ENTERTAINING EVERYDAY entertaining

Tastemakers Green Room: The Celebrity Gift Lounge at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival

tastemakers green room at the international film festival by the designer guys

The latest episode of HGTV’s Designer Guys was just in time to close my Earth Day coverage. The Designer Guys were called to give shape to the Tastemakers Celebrity Gift Lounge at Toronto International Film Festival 2007. Reusable, reclaimed and recycled act as the foundation.

My favorite ecological foundation, the World Wildlife Fund-Canada was official charitable partner. They raise funds and provides information for their Save Our Climate campaign.

Located in a 1250 square foot banquet room at InterContinental Toronto Yorkville hotel, the room had a temporary facelift to fit the event.  The facelift required the use of temporary solutions that would not damage the original surfaces.

Whenever you host a large event, a total superficial facelift is something you can envision doing if you have a huge budget. This way the banquet room does not dictate a look of your event. Naturally, you need to rent your space from a flexible space provider. The banquet room has to be booked for a longer period. For example, the chandeliers and the drapes were removed from the room for the green event. The hotel needs time before and after to execute it. You can imagine that the supplementary costs can add on pretty fast.

Changing the Face of a Banquet Room

The traditional pattern rug on the room really clashed with the green design. Therefore, a cork floor was installed on top of the rug. Since the floor is installed with a clapping system without glue or nails, you can remove the floor as easily as you put it. It also improves the sound quality of the room as the cork sub-surface absorbs more sound. If you plan a large event or need to set up a trade show, a cork floor like this is a wonderful solution.

A living wall was installed by Elevated Landscape Technologies. I like the idea. But the plants used could have been cuter; it was too much wild flower for me. The most daring and successful element from my viewpoint is the giant art installations made of insulated concrete forms from Greenblock. The insulated concrete forms cover entirely the perimeter walls. It completely redefined the space. Again, this is an idea to borrow of you want to design a booth for a trade show.

As the founder of the Tastemakers Celebrity Gift Lounge, Debra Goldblatt talked about the need to educate and create even more awareness within the movie community:

There has never been a better trend than everybody attempting to go GREEN. We not only wanted to continue providing visiting talent a great Canadian lounge to visit, but during a week of frivolity and fun, use this opportunity to support a charity and continue educating others!

The three Designer Guys, Allen Chan, Anwar Mukhayesh and Matt Davis met the expectations of Debra Goldblatt, the president of Rock It Promotions. I invite you to read the article on BizBash Toronto to learn more about the eco-friendly products that were used in the Tastemakers Green Room.

More Green Living Ideas

To do your part for the environment on a daily basis, check out my latest posts on green living:

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Learn more: Tastemakers Celebrity Gift Lounge Goes Green on BizBash Toronto