From business gatherings to weddings, club ballrooms must be both neutral and elegant enough to handle events of all kinds.
A club with distinctive character can stand out to a prospective member as he or she narrows down potential recreational and social options. But for a club’s event space to appeal to both members and guests, a blank slate that provides the opportunity for each function to create its individual aesthetic can be the best selling point.
This holds especially true for ballrooms, which must serve the widest array of purposes—hosting weddings, association meetings, business gatherings, and even smaller events like birthday and anniversary shindigs. That makes versatility—achieved by utilizing neutral colors, removable dance floors, air walls and outdoor spaces—a key design feature that helps provide maximum appeal.
SUMMING IT UP
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As many clubs now look to renovate or restore ballrooms that are tied closely to their history, and at the same time make the space more efficient and better prepared for a changing business, a major design challenge comes from the need to properly retain and reflect the property’s traditions, while still maintaining a neutral palette that can help every event create its own distinct impression.
Sharpening History
When The Union League of Philadelphia planned a much-needed redo of its main kitchen, which hadn’t seen a renovation since 1950, the club decided there would be no better time to update its historic Lincoln Hall ballroom as well, says General Manager Jeff McFadden.
During the planning process, the club discovered original drawings of the 6,000-sq. ft. ballroom, which was dedicated in 1913 with President William Howard Taft in attendance. No Presidents attended when Lincoln Hall was rededicated this year, but the club still sought to recreate and sharpen the historical significance of the space for its members and guests.
The gem of the renovated space sits 32 feet above the wood floor, hanging from the $1.6 million coffered ceiling. The ballroom’s original signature chandelier, which was used in the World’s Fair in 1876 and purchased by The Union League in 1881, was taken down, and 3,000 cracked crystals were replaced. Four smaller chandeliers now decorate the space as well.
“One of the members of a reciprocal club said there aren’t many ceilings like this one anymore—I told him we just put it in,” McFadden notes.
Below the ceiling, the renovated space’s concrete walls feature updated sound absorption and light-blue, Scalamandre fabric covering 70% of the area, with the remainder painted to resemble wood.
“It looks the way it should’ve been,” McFadden says.
However, the $3 million ballroom renovation has more to it than what members and guests will see at weddings and social events. To create more fluid service, the club added a substorage area below the main kitchen, and two vertical shafts run from the basement up through the second floor, where Lincoln Hall is located. This vertical design allows staff to efficiently change out chairs and reset the ballroom in under an hour.
“It has changed the way we serve,” McFadden notes. “We now have back-of-house access to both sides of the ballroom. It’s sort of like Disney Underground—we make moves without people seeing it.”
Discrete service and storage spaces were created by converting two closets in the back of the ballroom into pantries. A sound-barrier hallway services the kitchen, controlling light and sound as dishes are cleared and served.
Though Lincoln Hall does not divide into sections to host multiple events, The Union League also has two petite ballrooms, with one divisible by two sets of air walls, allowing it to be broken into three sections.
With seven event planners on staff, the club also documented the renovation through images and commentary in a blog, which can be found here.
“[The renovation] seems expensive for us, but that return on investment is probably going to be less than two and a half years,” McFadden says, noting that the ballroom is booked for the next year and a half, mostly for weddings.
Vintage Look
When Karen Schroeder, Catering Director at Flat Creek Country Club, and Patty Atey, Director of Construction for Sequoia Golf, describe the renovated ballroom space at the Peachtree City, Ga., property, the one word that consistently pops up is “vintage.”
“The space is new but rustic,” Schroeder explains. “It’s a hardwood a-frame, with brand new chandeliers and two walls of windows overlooking the golf course, to make it very open.”
The other two walls of the space are painted in an inviting and soft light gray, with ivory wall sconces. A dark cherry wood dance floor is used for weddings, and a space is designated for a DJ and wedding cake. For events such as golf tournaments, staff remove the dance floor, add a podium and situate tables around the perimeter of the room.
