Dinner by Design Calgary: A Sneak Peek at Sarah Ward’s ’80s Tablescape

This might be her first time participating in Dinner by Design, but we can’t wait to see Sarah Ward’s Memphis-movement-inspired tablescape.

It’s not often designers get to take on a project that isn’t driven by quality and durability. For Sarah Ward, agreeing to participate in Dinner by Design Calgary (held June 2 and 3) was the perfect opportunity to test out some slightly shady construction to showcase some totally playful ’80s-inspired décor (see inspiration board above!).“Our installation references the ’80s, so we’re using all those crazy pattern-on-pattern designs that you’re used to seeing from the Memphis movement,” says Ward, who’s participating in the event for the first time this year. “Our installation is very high-contrast and visually stimulating, which for an interior environment you typically don’t do because it drives you crazy and gives you anxiety.” (It seems we have DxD’s transience to thank for Ward’s eccentric exhibit).You can also expect a bold, highly complex ceiling and two walls—one a geometric graphic pattern and the other a faux marble wall—designed by Interiors to Inspire, one of the firm’s sponsors. While her firm’s DxD installation is vastly more eccentric than her day-to-day designs, it still draws from her travels and grasps the unique sentiments that can’t be captured in a photograph—atmosphere and three-dimensionality. Ward gets the bulk of her inspiration from her time abroad and the rest from her clients’ visions. “Oftentimes photographs are sort of edited versions of the truth. It’s amazing how different a space can look when you’re actually in it versus what a photographer captures.”

The Details:

Where: ACAD gallery, 1407 14 Ave. NW, CalgaryWhen: June 2 and 3Tickets: $75; purchase your tickets here.