Preview Party: ASID 2009 Design Tour

This year, the Orange County chapter of ASID selected the Center as beneficiary for its 2009 Design Tour. The Design Tour runs through May 17, and proceeds support the Center’s education programs. This year’s Design Tour started with a fabulous preview party at Astoria’s luxurious club house. Preview party guests began their evening with champagne and strawberries in the Astoria lobby, followed by special tours of the six penthouse lofts and two flats, all of which had been transformed by the hottest local interior designers into breathtaking urban retreats. The designers were on-hand to show off their creations and answer questions from guests. After the tours, everyone gathered in the club house’s lush resort setting for cocktails and dinner created by Turnip Rose Catering. In attendance were Center President Terry Dwyer, ASID Orange County President Diane Sparacino, ASID Design Tour Chair Laura Yorba, Orange Coast magazine President Jeff Ditmire and Intergulf Development’s Marketing Manager Michael Chious. For more information on the ASID 2009 Design Tour, please visit http://www.ocpac.org/home/Content/ContentDisplay.aspx?NavID=642.

Photos:
Top L to R: Terry Dwyer (Center president), Diane Sparacino (president, ASID Orange County), Irvine Councilman Steven Choi, Edward Sohn
Middle L to R: Laura Yorba (2009 Design Tour chair), Jeff Ditmire (president Orange Coast magazine), Diane Sparacino (president, ASID Orange County), Terry Dwyer (Center president)

Bottom L to R: Linda and Bob Thauer, Kathy and Cliff Fleming

ASID 2009 Design Tour: Urban Living at Astoria

The ASID 2009 Design Tour officially opens to the public Tuesday, April 21 but a couple of us got a sneak peek with Center President Terry Dwyer when he filmed an interview at the Astoria towers. And what we saw was spectacular! This year’s tour focuses on urban living for the first time and the ASID designers managed to capture the modern and cosmopolitan feel of a thriving metropolis in the six penthouse lofts and flats to be showcased in the tour. Astoria is a brand-new high rise complex in Irvine.

The views from the floor-to-ceiling windows were out-of-this world and the expansive indoor and outdoor spaces were full of cutting-edge design from green living to this year’s hottest colors and trends. One dining room had a large glass Dale Chihuly chandelier hanging above the dining room table and another dining space incorporated a sleek wine cellar. We saw leather walls, spa-like bathrooms with every amenity you could possibly imagine and enormous closets. In the living room of Penthouse 1301, there was a large glass cocktail table with a blown-up photo of the Center’s signature sculpture, Fire Bird, which is outside of Segerstrom Hall. It was a creative way to incorporate the tour’s beneficiary. Tour proceeds will benefit the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s acclaimed education programs which reach 500,000 students throughout Southern California.

There’s still time to get ticket to the preview party on Sunday, April 19. For more information on the tour (runs through May 17) and tickets to the preview party and other fun events, please visit: http://www.ocpac.org/home/Content/ContentDisplay.aspx?NavID=642