Phenomenal Pharaohs

Is it rare to walk into a room and be awestruck to the point of not being able to speak? Not typically for me; however, after my talented staff lead by Roland Barbosa completed the set up for the Denver Art Museum in the Frederic C. Hamilton building that is exactly what happened.

The project, designed and inspired to create an authentic tomb fit for Kink Tutankhamun himself, was conceived for intimate dining space of 20 enthusiasts and dignitaries. The space is available for scheduling dinners and events by contacting Gravely Wilson at 720-913-2763.


With intense research, the room was sculpted from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Rich pigments of cobalt blue, clay red and sun yellow accented with thousands of gold leaf squares, burst forth the splendor of the room.

The fabrication of this tombs' elements pushed Design Works departments to the extreme. The hieroglyphic wall, with its authentic writings, was produced with our large format printer, printing on canvas and then adhering the canvas through a process to the walls of the museum. Our in-house seamstress constructed ribbons of ceiling baffles and entry drapes only royalty have pulled back. Our carpentry department engineered a module table with pedestals inspired by the relationship of Rome to Egypt. Together the table seats up to 24 or separated, they seat up to 40. The intricate stenciling around the perimeter of the table tops took our faux finishers endless hours of layer after layer.


Design Works floral team created an amazing, drop-dead, over-the-top display that impressed Dr. Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, stating the authenticity of the variety of fruits and floral including dates and papyrus were historically appropriate.


The exhibit opens to the public on July 1, 2010 and ends January 2, 2011. I hope you find time to attend one of the true wonders of the world!

Photo credits Michael Roffino

As many of you know, Design Works has led the local market with lounge furniture for many years now. We have fantastic and unique pieces ranging from contemporary to traditional in many colors, styles and especially price points. We are continuously adding to our collection and always looking for trend-setting pieces.
We have accumulated area rugs and accessories including floor lamps, coffee and end tables, pillows in a plethora of hues and textures, as well as means to make these spaces more intimate with sheer drapes and canopies.
Building our inventory, we’ve recently expanded to focusing on an outdoor collection that can be construed as transitional; when accented with market umbrellas and floral, it’s dynamic and vibrant.
Dabbling with creative table concepts, we have produced stunningly clean rectangular white lacquer tables with a central, recessed, plexi vessel capable of containing water and floating candles. In contrast, we designed and crafted rustic stained (both round and rectangular) tables accented with aspen/birch trunk legs and complemented with red dogwood branches. These table designs where created to step out of the box and give clients unique outlets, rather than the typical sixty inch round for their dining pleasure.
Spending both time and capital we are marketing a new advertising campaign focusing on lounge furniture with the tag line “The Original Chat Room”… look for it in new issues of Colorado Meetings and Events Magazine as well as Confetti, possibly 5280 and Weddings.
For more information, please visit our web site or contact a sales associate. We look forward to helping your networking needs.

I'm thrilled to be writing my first blog, and I want to WELCOME any potential followers and limited readers.

My name is Michael Roffino and I share ownership of Design Works by dave and mike with my business partner and long time friend, David Squires; together, we have been designing events for nearly 20 years and having a blast doing it, at least I think I am…. There are those days I wish I was still in bed sleeping when something so minor, but seems so huge at the time, goes awry. I have to say, all in all it has been an amazing ride.

This is the first of what I hope to be many blog entrees, and with a little perseverance and determination and feedback from my readers, that will come true. I have to apologize up front as I’m not the best writer, but I have so much to share, I will overlook and ask you do the same with any imperfections in my grammar and spelling. I have a saying… artists and designers are here to provoke emotion and make things look awesome, I leave the spelling and grammar to the editors.

I want to begin with an up and coming event, scheduled for mid July at a popular resort nestled in a sleepy tourist town made popular by a horror movie starring a young Jack Nicholson, The Shining. This is pertinent as it is the backdrop for a wedding that is befitting my young bride and groom, David and Mindy respectfully. This young, fun and creative couple brought to me by Kelly Karli of Frosted Pink Weddings, a spectacular event planner servicing the Rocky Mountain Region and equally as fun as my newlyweds, have a unique sense of style bordering on Goth.

David, with some graphic background, enjoys architectural and clean elements and gives great weight to the power and simplicity of a line, while his bride to be, loves life and brightens up a room with an effortless greeting. Together, they make the perfect clients; they encourage me to step outside of the box where we are creating a traditional ceremony of white, ivory and accents of black to appease the conventional in-laws, while allowing me total freedom to design the less traditional reception.

It is these unique events that give confidence to more exciting events, and with that in mind, this will be exciting!!!!

A color scheme incorporating black, silver and accents of red will transform this history filled venue into a unique setting for a delightful couple and their special guests.
Stay tuned….