This month I’m continuing on with what we started in June’s Side Order: the makings of a pretty table scape. And look, I know I’m talking about this a lot, but it genuinely improves my quality of life to eat out of a cute bowl instead of a yogurt cup and to use napkins instead of paper towels so I’m continuing onward.
(If you’re new here, Side Order is my monthly shopping column where I round up a bunch of things from all corners of the internet. New, vintage, high, low…I wade through it all.)
Last weekend I took a tour of the Eames house and was struck by how many textiles Charles and Ray had amassed over the course of their decades-long partnership. Rugs layered each other in the living room, blankets were draped in stacks over the backs of chairs, and cushions were wrapped in various mix-and-match fabrics. It reminded me of my own (smaller, less interesting) collection, most of which I keep stacked on shelves in my dining room but use for just about everything.
When Maddy and I were designing my website I tried to find a way to work my love of textiles in, and at one point the site included several scans of fabric swatches from my collection across the pages. It wasn’t quite working so we changed it, but I still love the idea and if I ever open an interior design studio it’s coming out of the vault. Textiles are just such a huge point of inspiration for me and even as I look around my home I can see how much work they do in communicating my personal style, especially against things like a bright white sofa and lots of wood furniture.
Bits of pattern and texture can do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to making something — a home, an outfit, a table, a photograph — more interesting. I do love a maximalist tabletop moment, where the plates and the tablecloth and the napkins and the flowers are all clashing in a good way, but 99% of my meals are not dinner parties and don’t require more than a single napkin, a bowl of pasta, and my spot on the sofa (which, like I mentioned, is white and therefore said napkin is essential.) No matter what your dish cabinet holds or what your dining table looks like, some cute napkins are all you need to really make an impact.
Below, an assortment of my favorites from all over the internet, some styling inspiration, and some bonus DIY dinner party ideas for fun.
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