From design to delivery

Every setup begins long before the day itself. By the time the family arrives, the room has already been drawn, redrawn, sourced, sampled and rehearsed in my head a dozen times. This is a quick walk-through of what that process actually looks like — using a recent dinosaur-themed celebration for Ayaan as the example.

It starts with a sketch

Once a brief comes in — the child's age, the venue, the things they love — the first piece of work I produce is a render like the one above. It's deliberately illustrative rather than photo-real. I want the family to be able to read it at a glance: the arch shape, the dinosaur cutouts, where the balloons sit, which props go where, and crucially the colour palette.

For Ayaan's setup the palette was the first thing we agreed on — sage, soft green, butter yellow, warm terracotta and a cream neutral underneath. Everything that came after, from the latex finishes to the tone of the cardboard cutouts to the moss on the crates, was chosen to sit inside that palette.

Balancing immersive with overwhelming

The brief on this one — and on most of the children's parties I style — was to feel immersive without being overwhelming in the space. That's the line I spend most of my design time on.

Practically, it means a few things. Layered textures rather than pattern (matte balloons, wood-grain crates, real foliage, burlap-toned panel). One hero feature — the arch — with the dinosaur cutouts as supporting characters around it, not a second hero. And negative space deliberately left between installations so the room reads composed rather than busy.

Sourcing and sampling

Once the render is signed off, the next two weeks are sourcing. The cardboard dinosaurs are cut and painted in-studio so the tones match the palette exactly — off-the-shelf cutouts almost never sit right. The crates are real wooden explorer crates, stencilled and weathered so they look like they belong in a jungle expedition rather than a homeware shop. The moss and foliage is a mix of preserved and faux — preserved on top because it photographs well, faux underneath because it lasts for the install and teardown.

The balloons are last. Latex is biodegradable, mixed sizes and finishes (matte, soft pastel, deeper sage) so the garland reads as organic rather than rhythmic. Every balloon goes up by hand on the day.

Delivery day

Install for a setup like this is around four hours, sometimes five. The arch panel goes up first because everything else is composed around it. Then the cardboard dinosaurs are positioned — the brontosaurus reaching over the panel, the stegosaurus low and forward, leading the eye into the scene. The crates, foliage and pedestal are styled in next, then the balloon garland is built in place rather than pre-made. Last is the name sign, lit and slotted into the foliage.

I always do a final ten-minute walk around the setup before the family comes in. That's the part the render can't quite predict — how the natural light is hitting the arch, whether one balloon needs to come down a few inches, whether the foliage wants pulling forward to soften an edge. By the time the door opens, the room is doing exactly what the sketch promised it would.

Why I love this part

Seeing the ideas come to life is always my favourite part of the job. From the first sketch through to the finished setup, it's about creating something that feels considered, personal and ready for those moments families will remember. Ayaan's setup is a good one to talk through because the render and the finished room read as the same image — and that only happens when the design work upfront has been honest about what the space and the budget can hold.

If you're planning a birthday and would love something designed from the ground up around your child — not picked from a package — tell me what you have in mind. The first sketch is always free.

— Laura