A New Color Palette of Holiday Decor

A Christmas Tree of Scrolling 'Synthetic Glass' Ribbon in Copper tones.

New Omni Dallas Hotel Holiday Scene

Dallas' newest landmark, the Omni Dallas Hotel adjacent to the convention center, presented thirteen 10-ft brilliant-red holiday ornaments on the front lawn for the holiday season. Design Solutions of Dallas has created a spectacular holiday ornament display welcoming visitors to the new hotel. The ornaments are each 10-feet tall and weigh 1,300 lbs. Ten of the ornaments are whimsically stacked on each other, towering more than 30-feet and complemented with a whimsical hand-sculpted gold-leafed ribbon.
The display was created by Stephen Stefanou, president of Design Solutions, who was inspired by the renowned Swedish sculptor, Claes Oldenburg, best known for his public art installations featuring large replicas of everyday objects.

A13-ft Pinecone

Design Solutions was commissioned to create a gigantic 13-ft pinecone, Claes Oldenberg-style, for a Nevada residence. This 'Ponderosa' pinecone was hand-sculpted in perfect scale down to the smallest detail. The visiting guests experience a wonderful, whimsical surprise peeking out of the woods as they approach the custom home.

Design Solutions creates a custon display for a Math & Science event hosted by First lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden.


Advanced Placement courses in math, science and English will be added to 28 more schools in military communities across the United States through a partnership between the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) and First Lady Michelle Obama's Joining Forces initiative to support military families.
Mrs. Obama commended Americans across the country who are stepping up to provide help for military families and singled out the National Math and Science Initiative for Military Families, which is bringing AP courses to Fountain-Fort Carson High School next fall for the first time. "NMSI is working with the Department of Defense and the private sector to expand this program to you," she said. "We're thrilled about this effort and thrilled about how this effort is going to affect students like you...an education in math and science can put you on the path to success in any field you can imagine."
Mrs. Obama made the announcement Thursday at Fountain-Fort Carson High School, which will offer the successful Advanced Placement program for the first time next fall. The expansion brings the number of schools in military communities offering Advanced Placement courses to 32, which has seen a 97 percent increase in passing rates on AP math, science and English exams

NOTED DESIGNER ON DISPLAY

DHome Magazine : Dallas' Best Designers

by Peggy Levinson

Noted designer Stephen Stefanou may hang his hat in Dallas, but he makes the impossible possible all over the world.

Catching up with Stephen Stefanou is not an easy feat considering how fast he moves. And thinks. And talks. Stefanou created larger-scale displays around the world in places like Rockefeller Center. And he's done it for 30 years. He's responsible for the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He also created a cranberry bog in the shape of the Olympic circle using 13 million cranberries for the Olympics in Vancouver.

Q: If you could do anything in Dallas, what would it be?

A: I would transorm the new Woodall Rodgers Park into a Rockefeller Center, complete with a decorated 100-ft tree. I would construct vertical greenery walls all around the Arts Center to define it and creates some excitement. People won't come back if there's notherin to talk about.

New Heights of Style & Design

The IAPD Magazine

by Chad Frazier & Pam Taylor

The magic of the holidays inspires the child in us all. For Stephen Stefanou, president and design director of Dalllas-based Design Solutions, capturing this sense of magic through dramatic art installations is tradition.

Well known for his work developing monumental seasonal displays at sites including Rockefeller Center in New York, MGM Grand in Detroit, and the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, Stefanou used the Crystals high-end retail environment at CityCenter, Las Vegas, to unveil the Kinetic Twisters sculptures made possible with the help of Eastman Chemical Company.

Filling the vast contemporary space of the Crystals' architecture required a sculptural design that complemented its environment. Combining Crystals' prestigious reputation for elegance and grandeur set the bar high for Design Solutions as it began bringing its larger-than-life design to reality.

"Since the Kinetic Twisters is a winter holiday installation, our goal was to create the singular emotional experience of being surrounded by awestruck wonder -- just like a small child feels during the holidays," says Stefanou. " The design was inspired by an Italian chandelier, and we wanted to capture that beauty of art glass on a truly grand scale."

The Kinetic Twisters design includes 600 strips of sparkling red and silver material extending as far as the 60-ft from the ceiling, twisting and moving with airflow in the cavernous Crystals environment. The desired result for shoppers equates to being enveloped in ribbons on Christmas morning.

Material specification trial and error:

Creating the Kinetic Twisters required astute planning and extensive material experimentation. Given the unique artistry of the sculputre and required criteria for material selection, several desgn concepts satisfying a variety of objectives and budget constraints were developed and modified to meet the desired outcome.

Despite years of searching for the perfect material to make its dream a reality, Design Solutions unveiled the Kinetic Twisters in the Crystals in Las Vegas' CityCenter in time for the 2010 holiday season. By selecting the proper material, Design Solutions ensured the beauty of its sculpture will last throughout the four month international winter holiday season.

From the onset, I set out to make the Kinetic Twisters design as complicated and distinctive as possible by adding as much artistry and skill as possible," Stefanou said. "From a design perspective, this whole process was as much about failure as it was about success, and with the expertise and assistance provided by Eastman throughout, we were able to create a stunning reality out of our concept."

Children celebrate Chinese New Year at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino

MGM Grand Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas celebrates the 2011 Chinese New Year in a Grand way.

February 3, 2011

'Children' frolic and play in a scenic display honoring Chinese New Year. Each child figure, created by DESIGN SOLUTIONS of Dallas, is dressed in traditional festive Chinese costumes of brilliant color with accessories of traditional red Chinese lanterns, fish kite and parasol. The children remind everyone it is a time of year to be joyful and playful in celebrating the family and its ancestry.

The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it's been called since the 20th century, remains the most important social and economic holiday in China. Originally tied to the lunar-solar Chinese calendar, the holiday was a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family together for feasting. With the popular adoption in China of the Western calendar in 1912, the Chinese joined in celebrating January 1 as New Year's Day. China, however,continues to celebrate the traditional Chinese New Year, although in a shorter version with a new name.