At the Table With Cabana
Wow – What a whirlwind! The last few weeks have been filled with joyful times with friends and lots of inspiration.
Hosting a ladies dinner at home was so much fun. My guest of honor, Martina Mondadori was visiting Dallas from Milan for Texas Design Week. It was fun to get to see her again and introduce my Italian friend to some of my Texas friends! A short time before I heard from designer Luisa Beccaria that she would also be in town with her lovely daughter Lucilla. Our table grew to include lots of vivacious Italian energy and I enjoyed every moment. Neiman Marcus did the catering and I think our out of town guests enjoyed our classic NM Popovers as much the local friends did.
I set the table with a beautiful tablecloth from Martina’s collection for her magazine’s website, CABANA and she gifted each of the guests a copy of the her new issue. I used the magnolia leaves from my collaboration with Weston Farms as the base for groupings of hydrandea. I added silver chargers from Christofle and Olde Avesbury dinner plates that were a part of my wedding registry over twenty years ago. I love them just as much today!
As we were honoring a lovely Italian friend, I asked calligrapher Lauren Jacks to make place cards from Lasagna noodles (uncooked of course!).
You might recognize this beautiful pattern as the Olde Avesbury pattern comes from an original pattern book noted as 1932, housed in the Royal Crown Derby Archives. The design has been adapted to take on many colour combinations over the years on tableware and giftware. My mother collectes the same pattern in gold and white but you might have also seen in in rust, blue, and more!
If you are on my email newsletter list or have seen my book, A Loving Table, you have seen this pattern on Jan Shower’s beautiful Thanksgiving Table…
Olde Aves is truly one of my favorite Fall patterns but there are so many others that I adore as well….
Some of my Fall Tabletop Favorites from Trunk Curated.
–Rambouillet by Gien was designed by artist Jean Bertholle in 1955 at the request of French President, René Coty. This hand-painted service set the tables of presidents staying at the regal chateau of Rambouillet during hunting outings but you can have it at home too! Each piece is a work of art, capturing the inner world of the deeply wooded Rambouillet forest and its creatures.
–Herend’s Rust Bouquet brings a touch of an earthy rust tone to a white background and feels fresh but autumnal.
–Bourg Joly Malicorne’s earthenware plates work all year but I love the warm white tone in the Fall on an solid tablecloth in an earth tone or rich eggplant.
-I’m crazy about the color and shape of these plates by CABANA. They call them burgundy but they are really a beautiful rusty color. I ordered them last week and can’t wait for them to arrive.
-The new colors of Ginori’s Oriente Italiano are dreamy! I have to admit it took me a moment to fall in love with them as I was so attached to the original bright colorways. Now, I adore them! The chocolate and taupe/cream with white are so elegant!