The season for end-of-summer parties is approaching. As Houstonians prepare to pack away their swimwear, white linens, and tiki torches, end of summer fêtes are ramping up. Trusted event planning company Planned With has recently launched its sister company — the custom event rentals outfit named Helm House — just in time to make a splash.
Unlike traditional event rental companies, Helm House focuses on design-forward pieces that are fully customizable — down to the upholstery. Each piece in their finely-curated collections can be reupholstered on-the-fly, should a client require something a little more jazzy. Browse fabric collections from Nuage Designs, trimmings from luxury design house Samuel & Sons, and fun options from Chasing Paper to get a truly one-of-a-kind look.
In order to offer truly unique designs, the team at Helm House regularly shops the antiques fair at Round Top for accessories and lighting. Fixtures and other pieces are available from artists like Ken Bizzell of KB Design. His handcrafted works made of recycled tire rubber and other materials are a constant standout in the Excess tents during the fall and spring shows.
“We don’t want to do it cookie-cutter,” says co-founder and director of design Hannah Goetz. “We want it to be very niche, special, and unique. Really one-of-a-kind pieces that you can’t find anywhere else.”
Helm House will paint, paper, or vinyl wrap just about anything in its inventory, even offering custom vinyl designs for tabletops. The design team, led by Goetz, has taken the guess work out of the selections process by finely-tuning preset collections, should clients want a one-and-done experience. Helm House is certainly the first events company in the Houston and Austin market to allow clients to shop by vibes.
“We have collections. So, on the website there are ten collections, and for each of them there is a lounge set up, bar set up, and a dining set up,” explains Goetz. “You can just go on the website and it’s configured and designed and can be added to a wishlist. It’s just easy premade items if you want something pre-designed or even just to get some ideas. But each collection has those three spaces that people can just shop for. If a client really wants to customize fabrics or any pieces for the bars or tables, pillows, or anything like that, then we can provide that for them.”
One of the things that clients appreciate is the ability to work with an in-house interior designer. That being said, there are no pieces in the collections that aren’t design-forward, but with the ability to fully-customize any aspect of the project, it’s easy to get a little lost along the way.
“It depends on the client, but we are a full design house, so we offer those services to clients,” says Goetz. “If they need help with the actual design of the event, then we will present the full design space and say exactly where things are supposed to go. Then we will actually help implement all of the furniture on-site at the event.”
All of this flexibility comes at a price, of course. Helm House typically has a $5,000 minimum per project. As seen in the photo above, a table for six rents for $350. Customers can add a custom vinyl topper for $100 and place settings from $40-60 per seat, meaning place settings for a table of six run from $240-360 per day.
While clients are more than welcome to use their own event planners, the Helm House team’s experience with their sister company gives them a leg-up on other event rentals companies. Traditionally, the rental company will send items to the venue with a single delivery driver with no knowledge of the project. However, Helm House insists on being on-site for the delivery and to have the ability to make any necessary minor adjustments.
“We’ve found that people aren’t usually on-site who are actually part of the rental company, and we want to make sure that everything is placed where it should be, but also just that we are taking that off of our client’s hands,” explains Goetz.
Founder and CEO Emily Rudelson (Full disclosure: Rudelson once worked for CultureMap) wants to provide a rental experience that allows clients to feel that their space offers something different — better sight lines, frames, fabrics, and place settings and linens that feel anything but temporary.
"We started Helm House because we felt there was a void in the market. We were constantly inspired by the incredible design in restaurants, hotels, and boutique spaces, but that same level of thoughtful furniture simply wasn't available for events,” explains Rudelson. “Helm House was built to change that: bringing hospitality-inspired design to the event industry through elevated, design-forward rentals that can also be customized. From fabrics and finishes to one-of-a-kind details, we want every client to have the opportunity to truly make it theirs.
“As the founder of Planned With, I also love that I now get to furnish our own events with pieces we truly believe in, while Helm House operates as its own independent rental company serving planners, designers, brands, venues, and clients across Texas. We believe rentals shouldn't feel rented; they should feel like they were designed specifically for your event.”
