We Welcome the Hostess with the Mostess

We’re beyond excited that Atlanta’s own queen of fetes, Danielle Rollins, will be at the store next week to wow us with her new book, Soiree.   Hands down, this is a girl who knows how to throw a party.

Danielle Rollins' new book: Soiree

And, speaking of wow!, this book is a coffee table show-stopper, filled to the brim with creative and gorgeous ideas for effortless entertaining.  The photography is rich and elegant and we have all been drooling over the advance copy that Danielle was kind enough to drop off.

Leafing through it (we all snuck a couple minutes to peek at it in between rearranging vignettes and unpacking the fifth inventory arrival of the day), we were struck by Danielle's laser beam attention to detail...and especially her spontaneous sense of fun that includes not panicking at a sudden thunder storm opening up on her immaculately set table or biblical proportioned floods that hit Atlanta right before her over-the-top dinner for Oscar de la Renta.  We love the idea that Danielle is a Southern girl at heart and that means she's all about being gracious, kind, funny and creative.

And did we mention she's also blessed with tons of style?

We're loving many of Danielle's little words of wisdom which (surprise! surprise!) mirror our own philosophies at the gallery and at Huff Harrington Home:

Live the High/Low Mix:  we adore this smart kind of reasoning.  Spend your hard-saved pennies on a one-of-a-kind 19^th century Louis XVI mirror or fabulous piece of art - but the accessories around it don't have to cost a fortune.  We had Emily take a picture of this with her Iphone:

High and Low at Huff Harrington Home. A gorgeous 19th century Louis XVI mirror that we found at Les Puces in Paris ($3,400.00 ) paired with eye-popping mercury glass spheres (from $42) and glass votives (from $12).  The wooden-based lamps are $390.00.

In fact, they're much more interesting if they have a little story behind them and didn't just come off a shop's shelf.  We do a lot of this everyday, even with clothing.  We'll mix a Target t-shirt (Mossimo is the best!) with a good (but not necessarily great) pair of jeans but throw on a pair of well-worn Chanel flats or a fabulous old belt.

We love a cute tee from Target with...

...classic ballet flats from Chanel that cost a fortune but will last a lifetime.

We love scouring markets in Paris and Provence and are constantly bragging about our little finds - which add the perfect pop of whimsey, humor and personality.

We found this image of flea market finds on Pinterest and fell in love with the whimsical mix of objets.  And of course, it's all off-white, which makes it even better.

Use What You Own: There's nothing lovelier than a little nod to the past when you use your grandmother’s china and silver on an everyday basis.  And, that crusty old painting you inherited from Aunt Betty will add an honest and tender touch to wherever you use it - especially if you mix it up with something edgy and contemporary. (Gallery tip:  does Aunt Betty's painting need a fresh lease on life? Try re-framing it.)

There's nothing sweeter than using pieces (or art or jewelery) inherited from your favorite Aunt Betty. From Soiree.

Look to your own garden and snip hydrangeas and roses galore.  We love them even more if they're a little less than florist-standard perfect.

Late summer hydrangeas are perfect just the way they are. From Pinterest.

Raid your cupboards for all kinds of inspiration:

The lowly mason jar never looked so chic.

Voila: instant centerpiece from the pantry.

Mix and Match: is there anything better than this?  We adore this rule and it's our favorite rule not to break.   Mix your precious stuff with some great flea market finds - and have fun with it.  Let your personality shine through.

Lots of mixing and matching going on here but it all works beautifully and doesn't take itself too seriously...

Mix and match at the table...and have fun. From Soiree.

(Here's a great example of the high/low mix-and-match:  vintage hotel silver wine buckets paired with Govino acrylic wine glasses and disposable cotton/linen cocktail napkins, all at Huff Harrington Home.)

The acrylic flutes are $13.00 for four, the cotton/linen blend disposable napkins are $28.00 for a roll of 50 and the vintage hotel silver ice bucket is $175.00.

One of the elements we kept coming back to in Soiree is Danielle's belief that entertaining should be fun - never stressful or fraught with anxiety.  We love the idea of living a rich and full life surrounded by family, friends and beauty (that doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg) Throw in some humor and a soupcon of graciousness and we believe that is the perfect recipe for life - not to mention a perfect Soiree!

The hostess with the mostess...

Danielle will be at Huff Harrington Home to sign her book, mingle and chat on Tuesday, October 30th from 7-9 p.m.  We can't wait!

Ta ta.