Although a lot people don’t use our dining rooms frequently (I am more of a sofa and coffee table gal myself), the area still wants to be bold and exciting. For October’s Serving Up Style 2012 fundraising event in Portland, Oregon, 20 designers generated spaces which practically kick you off the sofa. By a hot air balloon into a Lego sculpture into a reinvented retro design, over-the-top elements figured in every one of those inspirational dining rooms.

Tell us Which of those spaces is your favorite? Let us know by voting for the People’s Choice winner. The deadline is seven p.m. Pacific Standard Time, October 7, 2012. (Click on the first photo to see a slideshow.)

Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc..

La Vie Bohéme
Design team: Garrison Hullinger Interior Design

An exaggerated chevron design made of sticky notes, lighting fixtures fashioned from water bottles, and a Lego rhino head offset a sleek Saarinen table in this dining room. Inspired by a contemporary and affordable spin on the bohemian way of life, Garrison Hullinger Interior Design made a sudden space that will feel at home in Paris’ ninth arrondissement.

Suggested menu: Tandoori fish taco with curried potato and peas samosa.

Abode Design

Boho Artistry
Design team: Rejuvenation and Abode Layout

Inspired by the forward thinking of the 1960s, this design team developed a space that could host your favorite Mad Men. Curated having an imaginary world traveler and artist as its owner, the room’s gallery wall and treasures (such as the blue classic Blenko table lamps) provide it personal and diverse taste.

Suggested menu: Meatloaf, peas and Jell-o salad.

Diane Keaton Interiors

Breakfast in Bed
Design team: Diane Keaton Interiors

When designer Diane Keaton found a sizable, soothing beachfront photo to fill this space’s doorway (at left), she didn’t see it accompanying a normal dining table and chairs. Instead she envisioned a romantic breakfast in bed, using a door opening into a clear view of the beach.

Suggested menu: Champagne, fresh fruit, croissants.

Jason Ball Interiors, LLC

RetrØ 12: Yesterday Once More
Design team: Jason Ball Interiors

This design team based this chamber on the query, What will 1970s design look like when the ’70s took place today? Using today’s stuff, technologies and design fashions, Jason Ball Interiors reinterpreted the expression of a 1970s dining room. A classic console outfitted with an LCD TV, a stereo console having an iPod dock and wood paneling unite to recreate a retro look for a modern family.

Suggested menu: A family breakfast to begin the day off right.

CoCo Designs

A Penny for Your Thoughts
Design team: CoCo Designs

Part abstract painting, part bold dining room, Coco Designs utilized the tiled outside of the Museo Soumayo in Mexico City as inspiration for this particular half wall tiled with pennies. The remaining portion of the design facilities around the painting of a lady, resulting in a room which can thankfully host guests with a daring sense of style.

Suggested menu: Filet mignon, an aged cognac and a badly decadent dessert.

Urban I.D. Interior Design Services

Dinner at Tiffany’s
Design team: Urban I.D.

Though Holly Golightly dreamed of a luxurious life in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, she regularly resorted to eating her simple breakfast in front of Tiffany’s. Urban I.D. made an elegant dining room — complete with an Audrey Hepburn portrait — which will fulfill all Holly’s dreams.

Suggested menu: Anything from herb-crusted pork with sautéed veggies and flambé, to weekday meals of pasta and salad.

Ida York Interior Design

Where to Next?
Design team: Ida York Interior Design

Envisioned as a luxury hot air balloon basket, this space permits guests to envision themselves eating a picnic meal in a starry sky. Luxurious components put together by Ida York Interior Design communicate this theme, such as wicker chairs instead of a picnic basket and an animal hide to substitute the blanket.

Suggested menu: A picnic meal of exotic cheese and fresh fruits paired with the wines that are perfect.

J. Myers & Associates

Smell, Sip, Smile …
Design team: J. Myers & Associates

For most food and wine lovers, the ultimate meal would happen at a beautiful winery. J. Myers & Associates used that experience as the beginning point for this particular room, considering how a fantastic winemaker preps the food while the guests see, sip wine and respect the vineyard view.

Suggested menu: A seasonal and local farm-to-table meal.

Interiors by Blackwood

Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains?
Design team: Interiors by Blackwood

Named after a publication the designer had when she was young, this chamber brings magical castle ruins to life, complete with a starlit picnic feast and clouds of delicate artificial butterflies.

Suggested menu: French bread, fine meats, cheeses, fruit and wine or champagne.

Art Institute of Portland

An Appetite for Wonder
Design team: The Art Institute of Portland’s Interior Design Program, supplied by Ikea Portland

A host in this room are more likely to serve cake compared to steak for dinner. The team from the Art Institute of Portland designed it as a child’s fort under the table. An additional version of fuzzy grown-up legs sits just to the right of the room. A swing serves as the head of the desk, while plush blankets and sheepskins make it possible for children to eat around the ground.

Suggested menu: Cake for dinner. Or some other food item that is fun to play with, such as mashed potatoes.

