Hayneedle & Interior Designer, Evette Rios, Win Best in Show Award at DIFFA Dining By Design

OMAHA, Neb. and NEW YORK, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --The home design duo of Hayneedle.com, a leading online retailer of home and lifestyle products, and interior designer, Evette Rios, won the American Society of Interior Designers' (ASID) Imagine Top Pick Award as Best in Show for the Hayneedle by Evette Rios table at the 2011 DIFFA Dining By Design event in New York City, March 17 – 21, 2011.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110323/NY70273 )

DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS is one of the country's largest supporters of direct care for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventive education for those at risk.  DIFFA Dining By Design is an annual event that brings together internationally celebrated designers and local talent to create three-dimensional dining installations that awe, inspire and delight.  For the third year, the event was held in conjunction with the Architectural Digest Home Design Show at Pier 94 in New York City.

Hayneedle.com partnered with Evette Rios to create a dream-like dining environment for DIFFA Dining By Design 2011, which gave guests the experience of dining inside a twilight summer rain…without getting wet!  Evette Rios is an interior designer, lifestyle expert, and regular contributor to Everyday with Rachael Ray, the Rachael Ray Show and NBC's TODAY, among others.  

"Hayneedle.com was such a pleasure to work with for DIFFA Dining By Design and I'm so incredibly honored that our table was recognized by ASID as their Imagine Top Pick Award winner," said Rios.  "I wanted to create a space that brought guests outside with the sounds of rain and the smells and colors of the outdoors. Blues, grays, silvers and reflective surfaces gave the environment a fresh, modern feel.  The 10-foot pergola rose above guests' heads to create an outdoor room, and walls of rain lit in cobalt blues helped define the space.

"Hayneedle.com's incredible selection of outdoor furniture made finding the perfect pieces easy from table to chairs to lighting and helped me create a whimsical, sensory experience for our guests," concluded Rios.

Among the products from Hayneedle used by Evette Rios to create the summer rain dining experience were the Sierra Douglas Fir Pergola, Calligaris Parisienne Dining Chairs, Ravenscroft Amplifier Mineral Water Long Stem Wine Glass, and the Oval Resin Eye Am 25-inch Planter.

"Evette is an exceptionally talented and visionary designer who also happens to be a wonderful, giving and down-to-earth person to boot," said Jason Goldberger, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Merchandising and Site, Hayneedle.com.  "We were thrilled to join the incredible group of design industry luminaries in supporting DIFFA at Dining By Design 2011 and are humbled that our collaboration with Evette Rios was chosen by ASID as best in show."

DIFFA Dining By Design invites creative individuals and design oriented companies from all fields and disciplines to create installations. Past participants included top architects, interior designers, fashion designers, floral and landscape artists, graphic artists, event producers, retailers and design schools. Margaret Russell, Editor in Chief of Architectural Digest, was honored at this year's DIFFA Dining By Design Gala on March 21st.  Russell was the driving force behind the emergence of Dining By Design and instrumental in shaping it into the event it has become today

DIFFA is one of the top 50 funders of HIV/AIDS service organizations in the world. DIFFA has mobilized the immense resources of the design communities and granted over $38 million to hundreds of AIDS service organizations nationwide.  Proceeds from DIFFA's fundraising events and other initiatives fund preventative education programs targeted to populations at risk of infection, treatment, and direct-care services for persons living with HIV/AIDS and public policy initiatives which add resources to private sector efforts.

About Hayneedle

Established in 2002, Hayneedle.com offers an extensive selection of high quality home and lifestyle products, far surpassing what is available in the traditional retail world or from other online retailers. By providing a rewarding shopping experience, exceptional service, true product variety and the right content to buy with confidence, Hayneedle.com helps customers find what they love and love what they find. The company has been recognized by Internet Retailer and Inc. Magazine as one of the top online retailers and fastest growing companies in America. Hayneedle.com is privately held and funded by Insight Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital. For more information, visit http://www.hayneedle.com.

SOURCE Hayneedle