With 65% of Flat Creek’s revenue coming from weddings, it’s no wonder that special attention was paid to the bridal suite—a room just off the ballroom decorated with a teal chandelier, large mirrors, and a large vanity. “It’s young and fresh, and it’s a huge help in selling the space,” Atey says.
Back in the 3,500-sq. ft. ballroom, the club added seven vintage crystal chandeliers to highlight the exposed wood trusses, for what Atey describes as a “shabby chic” look.
Fresh Approach
For Walnut Creek Country Club’s latest ballroom renovation, the South Lyon, Mich., club “updated, freshened and stayed competitive,” says General Manager/COO Kevin Frantz.
Like many clubs that offer busy event planning spaces, the color scheme of Walnut Creek’s 4,610-sq. ft. ballroom is neutral, with draperies and moveable walls that help customize the space and allow different events to occur simultaneously.
Chandeliers, a sound system, canned lighting and carpet tile keep the space looking fresh from event to event. “Feedback has been very positive, and we’ve seen our wedding business increase,” Frantz notes. “The room is constantly changing.”
The club supplies portable staging and a snap-lock dance floor for events, allowing the on-staff banquet manager to be creative with locations and size while working with party planners, Frantz notes.
Ballroom Blitz
Member-owned Oakhurst Country Club in Pleasant, Ohio, has rented its ballroom space to a catering company, Two Caterers, for the past two years, and trusted the company to spearhead a 30-day ballroom renovation.
“It was ‘ballroom crashers’—like [the DIY Network show] ‘Kitchen Crashers’,” says Angela Petro, Two Caterers’ owner.
Before the renovation at the end of 2012, Petro says the building was “mid-century modern,” with stone facing and classical elements. But “all that character had been contracted out of it,” she adds, with non-period-specific, cheap-iron chandeliers, and a “mild” golf theme with “hunt prints.”
Smart ColorAs Oakhurst Country Club’s renovated ballroom attests, introducing a proper color scheme can be an effective and economical way to transform the look and feel of a space. When creating a color palette, colorists use various formulas to create harmony that establishes visual interest and a sense of order. Theories used to create a dynamic color equilibrium include:Complementary Colors
Analogous Colors
Triadic Colors
Split-Complementary Colors
Sources: Color Matters (http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/basic-color-theory) |
“Our intent was to re-establish the mid-century feel,” Petro says, describing the project as “ ‘Mad Men’ meets 2012.”
With the short timetable, Two Caterers sought to create the biggest impact with the least amount of construction work. The first step was working with a colorist to create a color pallette—a “splurge” that Petro says was well worth it.
“You need to work with people who understand paint,” she says. “You don’t want to take a guess and splat paint on the walls. [Working with a colorist] is the best money we spent on the project. The proper shades of paint reflected the personality of the building, so it was warm without clashing.”
The company overcame one hurdle—the carpet, which had hints of cranberry and hunter green—with inventive thinking. Choosing proper lighting and colors for the walls “neutralized” the dated carpet to make it “look like a gray,” Petro says.
Two Caterers refaced Oakhurst’s wood bar with flooring planks, and re-topped it with copper laminate. The back bar was faced with a mix of natural and glass tile, and the end of the curved ballroom was lined with subway tile.
Four exterior doors in the ballroom lead to an outdoor veranda that follows the curve of the building, Petro says. “A lot of people want an event outside with the option of going inside—so for us, the ability to have 300 people sitting outside on the patio is what made us so interested in this space,” she says.
Though Two Caterers rents the space, the company still required buy-in from the club’s management. “There was a huge amount of trust,” Petro says. “They said ‘we trust your vision,’ and allowed us to make all the decisions.”
Food & Beverage Director Gary Swallows vouches for the approach the club took with the renovation. “With the new lighting, glass tile, copper finishes on the bar and new seating, it was a major change for an outdated, but still beautiful, venue,” he says.
“I approached the situation as if we at Oakhurst and Two Caterers are one company providing a service, rather than a business leasing a space to another company providing a service,” he adds.
After the renovation was complete, members and guests came into the new space shocked at the changes. “It wasn’t like we gutted the place,” Petro says. “Bring in paint, custom shelving—good choices that make an impact.”
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