Skip to content
  • Articles
    • Design
      • Architecture
      • Art & Antiques
      • Books
      • Garden
      • Gifts
      • Interior design
    • Entertainment
      • Entertaining
      • Food and drink
      • Holiday
      • Tabletop
    • Style
      • Fashion
      • Jewelry
    • Travel
      • Nantucket
    • Threads of Time and Taste: The Art of Dressing in Pierre Frey
  • Shop
    • Home & Decor
      • Accessories
      • Antiques
      • Art
      • Lighting
      • Trays
    • Tableware
      • Baskets
      • Glassware
      • Linens
      • Flatware
      • Plates
    • Fashion
      • Bags
      • Clothing
      • Jewelry
    • Exclusives
      • Tableware
      • Fashion
      • Home & Decor
    • Peony & Thistle Linen Tea Towels
  • Video
    • Exclusive insider tours visiting top designers and tastemakers at home around the world
      VIEW ALL
    • At Home with John Lyle
    • At Home in Paris with the Hurleys
    • At Home with Veere Grenney in his Extraordinary Gardens in Tangier
    • At Home with Veere Greeney in Tangier, Morocco
Quintessence

Quintessence

Lifestyle blog | Living Well with Style and Substance

  • Books
    • Books that I have collaborated on, as photographer, with design author Susanna Salk
      VIEW ALL
    • At Home with Dogs and Their Designers: Sharing a Stylish Life
    • At Home in the English Countryside: Designers and Their Dogs
    • At Home with Designers and Tastemakers: Creating Beautiful and Personal Interiors
    • Making a House a Home: Designing Your Interiors from the Floor Up
  • About
  • Articles
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Books
  • About

Art & Antiques

The Art of the Story at the 2017 Kips Bay Show House
Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design

The Art of the Story at the 2017 Kips Bay Show House

The most successful interiors effectively tell the stories of their owners. But at a show house with no client is when the art… Read More

Global Chic at the 2017 Kips Bay Decorator Show House
Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design

Global Chic at the 2017 Kips Bay Decorator Show House

Continuing our look at the 2017 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, we go upstairs to Nick Olsen‘s stylish Salon du Beau… Read More

First Look 45th Kips Bay Decorator Show House
Architecture, Art & Antiques, Interior design

First Look 45th Kips Bay Decorator Show House

Opening on May 2, the 45th Kips Bay Decorator Show House brings the creativity of eighteen top designers and architects to… Read More

Setting the Table with Marian McEvoy – A New Video Series
Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design, Video

Setting the Table with Marian McEvoy – A New Video Series

Regular readers know my longstanding love of tabletop so I am especially thrilled to announce the debut of a new… Read More

Cabana Magazine for Paperless Post
Art & Antiques, Design

Cabana Magazine for Paperless Post

Martina Mondadori, founder and editor-in-chief of Cabana Magazine has been very busy. Immediately on the heels of the magazine’s creative collaboration with Caesarstone… Read More

Where Art Tells the Story
Art & Antiques, Travel

Where Art Tells the Story

When writing the art of trompe l’oeil piece last week, my research took me full circle to a firm I have been… Read More

At Home with Susanna Salk and Hunt Slonem
Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design

At Home with Susanna Salk and Hunt Slonem

There are few places where inspiration and art are so fluidly connected as in the former Chelsea loft of Hunt… Read More

The Art of Trompe l’Oeil in Sicily
Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design

The Art of Trompe l’Oeil in Sicily

In the May Architectural Digest, Mitch Owens’ engaging story on the Sicilian Palazzo di Lorenzo Castelluccio details the remarkable lengths the… Read More

One Kings Lane Connecticut House
Art & Antiques, Design, Food and drink, Interior design

One Kings Lane Connecticut House

Welcome to a refreshing new notion in residential retail. Taking the show house concept to the next level, the One Kings Lane Connecticut… Read More

A Busy Week in Design
Architecture, Art & Antiques, Interior design

A Busy Week in Design

For those who follow along on Instagram, I had the best intentions of posting the full tour of One Kings… Read More

Flowers Through Art at Bunny Williams Home
Art & Antiques, Interior design

Flowers Through Art at Bunny Williams Home

Deborah Needleman began her Sign of the Times piece in last week’s T Magazine Design issue, “This country is in… Read More

The Stickwork of Patrick Dougherty
Art & Antiques, Travel

The Stickwork of Patrick Dougherty

Travel always yields delightful discoveries and my trip last week was no exception. An unseasonable cold spell in Virginia and North… Read More

Posts navigation

Older Posts Older Posts
Newer Posts Newer Posts
Illustration of camera

Follow

The Christmas Tablesetting Contest starts now!! Fr The Christmas Tablesetting Contest starts now!! From this moment until midnight on January 7, 2026 you can post photos of your tables to win the contest and a myriad of incredible prizes. To take part you need:

1. To post photos on a public IG account
2. ⁠To tag in the picture of your post @Academia_de_la_mesa & mention you are taking part in the Contest 
3. You can publish as many photos of your table as fit in a single POST (no reels, no stories, no videos please). We need to see AT LEAST 2 pictures of your table showing the entire table and one placesetting.
4. ⁠You can take part a maximum of 3 times, with 3 different tables (one single post for each)
That’s it!! Winners will be announced in January. Please post pictures of your own tables at home, no event or magazine pictures 🙏🏻 (and no AI). 

The winner will receive a wonderful prize of the best of the best that there is in tableware kindly donated by @alain_saint_joanis @artel_glass @noel_lingedemaison_paris and @raynaud_porcelaines AND just for taking part you will be eligible for 7 additional magnificent  prizes by @aquazzuracasa (in conjunction with @incasastudio) @elalmacendeloza @erbavoglio.milano @gordiola_vidrios @palmira_decoracion @staub.es and @thetablelove (see stories for details). (NB: unless otherwise stated by the donors all prizes will be delivered in Spain but we can help winners arrange shipping) 

We can’t wait to see your tables! Happy tablesetting with love from the jury, made up of: 
@amarosanchezdemoya @azarraluqui @bea_satrustegui @bonadeaofficial @carmencarooneill @casa__lopez @paz_qb @quintessence @raulromeropress @vanessacraccoliving and @vioscooking
Our latest video visit is here! Join me and @susan Our latest video visit is here! Join me and @susannasalk at the welcoming Connecticut retreat of designer @tamara_meadow_interiors where lake views and meaningful furnishings distinguish this stylish custom built home! LINK IN PROFILE (latest video).
While much of my tabletop arsenal is still in stor While much of my tabletop arsenal is still in storage, I managed to pull together a simple table for a small family dinner to give thanks on this special day. Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Our latest video visit is here! Join me and @susan Our latest video visit is here! Join me and @susannasalk at the glamorous Manhattan maisonette of designer @james_andrew and artist @scottmcbee41 where James magically transformed a characterless prewar apartment into a sparkling jewel box! LINK IN PROFILE (latest video).
Our latest video visit is here! Join me at the stu Our latest video visit is here! Join me at the stunning countryside home of Spanish interior designer @ludovicoporta where he transformed a ruin of an 18th century palazzo into an idyllic weekend retreat ! LINK IN PROFILE (latest video).
© 2025 Quintessence Design LLC
Site design by The Beaux Arts Digital
FAQ & Shipping Terms of Use Privacy Policy
X Illustration of hand
Never Miss A Post
Get insider access to the most inspiring and informative design stories straight to your inbox. Satisfy your style curiosity, quench your sophisticated shopping thirst and scratch your discerning need-to-know itch - sign up so you never miss a thing.