This bride-to-be(who is also an event planner) loved the chandeliers she designed for a previous party so much that she used them as inspiration for her own shower.
For an outdoor lunch, designer Miles Redd drew inspiration from the ocean, filling his table with glimmering objects and watery hues. "The table has an iridescent quality — like the inside of a seashell. Light dances, which gives the eye a lot to play upon and makes the whole dining experience so exciting."
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Layered Tablecloths
Media Platforms Design Team
"My father spent time in Africa in the 1930s and brought back beautiful artifacts and textiles that I grew up with," designer Ann Koerner says of this layered table. "To this day, I can't resist stripes like these, which were woven in Liberia and dyed with indigo. I love the colors, the textures, and how they layer with almost anything."
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Parisian Flair
Media Platforms Design Team
Camellias arch over an outdoor dining table paired with vintage French chairs. "Crisp hemstitch linen napkins, candlelight, jasmine in a 19th-century bowl — these are simple and refined luxuries," designer Lindsay Reid says.
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Painted Furniture
Media Platforms Design Team
The terrace at this home in the Bahamas is a favorite spot for dining with family and friends. "Our house is geared toward island life. It's full of tropical plants, shells, and lots of blue and white because it pairs beautifully with the color of the sea," Jackie de Ravenel says.
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Casual Elagence
Media Platforms Design Team
For a casual outdoor meal, Aaron Hom uses French 1940s glass goblets, everyday white plates, and his favorite vintage silver.
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Graphic Geometry
Media Platforms Design Team
For blogger Emily Henderson's baby shower, the theme was as simple as it gets: triangles. Everything from the tablecloth, the floors, garlands, and napkins had an angular shape.
"Even if I had the President of the United States over for dinner, I would serve him from my kitchen island," says Susanna Salk about entertaining via buffet. "Formal or casual — it's always lively." In this set up, ikat napkins and black bamboo-handled flatware are ready to grab-and-go.
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Matchy-Matchy
Media Platforms Design Team
"I love those voluptuous peonies and roses mixed with the fragile viburnums," interior designer Marshall Watson says. "I just gathered them from the garden and stuck them in that creamware footbath." Get the look by choosing a bouquet of monochromatic flowers and a matching vase.
Caroline is a writer and editor with almost a decade of experience. From 2015 to 2019, she held various editorial positions at Good Housekeeping, including as health editor, covering nutrition, fitness, wellness, and other lifestyle news. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism and dreams of the day Northwestern will go back to the Rose Bowl.