The Ultimate Guide To A Steampunk Theme Event

Steampunk is a fantastical reimagining of the 19th century and it’s a style that has taken over films, animation, video games, and events the world over.

The strange merging of Victorian architecture, vaudeville, and fantasy allows for some truly creative designs and it can be used to highlight what’s so fantastic about a venue.

You can take guests to a new world they’ve never been to before while presenting them with a refined evening where even the decorations are entertainment.

In this guide, we’ll look at what it takes to make the perfect steampunk theme, including lighting, decorations, and creating the perfect atmosphere.

What Is A Steampunk Theme?

You might not be sure of what steampunk is but it’s likely you’ve come across its aesthetic.

Popular films such as Wild Wild West, Hugo, Atlantis, and A Series of Unfortunate Events all draw from it, as do many anime films such as Howl’s Moving Castle and Steamboy and video games such as Bioshock and Dishonoured.

As the name implies it takes inspiration from the era of the steam engine but it imagines a world where steam engines were used in place of electricity to power the world.

The style is derived from the gothic and neoclassical designs of the Victorian era up to the art deco architecture of the 1920s. The ‘punk’ part of the name comes from the way these designs are enhanced to appear anarchic and cartoonish.

Getting Started

A steampunk theme works very well in 19th and early 20th century venues, venues with baroque or classical-style architecture, as well as many museums, universities, and buildings with extravagant engineering structures.

It can be used for a variety of events but it’s particularly well suited to conferences, product launches, and end of year parties where you want to create a feeling of curiosity, adventure, and invention.

It’s also perfect for theatrical events such as murder mystery nights and escape room style parties.

Steampunk is a favourite theme for entertainers as it fits in well with the acts of many circus performers, artists, and musicians. When you’re looking for a theme that you can go all-out with, then steampunk is the ideal choice.  

Decorations And Designs

To create the feel of a fantasy steam world you’ll want to use imagery of cogs, clocks, and to make use of brass-coated furniture. Old-fashioned lamps such as bankers lamps are perfect as are old travel trunks, drink cabinets, apothecary drawers, and leather seating.

Golden age trains such as the Orient Express give a good model for the type of table wear, furnishing, and style you might want to use. Vaudeville and older circuses also offer ample inspiration in their posters and style.

To really get a steampunk feel you want to create the feel of older machines using pistons, pipes, and mismatched engine parts. The original illustrations for War of the Worlds are the type of machines you should be aiming for.

Centrepieces And Lighting

You want colours that make use of gold, dark leather browns, and bottle green.

The lighting for a steampunk themed event should match the design colour scheme with browns and greens, but you can also use deep blues and purples to really immerse guests in the feel of your world.

A steampunk world shouldn’t feel too brightly lit and you want the event to have a smoky and mysterious feeling.

A custom-made centrepiece will work fantastically well at a steampunk event as there is a huge range of choices for the theme. You can try a spindly lamp that appears to be gas-powered, an art deco globe of light, or any statement piece you can dream up.

At Table Art, we make lit centrepieces that can be controlled remotely so that you can have total control over the colour of the lighting and you can change it through the night to match the atmosphere.

To give you more ideas about the centrepiece possibilities you can look at some of our past creations for inspiration.

A Night For The Ages

A steampunk theme is always a guest favourite and it allows for designers and organisers to really push their creativity to come up with intriguing designs. It will get venues looking their best and it gives you the chance to indulge in brilliant decorations and furniture.

If you are looking for something that will get people talking and will feature well on social media, then steampunk is a good choice.

At Table Art, we specialise in steampunk themes and you can arrange for a consultation today to help create your perfect event.