A FEAST FOR THE EYES

Learn how to create an inspiring setting no matter how large or small your guest list.

Learn how to create an inspiring setting no matter how large or small your guest list. By Jickie Torres

This year, fall and the special holidays within the season may look a little bit different.

But maybe it doesn’t need to feel different. While the art of hosting is often an outward expression for others, I have always felt that’s it’s also an inward reflection and meditation of working with the things that make us happy. And what I love most about Courtney Allison, the creative force behind French Country Cottage and her new book

French Country Cottage: Inspired Gatherings, is that the heart of her message is that the tender loving care we pour into setting the stage for get-togethers of any size, is the idea of making memories. Here are her top tips.

CHOOSE THOUGHTFUL ELEMENTS

“Much like design, where one thing is complementary to another, my essentials for any gathering that I am planning take a very similar approach,” Courtney writes. Place settings, glasses, linens, flatware and flowers: those are the essential layers of any table. Choose them so they interact and enhance one another in the loveliest way, but also so they mix together a combination of qualities to bring your table alive: color, texture, pattern and sparkle.

AIM FOR AMBIENCE

Your elements are crucial, but Courtney writes, “The pièce de résistance, that one thing in any setting that the gathering simply won’t feel the same without: it is that sprinkle of magic, the ambience.”

“Creating that ambience is key, and it is the first thing that I start with when planning any get-together. Ambience is a layer of factors that create the mood: for example, the candles flickering on the table. The twinkle lights hanging in the tree branches. The music playing in the background. The flowers,” she writes. “The crumble and crunch of the bread as you take a bite. It is all of the sensory elements that bring your event to life and make it an experience to remember—the sights, sounds, feelings and even the taste of the gathering.”

ANY SETTING CAN BE SPECIAL

Thumbing through the book feels at times like a trip through dreamy locations as Courtney displays her table-designing prowess in a variety of settings: from barns to orchards, sandy bluffs and windswept meadows. But don’t mistake a grand setting as the pivotal ingredient for a memorable dinner. The first stop on her tour is a snug corner of her greenhouse for a simple but sweet breakfast.

SPLURGE ON THE FLOWERS

Courtney is perhaps most known for her elegantly dreamy flower arrangements and displays. So of course the book is blooming with buckets of lilacs, peonies, roses and other flowering delights at every turn. Never fear, she provides tips for how to source them, and gives easy and impressive ideas for displaying them no matter your skill level.

So if Inspired Gatherings inspires you to turn a morning breakfast for you and the hubby into a slightly more curated affair, or that afternoon lunch with some socially distanced girlfriends into a styled setting that allows you to indulge in your creativity and make a memorable moment out of a small mid-week meal, then that would be a testament to the beautiful book’s success.

The stage for a gathering starts before guests reach the appointed spot for dining. Here, a fresh green garland and candles welcome guests coming up the path.

Courtney writes that the dining room isn't only for formal occasions. Here she sets up an afternoon lunch. The setting is deceptively simple: two large crocks filled with flea-market flowers just make it look extra fancy!

Courtney chose an apple orchard for this dessert setting. Look for unexpected areas to create a magical space, she says. Candles, flowers and a few linens are all you need to make it feel luxurious.