Dinner by Design: A Peek at Nyla Free’s Japan-Inspired Table

Calgary designer Nyla Free looks to channel harmony and zen in her Japanese-style tablescape.

At this year’s Dinner by Design Calgary, many different cultures from all over the international community are going to be on display, from Mexican textiles to Moroccan medinas. Interior designer Nyla Free is keeping up with that theme for her tablescape by drawing inspiration from a Japanese story of young Jiro Horikoshi. Free told us how Horikoshi longed to become a pilot and designed planes with an Italian mentor whom he only saw in his dreams (Horikoshi later became a chief fighter-jet engineer in World War II).With this story in mind, the designer’s Japanese inspiration led her to working with completely different materials from last year (check out her vision board above). Free will be incorporating shoji screens, light wood and parasols—in addition to graphic script to signify feelings of harmony, zen and freedom. “We have created a space where the fundamentals of Japanese culture reside.”

Dinner by Design Calgary

Where: ACAD gallery, 1407 14 Ave. NW, Calgary

When:  June 2nd and 3rd

Tickets:  $75; purchase your tickets here