I like to think of my apartment as an atelier–not a studio, an atelier–which is no doubt part of the reason I find the photos of this dinner party so appealing.
Atelier photographs by Amy Dickerson courtesy of Anthology Magazine.
Held in a lofty, skylit artist’s studio in East Nashville, Tennessee, the event was designed and styled by Jenn Elliot Blake of A Blog Named Scout for Anthology Magazine.
The studio belongs to painter Emily Leonard; she and Jenn pulled together the setup with help from Emily’s husband, Sloane, who built the table for the occasion.
Above L: The studio is set in a midcentury industrial space; the paintings on display are Emily’s own.
Jenn gathered greenery from Emily’s mother’s garden: stems of Lenten roses, local vines, and bright green hellebores.
Re-create Sloane’s homemade table with Ikea’s birch Norden Extendable Table, which seats up to 10; $299.
A painter’s Canvas Drop Cloth makes a good tablecloth (as well as floor cloth); the 9-by-12-foot size is $22.54 from Amazon.
The go-to water glasses: Ball’s 8 oz Quilted Crystal Jelly Mason Jars ($8.99 for 12) and 16 oz Wide-Mouth Mason Jars ($12.99 for 12), both from Ace Hardware.
Source silver-plated flatware in mismatched sets from flea markets, or consider Silverplate Table Settings, five pieces each–a knife, dinner fork, salad fork, large spoon, and teaspoon; $35 per set on Etsy.
For large parties, Ikea’s Svalka White Wine Glasses are good to have on hand in multiples; $4.79 for a set of six (marked down to $1.92 through December 23).
Photograph via Meredith Arnold.
A collection of Artist’s Loft Marseille Brushes in various lengths, brush shapes, and fibers are available through Michaels.
Create name tags by sourcing an inexpensive Flat Chip Paint Brush ($9.97 for a pack of 15 from Home Depot) and splatter painting the handle.
These display the menu, which was made using an old-fashioned plastic label maker (such as the Dymo Organizer Xpress, $13.88 from Walmart) and affixing the labels to a sturdy piece of cardboard.
Utopia Center Stripe Dish Towels are 100 percent cotton and work well as napkins; $9.99 for 12 on Amazon. This post is an update; the original ran on November 23, 2013, as part of our Dining and Entertaining issue.