As swag suites and heavily logoed retreats crowd Academy Awards-goers’ calendars, marketers are bringing in top designers to differentiate their events from the swarm of others.

Once upon a time, it was a fresh marketing idea to distribute products at swag-filled lounges and invite celebrities and the like to trot through. Not so much anymore. With so many of these swag suites and lounges crowding the Hollywood landscape, from the canyons to the strip, during Oscar week, organizers are now forced to get creative to pull top-tier celebrities and press onto their properties. How are they differentiating their events from the herd? This year, it’s all about top design.

For the third year, London and New York’s Soho House set up a temporary retreat in the hills above Sunset Boulevard. The private home (most recently used for an Entourage shoot) was completely empty, and the Soho House team revolutionized the space in shades of green, blue, and chocolate brown, with animal skins and horns abounding. The crew even painted some rooms. Designer Amanda Masters oversaw the decor again this year, bringing in unusual props and lighting. And George Smith—the permanent Soho Houses’ furniture provider—brought in all the upholstered furniture, about 60 pieces in all, valued at $500,000. He shipped from the U.K. 12- and 14-foot versions of the 40-foot chesterfield couch on the New York property. (The sofas alone are worth $40,000 or $50,000 each.)

George Smith showrooms in New York and L.A. will later offer the pieces for sale. “We’ve had offers on some of the pieces already. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t get too messed up,” said Michelle Thomas, a New York-based designer and the director of showrooms for George Smith. Of the look, she said, “The Soho House is dark and moody, but this time we wanted softer pieces. We kept it fresh with color.”

“We just wanted something different,” said Soho House’s Mark Somen. “We fly out 70 managers from New York and London. The cost is just over $1 million, which our sponsors help underwrite.” (He figures it’s worth it: While they’re here this week, Somen and his team are touring possible locations for a permanent space, planned for a couple of years out—and the pop-up is a way to court members in advance.)

Perhaps a less exclusive milieu, the Haven house is taking over the grounds of a sprawling Beverly Hills home this week, with vendors gifting during the day and studios and others throwing parties at night. The centerpiece of the extensive property is a tented lounge area—poolside, visible through a grand, windowed foyer—that features bright Moroccan decor, including jewel-toned tents from Raj Tents, crystal chandeliers hanging from a transparent roof, and plush lounge furniture from Classic Party Rentals. The feel is stay-a-while-before-you-go-on-to-the-next.

Even Sonya Dakar, a spa with limited interior space for additional decor, brought in innovative design for its four-day-long gift-giving event. Carrie Zack, who usually does weddings, designed a rooftop area with Square Root Designs that resembles a beachy Caribbean wedding, with white fabrics that billowed in the L.A. breeze and white flowers dotting the area. Just inside, white flowers in clear glass vases of all shapes and sizes evoked a chic apothecary. In the narrow downstairs hallway—off which vendors hawked their free wares—Zack used the stained-wood ledges along the walls as, simultaneously, clever decor pieces and catering trays. She got pretty desserts (including chocolate-dipped strawberries and crispy treats from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Santa Monica) and placed them on the ledges along with bright pink roses from Elizabeth Bailey. A hot-pink carpet (“very Legally Blonde-ish,” according to Zack) ran the length of the hall.

Not in the category of swag but nonetheless an Oscar lounge is Architectural Digest’s greenroom at the Oscars, where presenters can relax and nibble before and after the awards (and rehearsals). This is the first year that the Condé Nast pub has brought in an interior design firm to create an arty, high-design look. “We’ve created a room that’s based on the beauty of contrast, so you get a lot of dark and light, hot and cold, smooth surfaces and shiny,” said Frank Webb of design firm White Webb. “We’ve got a lot of antiques and art, and there’s more of a classical feeling—we’ve even got a pair of Italian marble legs from a Santa Barbara gallery.”

The color palette from Soho House can be found in AD’s greenroom, too. “The upholstery is very sleek—square sofas covered in silk seafoam velvet, and the whole room is chocolate brown,” said designer Matthew White. “There are chairs that are very French-deco in feel. It feels polished, clean, sleek, glamorous. All the previous greenrooms were very neutral—shades of white or gray. We wanted something with more punch to it. We wanted a richer, clubbier feel.”

Also new this year: The greenroom will indeed be green, with an emphasis on environmental sustainability. “We’re showing that green doesn’t mean granola anymore. What we’re trying to do is green chic,” Webb said.

—Alesandra Dubin

Return to Classic News