous light bulb decoration, and around October they start asking me am I going to put them up again. But of course! I'm on a roll here with big balls, big light bulbs, and a big urn!

Visual Vamp outside Christmas decorations in New Orleans

Maybe Holly Golightly will return next year. Even though the look this year is not as "designed", I kind of like doing something more simple and different.

Do you guys change up your decor from year to year?

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed the pared down Visual Vamp holiday look I did.

Wish you were here to have a cup of holiday cheer with Alberto, Cholo, and me!