When we have a guest come from out of town, we love to host a dinner in their honor. There is just something about opening your home and cooking a meal that brings folks together in a relaxing & intimate way. In this case, it was to thank Jenine Ferrari from Dempsey & Carroll for coming out from New York and putting on a fantastic trunk show at the shop.

I have been wanting to use these really cool faux bois melamine plates we sell at the shop. Many times, one element is the driving force behind how the table is put together. The plates were it this time. It would be a woodsy, bird nest-y, natural table.

The prettiest orange dahlias were at a stall in the Market. This is the latest in the season I can remember dahlias still being around, so I snatched them up–the color really adding to the theme.

In the center of the table I put 2 pieces of artwork by Linda Morrison. She creates these amazing tableau pieces revolving around birds and nests, and then encases them in a cloche.

I used these vintage sterling napkin rings that were a wedding gift to Ted’s grandparents, that were given to us by his mom. They are engraved with their nicknames for each other, Regi & Ro.

Because of my love of all things bird, friends often give me nests that they find that are abandoned. I put a nest on each side of the dahlia bouquets.

The tall candlesticks with the brown tones filled with the tall cream beeswax candles added the height I like.

Mismatched chairs are my ode to “not everything needs to match” plus I like the variety visually. Truly, never let the fact that you don’t have a full set of something stop you from having guests over.

With the tapers lit, it was time to pour the bubbly and get the dinner party started.