Photography by Tessa Neustadt
Dear Loverz,
What are your Valentines plans? Do you plan on going to a fancy restaurant where it’s going to be super loud and all the other couples will be canoodling all over each other, making you feel weird about the fact that you and your boyfriend don’t really do public affection? Or will you be at home cooking a nice meal, staring into the eyes of your loved one? Or, better yet, are you single, and planning on hosting a Spite Dinner, an anti-Valentines Day celebration that will leave all your single friends feeling validated in their hatred of this holiday?
I’m actually doing both. For actual Valentines Day, I’ll be in Palm Springs (I’m part of Modernism Week’s Mod Squad this year, so I’ll be sharing what’s going on at all the showcase houses and parties. PAY ATTENTION!). So I’ll be taking Edouard out to a fancy meal, staring at other couples, wondering if we’re doing it wrong by not kissing at the restaurant, aggressively throwing our love in other people’s faces.
But just because I’ll be away for actual Valentines Day doesn’t mean I can’t set a glamorous love-table another day, right? (Please say yes!). I actually love to cook at home and do so most nights I can. Partially because I hate spending money at restaurants and partially because restaurants are loud and annoying and people are always yelling in them for no reason. Sometimes, when I’m in a super loud restaurant I just want to go up to every table and be like “If all of us just agreed to speak at a normal volume, my ears could stop bleeding. Thank you.” Apparently I’m 100 years old and should never go outside again.
I went for a slightly more outrageous setting than I normally might because I wanted to do something that contrasted with the condo’s modern, minimal aesthetic and made my Valentines set up look really special, kinda crazy, and Palm Springs mid-century inspired (since that’s where we’ll be on actual V-day). I snagged a bunch of modern, distinctive pieces from Z Gallerie and created a layered look so the tablescape would be as deep as my love. Starting with a runner, I added marble chargers, plates, napkins, greenery, and candles to make the whole thing feel like a golden California succulent garden.
I used to hate hearts but now I kind of like them. I cut lots of them out of watercolor paper and scattered them all over the table to let Edouard know that I am desperate for love and affection. Pro Tip: Putting hearts everywhere shows your loved one not only that you love him, but that you are completely terrified of him ever leaving you. Doing this will guilt him into staying with you forever, which is an awesome way for you to continue being completely codependent. EVERYONE WINS!
The color palette relates to the condo’s gold and white theme, but, like not in a boring way because the plates have a mod mid-century pattern, the placemats are crazy and gold, and the purple greenery (purplery?) adds a little pop. For no reason, here’s a picture of me making a pychopath face and Ed being totally cute:
Valentines Day is coming people. So do yourself a favor and set a table that takes your love life from MOLDY to MAGIC MIKE in literally seconds. Hurry!
Love,
Orlando
Resources: Table Runner, Marble Chargers, Plates, Mercury Glass Candle Holders, White Vases, Wine Glasses, Martini Glasses, Tumblers, Napkins, Napkin Rings, Placemats, Gold Pillar Holder.
This post was done in partnership with Z Gallerie.
Gorgeous gold accents!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Thank goodness you are posting again!!
Inspiring! Can you share where the dining table is from?
Would you mind sharing where you got the wall clock from? I love it!
Beautiful! I find the dining room table a challenging surface. I try to keep it free of random junk, but on a daily basis it just looks sad and boring. Why is it so hard to think of low maintenance but cool looking dining tabletop design solutions? It’s just like a coffee table except bigger!