Athena Calderone Swears by These 5 Rules When Entertaining
Around the MyDomaine offices, one thing is undeniable: Athena Calderone is the holy grail of #entertaininggoals. The interior designer, mother, and creator of EyeSwoon — a lifestyle and food blog — has paved the way for elegant, enviable bohemian-chic dinner parties. Scroll through her blog and you will find yourself literally swooning over a way of living that celebrates the simple things in life and the art of living well, from seemingly simple beach paellas to curating the perfect kitchen essentials.
So when Calderone invited us to a dinner party she was hosting with fashion stylist Kate Foley for Vestiaire Collective at her Hamptons house, we immediately threw caution to the wind, jumped in our best linen outfits, and hopped in an eastbound car. Destination? Amagansett, New York. And, boy, are we glad we did. Under twinkling string lights, intoxicated by the sweet smell of a 30-foot-long lavender centerpiece and the camaraderie of 30 beautiful, passionate human beings sitting around one dream-worthy tablescape — this night will go down as one of our most magical summer memories. Step inside this midsummer night’s dream and learn a few tricks from the modern hostess with the mostess.
At the dinner party, guests were greeted with fresh tequila cocktail and chic G. Viteri straw hats. The atmosphere was relaxed but oh so chic — you could tell the attendees were sartorially inclined. “I am dear friends with Kate Foley, who also happens to be the contributing fashion director for Vestiaire Collective,” says Calderone. “She had been telling me about Vestiaire Collective for a while now, and when the opportunity came for me to co-host a dinner at my home in the Hamptons, I was happy to do it!”
To celebrate the essence of summer, and drop a hint of “Frenchness” in the ambiance, Calderone turned to lavender to inspire her tablescape. “I always look to my immediate surroundings and the season as an initial hint of inspiration to inform the décor for any event,” she says. “At the time, I had some beautiful purple flowers budding in my garden, and the week prior, I was clipping lavender at the local farm here in Amagansett. The hue was all around me. I was also informed by the brand itself. Since Vestiaire Collective is a European brand and our goal was to celebrate summer, I began to think about the ever-abundant lavender fields in Provence, France, and how not only do they release such a swoony fragrance but they are also an elegant expression of summer.”
Read the rest of Athena Calderone’s entertainment tips on MyDomaine.com. What are your dinner party hosting tips? Tell us in the comment below!
Originally published at www.mydomaine.com on August 22, 2016.
