West Elm's Host at Home

West Elm hosted their first "Host & Home" event yesterday in their Santa Monica store! I was honored to be one of 3 celebrity designers who decorated a West Elm table and offered decorating tips to guests. My focus of course was sustainable entertaining and focused on mixing West Elm's natural, organic and recylced items with antique and vintage items as well as the benefits of selecting multifunctional pieces, especially important in these tough economic times.

The holidays are the perfect time to have fun and try new ways of decorating. Look at what you already have and think about how that/those could be used differently. Perhaps you have a piece of fabric/linen/scarf handed down from your grandmother that would be a stunning table runner. Perhaps you have a special piece of china that could show off some floating blossoms. Perhaps you like the warmth, charm and whimsy of antique items so go ahead and mix that with new West Elm items which would balance so well with their clean lines.

I'm grateful to West Elm for hosting the event, to Bausman & Company in West Hollywood who loaned the spectacular and whimsical early 19th c. chinese red horse and to Grow on Abbot Kinney who loaned the plants and flowers. In addition to those items, I used small square initialed vintage napkins from my grandmother as well as the embroidered scarf used as a runner. The West Elm items include small trays sold for the bath but make great liners for an appetizer course (or lined with a lemon leaf, could serve cheese). The small white plates are stone and again from the bath section but could be used on the table to hold a candle. The bench is a great way to add additional seating and either be stored under a table or double as a low console or coffee table. The linen on the bench is actually a runner and pillows and throws in the dining area provide added comfort for guests. Additionally, the flatware looks extra special displayed horizontally in one of the West Elm boxes on the end of the bench as an alternate to an upright container or individual place settings.

Happy holidays!