billet-doux: place settings

Oh, how we love a beautiful place setting. Having a gorgeous an inspiring pattern makes it easy to change the look seasonally by incorporating different chargers and accent pieces. When we look for patterns for home, we often think of their ability to transform with different layers as well as stand the test of time in their design and durability. That's why we are so excited about the Scalamandré for Lenox patterns and Oscar de la Renta's tropical inspired line. (We wrote about the Scalamandré Zebra pattern here.) These look like the perfect additions to your personal collection, and they would be easy to change up throughout the years. 

 Top: Our favorite from the Lenox collaboration is the Bouvier pattern, based on the Scalamandré Tuileries silk print Jackie O used in her NYC bedroom - very chic. 
Middle: The  best-selling Love Birds (left), a perennially fresh pattern of one the earliest and most beloved Scalamandré patterns, and (right) Toile Tale,  an enchanting Chinoisierie pattern of beautiful flowers.
Bottom: Oscar de la Renta knows the beauty of tradition, as well as life in the tropics. This blue + white line of hand-painted stoneware is based on his beloved Punta Cana lifestyle - something we'd love to incorporate in our lives and our home. Plus, think of how cute they would look with Rattan chargers or dressed up with Barcelona Silver. 

Summer Steal: The Classic Chiavari

It's the favorite that works a ballroom and an outdoor wedding in a field with the same classic cool. Dress it up, choose a bold color, or just let the chiavari speak for itself with natural coloring. We've talked about our love for the chiavari chair before, and now we're spreading the love with one of our Summer Steals. Order and place a deposit for your chiavari by August 31, 2012, and get each chair at a special $6 price on events now throughout 2012. Take your pick of red, green, silver, gold, black, ivory, fruitwood, and natural with your choice of black, ivory, or white cushions. At this price, what are you waiting for? 

Clockwise from Top Left: SMU Blue with white cushion, Ivory Chiavari for 100 Layer Cake (Image courtesy Greg Blomberg), Ivory Chiavari with white cushion (Image courtesy Alex Ham for D Weddings Spring/Summer 2012), Ivory Chiavari with chair treatments (Image courtesy Mindy Weiss blog/Hilary Duff Wedding), Natural Chiavari (Image courtesy Kari Crow Photography and Branching Out Events).

 

Ivory, black, and gold Chiavari Chairs - a color for every mood. (Left to right: Images courtesy Andrea Polito Photography; Raelyn Newton for Helmutwalker Photography; Edmonson Weddings. All images in D Weddings Spring/Summer 2012.)

POSH 101: Sitting Pretty

The first week of spring is here, inspiring us and other great vendors, like the lovely ladies at Branching Out Floral & Event Design. Their Stevens Park Golf Course "Spring Tee" shoot by Kari Crowe Photography featured springtime blossoms and stationary from Southern Fried Paper. We love the direction they took with our decorative flatware, crystal club glasses (filled with a Lemongrass Mojitos, no less), and natural colored grande chiavari chairs with white linens.

"Spring Tee" shoot featuring: Design & Florals: Branching Out Events; Stationary: Southern Fried Paper; Photography: Kari Crowe Photography; Rentals: POSH Couture Rentals

The Branching Out ladies made a perfect choice with the chiavari chairs. After all, seating is an essential element of any great event. A guest needs a place to sit and a hostess wants an attractive option that's easy on the eye and looks great in photographs. A POSH favorite, the chiavari chair is known for its versatility and ability to mirror the style of any event--from sophisticated weddings to garden-themed dinners, this baby is a mainstay on the sitting pretty circuit.



So where did this lovely classic originate from? In 1807, furniture designer Gaetano Descalzi created the Chiavarini (named so for the Italian coastal town where Descalzi lived). The elegant shape couple with its mobility (light, easy to stack) made it an instant hit that further proves great design withstands the test of time. From Mme. Brisson andthe Kennedy wedding to your next event, the chiavari is in hall-of-fame status.

A White House Wedding (image via Life Magazine)

A gathering at the home of mme. brisson, 1893 by Marcel Andre Bashet
from Chairs: A History, by Florence de Dampierre