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

Entertainment

cate
Entertainment

At the Movies

Today the offering is a more contemporary movie (1999). Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr. Ripley… Read More

__1.601717.1198144707
Art & Antiques, Food and drink, Travel

The Swiss Are Coming! The Swiss Are Coming!

Switzerland is an understated place. This small landlocked country is not prone to outward displays of exuberance or extravagance. You… Read More

Video thumbnail for youtube video mw10g6-tfqg
Food and drink

Stellar Stella

I love a great marketing campaign. There are so many bad commercials out there that when you see something special… Read More

bernardau
Design, Entertainment, Garden, Holiday, Interior design

Holiday Preview

Last night I attended my first holiday event of the season and what a lovely introduction it was! Held at… Read More

thomas jayne room
Entertainment, Interior design

Rooms With A View

I just got back from the Rooms With A View Gala Preview party. Despite the dismal weather, there was a… Read More

Video thumbnail for vimeo video 2318249
Art & Antiques, Entertainment

Passing Portraits

Philip Scott Johnson is a digital artist from St. Louis. His favorite quote, from Picasso, is “everything you can imagine… Read More

criterion
Entertainment, Fashion, Food and drink

Waris Wares

If you are going to be in NYC this week, you might want to stop by an intriguing pop-up store… Read More

wine cellar hall
Architecture, Food and drink, Interior design

Gil Schafer – In Vino Veritas

I don’t need any wine to speak the truth about this project. It’s simply spectacular. If you were to plan… Read More

Screen shot 2010-09-08 at 10.23.22 AM
Entertainment, Fashion

In Vogue

Just in time for Fashion Week and and Fashion’s Night Out, which I discussed earlier today, Vogue has announced the… Read More

Screen shot 2010-09-05 at 12.54.44 PM
Art & Antiques, Beauty, Entertainment, Fashion, Food and drink

Fashion Week Frenzy

This year there seems to be a new level of excitement leading up to this season’s Fashion Week. Not just with… Read More

Back to School
Art & Antiques, Entertainment, Video

Back to School

Even though many children have already started school, I don’t think of the back to school season as officially starting… Read More

kurt markus
Entertainment, Food and drink, Nantucket

The Last Hurrah

As we gear up for what many of us consider the last weekend of summer, I thought a little farewell… Read More

Posts navigation

Older Posts Older Posts
Newer Posts Newer Posts
Illustration of camera

Follow

Quiet breakfast on this snowy morning. I cross sti Quiet breakfast on this snowy morning. I cross stitched these placemats for my mother YEARS ago when I was living in Switzerland. They have recently come full circle back to me and on this holiday are a lovely reminder of both her and my time spent there. Grounding tablecloth from @heathertaylorhome  @latuilealoup aptware and mini baskets. Flatware from @alain_saint_joanis in my shop and last, but certainly not least, my spectacular handpainted pitcher and glassware set by the talented @margotlar (available by special order through the shop).
Let the family festivities begin. All four chicks Let the family festivities begin. All four chicks are in the nest, the table is set, the tree is decorated. A Merry Christmas Eve to all from our Nantucket home to yours!
.
.
And don’t forget to enter your table in the @academia_de_la_mesa table contest. There are amazing prizes to enhance your tabletop repertoire
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!
© 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.