Modurne Fine Furnishings & Funktional Interiors

Jane + Tarzan’s Hollywood Retreat
Design team: Modurne Fine Furnishings + Funktional Interiors

After finding an amazing leopard and zebra tea collection, Modurne Fine Furnishings wanted a room to match. A sophisticated “Hollywoodland” glamorous version of Jane and Tarzan seemed to fit the bill. Black and white chevron-painted floors and walls function as a contemporary interpretation of a zebra print, while a custom “Hollywoodland” print generates the ideal view.

Suggested menu: Steak tartare and bananas flambé.

Terrance Mason Interiors

Lost & Crowned
Design team: Terrance Mason Interiors

Terrance Mason found himself intrigued by the concept of objects with past lives and their related stories, and designed this decadent dining room round the one-of-a-kind classic wooden cog chandelier. Old papers serve as custom wallpaper, giving the space a storied sense.

Suggested menu: A luxurious meal of pheasant, lobsters and anything else that is decadent

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR

The Fine Art of Dining
Design team: Pangaea Interior Design

Pangea Interior Design combined painting, sculpture, food and lighting as a representation of the fusion of the arts, emphasizing that art isn’t just what ends up in a museum. The colour palette, design and tablescape all ring back into one of those designer’s own acrylic paintings on the far wall.

Suggested menu: An Oregon pinot noir, grilled salmon with a cherry decrease, mashed potatoes and toasted hazelnuts. For dessert chocolate truffles.

LOOPTWORKS

Sustainable Lifescape: Changing the Conversation, Artful Living Without Extra
Design team: LooptWorks

True to its Portland origins, LooptWorks designed a dining room that reflects preservation by using upcycled, reclaimed or salvaged materials. While the team wanted to define the room with partitions, they didn’t wish to squander gutters, so they found utilized drywall from demolished jobs.

Suggested menu: Field-to-table fresh, organic, healthy and flavorful food. Everything should be seasonal, renewable and from local farmer’s markets.

Wendy O’Brien Interior Planning & Design

Merry Marry!
Design team: Wendy O’Brien Interior Planning & Design

Imagine an impromptu proposal near the peak of a Ferris wheel — how do you want to observe afterward? This scene ordered the design for designer Wendy O’Brien’s dining room. The team went with a Victorian-chic colour scheme and mimicked the motion of carnival rides with carousel horses in varying heights.

Suggested menu: A toast with Dom Perignon and a primary course of poached salmon with mousseline sauce and pineapple and lobster croquettes, followed with a swirled cotton candies and chocolate wedding cake with buttercream frosting for dessert.

JQ Design

Beyond Nourishment
Design team: JQ Jonquil-Design

JQ Jonquil-Design infused this dining room with tree-inspired shapes in a variety of materials. With a chandelier as the headboard, the room’s decor reflects in the windows, doors and mirror, enhancing each bit’s visual impact.

Suggested menu: Mint juleps with quartz-crystal-shaped ice cubes, and a meal made out of all-fresh produce.

Digs inside & outside

Michaelmas: The Fall Festival of St. Michael
Design team: digs indoors & out

As fans of Jane Austen’s work, the designers at digs indoors & out created a room which would honor the writer’s references to the festival of St. Michael and the arrival of the fall harvest. After finding the slightly spooky infant doll sconces and bold orange velvet chairs, the team featured their love of all things orange, comfy and fall related into this area.

Suggested menu: A conventional Michaelmas feast of roast goose, wild carrots, fresh baked bread and punch.

Stated Interior Design

Once Upon a Time …
Design team: stated Interior Design

Rustic and dark, this room’s design investigates the bizarre world of children’s fairy tales. Dark and dreamy portraits by Portland photographer Kim Campbell set the tone, while a rustic table setting and dinnerware communicate the forest settings of youth tales.

Suggested menu: Straightforward roasted chicken, potatoes, fresh green salad, bread and a bottle of French wine. For dessert, a rustic apple tart.

The Room Stylers, LLC

Nature’s Sky Box: Where City Chic Meets Rural Rustic
Design team: The Room Stylers with Anne Runde Interiors and Everyday Styling

This style team needed their space to catch the essence of what makes Portland a Fantastic place to live. Repurposed pallet boards and reclaimed decking replicate a dedication to green dwelling, veggies from the designers’ gardens signify a love of local foods, and a tasteful mirror on a mural of the Portland skyline highlights the city’s urban nightlife.

Suggested menu: Hazelnut-crusted Dungeness crabcakes with grilled root vegetables, garden greens with fresh raspberry puree and butternut squash soup, and poached pears Moonstruck dark chocolate.

Dyer Studio Inc..

Annica: The Buddhist Concept of Impermanence
Design team: Stephanie Dyer Interior + Product Layout with Harding Construction

The saturated blue hues, gold accents and angled walls in this stunning space cover tribute to the designer’s reflection on life’s impermanence — an element of Buddhism that is comforted her through tough times. Deep blues represent despair, whilst gold represents hope. The poufs and low chairs floor the blurred visual lines between the ground and the low table, while a well-dressed mannequin reflects the more couture side of the room.

Suggested menu: A searchable seasonal menu based on sudden flavor pairings and many communal dishes which promote parties to consume together.

Event info: Serving Up Design is a fundraising event and design showcase at the Yearly Portland Fall Home & Garden Show. Proceeds benefit Molly’s Fund Struggling Lupus.

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