Italian Dinner Party

If your calendar is already full of backyard barbecues and you’re wondering how to mix it up at your next dinner party I have just the thing for you!

I designed this Italian-inspired dinner for my friend Bianca in collaboration with The Taste SF. Read on for tips on recreating this evening in your own home.

Inspired by the terrace of a Tuscan villa, I gathered lots of greenery (especially olive branches) and pale orange garden roses for the arrangements. I love the unexpected combination of garden roses, olive branches, rosemary, and eucalyptus pods – and it smelled as good as it looked without competing with the aromas from the meal. It’s always best to keep dinner table centerpieces low so guests don’t have difficulty seeing each other or in this case – passing serving dishes – since the meal was served family style. The rest of the tablescape was kept neutral, using this beautiful linen tablecloth, these basketweave plates, these wine glasses and these linen napkins – all of which are timeless and a great foundation for styling any table. I pulled in personal touches like Bianca’s gorgeous vintage water glasses and her collection of silver to finish the table.

As guests arrived they were greeted with the evening’s signature cocktail: a refreshing Aperol Spritz. The cocktails both tasted delicious and picked up on the orange hues used throughout the party.

The olive branches were a dramatic focal point on the entry hall and appetizer tables, displayed in speckled urns with eucalyptus pods (of all things!) clustered at the front to give the impression of olives spilling out over the rim.
These rough-hewn serving boards are the perfect way to display a make-your-own-crostini station. I highly recommend laying out the ingredients for your guests over assembling each crostini yourself since guests are always happy to make their own and it saves the hostess a lot of prep!