When the former visual director of Neiman Marcus in Palo Alto throws a party at his house, you’d expect the decor to be something special. But would you think he’d empty his Menlo Park cottage of furniture and transform the place into a swingin’ white cocktail lounge?

It was nothing but fun for Tim Ballengee, who filled the main rooms with white leather furniture last weekend, including a big round “daybed” in the middle of the living room. Oh, behave!

“I didn’t want it to feel like you’re going to someone’s house for a little party,” he said.

Hardly.

“It was mood altering,” said Grace Stewart of Menlo Park, who was the guest of honor. “You really felt you had been air-dropped right into a swish club in the center of the city.”

Four days earlier, Ballengee’s house was worthy of a photo shoot in itself. Filled with masculine, Ralph Lauren-inspired furnishings _ plus his own art studio _ Ballengee had mastered the rugged yet modern look. Certainly a great backdrop for any party. Well, it wasn’t quite right for Ballengee _ at least not for his friend’s surprise 40th birthday party.

Now, we all want to make a nice impression when we throw parties, don’t we? A nice floral centerpiece. Votive candles. A happy birthday banner (OK, maybe not).

But when Ballengee thinks party, it’s in his DNA to think differently.

“People entertain at their homes,” he said, “and they don’t know how to take it to the next level.”

Not everyone needs to start from scratch. Ballengee certainly had a pretty nice set up already with furnishings that included a Palecek leather ottoman, an Arte Italica lamp, and Jan Barboglio accent chairs in the dining room. His walls were splashed with some of his own big canvas abstract paintings.

Having worked for Neiman Marcus for 12 years, including his stint as visual director of the Stanford Shopping Center store until 2002, he was in charge of the whole appearance of the store, including holiday decorations and special events. For the last six years, he’s had his own business doing interior design, staging homes and shops, and orchestrating the decor of big bashes at country clubs as well as the private homes of the Peninsula’s elite. He’s pulled off Chinese New Year’s parties and Safari parties, replete with giant elephants and zebras rented from Theme Party Productions’ 25,000 square foot warehouse in Menlo Park.

But when it came time to planning his own party, he didn’t have a mansion or estate grounds to work with. But he knew his cozy dining and living rooms, plus his intimate backyard, would be just enough to host a party of 55 for a sit-down dinner.

So out went his dark, substantial furnishings into a storage truck _ including all the artwork off the walls _ and in came the swank.

Along with the low-profile white leather chairs and sofas he rented from Classic Party Rentals in Burlingame, he hung plain white artist canvases on the walls to echo the clean, white theme. (He bought them during Aaron Brothers “penny sale” and had them on hand from his studio.)

He took a trip to Ikea and loaded up on $3.99 and $12.99 black-and-white pillows. He placed John Derian glass platters from Emily Joubert in Woodside on the shelves and spray-painted white four octagon end tables and a coffee table he discovered during a “dumpster dive.”

After a trip to the San Francisco Flower Mart, he filled vases with white hydrangeas, calla lilies and tulips.

And that’s only the inside. Outside, he erected a clear plastic tent that enveloped the backyard. He strung white Christmas lights to the center of the tent and hung a chandelier. He served drinks from a white bar that lights up _ another Classic Party rental find _ and served dinner on black tablecloths with a white swirl pattern. Candlelight was everywhere.

Crank up the club music and you have a party.

Friends of Grace and Colin Stewart flew in from New York and and her hometown of Nashville. Fork and Spoon from San Francisco catered dinner and bebecakes of Redwood City served cupcakes for dessert.

The party, Grace said, was amazing. Her four children were guests as well, and while the adults had dinner outside, the kids sat on the big round daybed and watched a movie.

“He’s got a great eye for making things special,” she said. “He knows exactly where to pop the excitement.”

Tim’s Top Tips for Parties

“People have a lot of this stuff in their homes and don’t know how to use it,” Ballengee said.

1. Choose a Theme: Be inspired by food! Pull out grandma’s lace tablecloth and layer over red-and-white checkered oil cloth for spaghetti night. Pick up Chinese take-out containers at Smart and Final or Diddams in multiple colors and serve chicken salad with chopsticks or fill with fortune cookies for party favors.

2. Dig Through Your Shed and Garage: Got a discarded end table or cabinet? Spray paint it and use as a serving table or bar, or saw down the legs and put pillows on the floor for a real “sit down” meal. Drag out some bamboo floor mats from your beach days (or buy some at Pier One or Target) and layer them on table tops or sit on them for dining.

3. Shop Smart: Wander through hardware stores to find galvanized buckets for garden-inspired floral arrangements; buy lattice to fence off unattractive areas and create a more intimate space. Find great pillows at Ikea and other discount stores.

4. Layer Color and Textures: Stick with the palette of your home and go intense with monochromatic floral arrangements. Big bunches of red carnations in a hodgepodge of vases make a strong visual impact for a small price.

5. Candles, Candles, Candles: You can never have enough. Along with tea lights and votive, pick up tall prayer candles in glass jars from Safeway or your local Mexican market.

6. Know Your Local Party Rental Store: From Williams Party Rentals in San Jose to Classic Party Rentals in Burlingame, check out the variety of tablecloths and unique chairs for inspiration _ or go all the way and rent a Safari scene with a giant elephant or a Statue of Liberty for election night from Theme Party Productions in Menlo Park.

Update:

This post is featured in the San Jose Mercury News Home and Garden section here.

Here’s the complete slideshow:

This entry was posted on Friday, October 31st, 2008 at 9:20 pm and is filed under Art, Before and After, Bungalow, Decorating, Garden, Home Decor, Home and Garden, Inside Stories, Inside Story, Interior Design, Julia, Lighting, Modern, Painting, Wall Decor, Yard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.