These day rooms for entertaining could be the kitchen, dining, or living quarters. The whole house sometimes becomes the entertainment venue with visitors meandering from room to room. A kitchen is not just a place to prepare food, it is also a place to sit down to a meal. In my kitchen, I think of all the beautiful basics; my collections of my French majolica, antique hand-painted Blue Ridge pottery, my antique French breakfast table, and my farmhouse cabinet. A mix of eclectic pieces is what juxtaposes with my more modern polar white cabinets and off-white with blue accents quartzite countertops. Light fixtures are a mix of mid-century globes and a gold metal chandelier. White dishes are my favorite to go with everything imaginable. I have a 24-place setting in case one breaks and a 24-piece Mikasa stainless silverware set with gold accent beads. My napkins have been in a collection for 30 years of collecting. I have my mom’s plaid napkins and white embroidered linen ones for more dressy occasions. I also have red print napkins for Christmas and a small green flower print from years past, and if I see napkins I like while shopping with my daughter in Chapel Hill, I purchase them. You can always use cloth napkins to dress up your table. It is a love of mine. Of course, I have been a collector for many years of many wonderful items. Just tonight I picked up one of my napkins thinking about Thanksgiving and it was green with little red flowers. I held it for a second with admiration and thought to myself, what a sweet napkin to use for the holidays. I honestly do not know what my reaction at any given moment in time will be, it just hits me. I plan the entire vision around one item. That is what design is – visible creations in your mind, painting a canvas in color without the paint.
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Courtesy of Thibaut.
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Courtesy of Thibaut.
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Courtesy of Thibaut.
