Town's influence on interior design celebrated with inaugural Palm Beach Design Days

Diego Diaz Lasa, Palm Beach Daily News
·3 min read
Palm Beach will soon welcome its first event series dedicated to interior design with the Thursday kickoff of Palm Beach Design Days. The event also coincides with the opening of a new Casa Branca Atelier and Showroom located in West Palm Beach
Palm Beach will soon welcome its first event series dedicated to interior design with the Thursday kickoff of Palm Beach Design Days. The event also coincides with the opening of a new Casa Branca Atelier and Showroom located in West Palm Beach

Grab a cocktail and learn about various subjects like coastal design, decorating with antiques and more during the inaugural Palm Beach Design Days.

The three-day event, which starts Thursday, is a celebration of Palm Beach's influence on designers, artisans and all things interior design, event co-founder Ellen Niven said. Tickets are sold out for all events, she said.

"I think Palm Beach has so many incredible interior design resources that have been unsung beyond the greater area of Palm Beach," said Niven, co-Founder of NivenBreen, the public relations company firm she leads, alongside Chesie Breen, that created the event.

She said the event's creation was fueled by lack of events dedicated to Palm Beach's interior design community.

"There are some wonderful institutions, like (the Society of) the Four Arts or the (Palm Beach) Preservation Foundation organizing single events, but we couldn't find any one event series that was 100% dedicated to interior design," Niven said.

Once they started to reach out to designers and editors, it was only a matter of time until they were inundated by experts excited to take part in the inaugural event, Niven said.

"We already secured our dates for next year, because we had so many people that wanted to participate that we couldn't accommodate for this year," she said.

The event also coincides with the opening of a new 4,000 square-foot Casa Branca Atelier and Showroom at 2410 Florida Ave., West Palm Beach.

Andrew Uihlien, president and co-founder to Casa Branca, said that beyond hosting panels for the upcoming event, the new showroom will serve as a hub for both local and out-of-state interior designers.

The company, which has a store in Palm Beach at 344 Worth Ave., was founded with his mother, renowned designer Alessandra Branca.

"Opening up the (new) atelier is a big shift for us, into becoming a resource for designers," he said. "We asked how can we capture the essence of her (Alessandra Branca's) approach, how can people be educated and how can we concentrate the discussion between all these designers into one place."

Palm Beach Design Days will feature over 40 experts discussing a variety of topics related to interior design, including editors from Architectural Digest, Luxe, Frederic, Galerie magazine, House Beautiful and Milieu.

Notable panels include Thursday's “Decorating with Antique & Vintage Finds" at Doyle Auctioneer & Appraiser’s new Palm Beach location at 210 Brazilian Ave. The panel features two mother-daughter pairs, McMillen Inc. President Ann Pyne and designer Elizabeth Pyne; and Rinfret Ltd. Principal Designer Cindy Rinfret and designer Taylor Stebbins, with Doyle’s CEO Laura Doyle serving as moderator.

Thursday also will feature a conversation between seasonal resident Alessandra Branca and Alison Levasseur, interior and garden editor for Architectural Digest, centered on curating and collecting, hosted at the Casa Branca Atelier’s new West Palm Beach.

Alessandra Branca will be taking the stage alongside Alison Levasseur, interior and garden editor for Architectural Digest for a conversation at the newly opened Casa Branca Atelier and Showroom situated in West Palm Beach.
Alessandra Branca will be taking the stage alongside Alison Levasseur, interior and garden editor for Architectural Digest for a conversation at the newly opened Casa Branca Atelier and Showroom situated in West Palm Beach.

Along with the panels focused on the artistry of interior design, the event will also include two Friday panels focused on "The Business of Design" hosted at Mabley Handler Home & Design's West Palm Beach showroom at 3516 S. Dixie Highway.

Palm Beach Design Days will conclude with "Shopping Saturday." Participants will be encouraged to shop at the 22 partnered shops in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach.

Participating shops from Palm Beach include:

  • Acquavella, 340 Royal Poinciana Way.

  • Casa Branca, 344 Worth Ave.

  • Dea, 341 Worth Ave.

  • Doyle, 210 Brazilian Ave.

  • Kofski Antiques, 315 S. County Road.

  • Palm Beach Atelier, 139 N. County Road, Suite 16.

  • Serena and Lily, 101 N. County Road.

  • The Colony Hotel, 155 Hamon Ave.

  • Summit Furniture, 225 Royal Poinciana Way, Suite 3.

  • Well Made Home, 306 S. County Road.

While registration for the events is closed, those interested in joining "Shopping Saturday" can learn more at palmbeachdesigndays.com, or email palmbeachdesigndays@nivenbreen.com.

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Inaugural Palm Beach Design Days celebrates all things interior design