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

Travel

Parisian Delights in CT Cottages and Gardens
Design, Interior design, Travel

Parisian Delights in CT Cottages and Gardens

While I have often contributed to the online edition of CT Cottages and Gardens, I am delighted to report that… Read More

Lisa Mende and Traci Zeller show house
Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design, Travel

Junior League Show House at Adamsleigh Continued

Today we move upstairs at the Junior League Show House in Greensboro that I visited when at High Point. It… Read More

Bradshaw Orrell Sun room
Architecture, Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design, Travel

Junior League Show House at Adamsleigh

Having a show house during High Point was a wonderful way to both highlight local and national talent and provide… Read More

Video thumbnail for youtube video ujxqrn5o22q
Food and drink, Travel

Daniel Boulud & Richard David Story | Conversations on Luxury

Please allow me to set the stage. For gastronomes in the know, Daniel Boulud certainly needs no introduction. With fourteen… Read More

Designers Abroad book party
Books, Interior design, Travel

Designers Abroad | Inside the Vacation Homes of Top Decorators

Who doesn’t love fantasizing about a vacation home in an exotic locale. And even better if designed by a world… Read More

Anna Trzebinski fur and belt
Fashion, Travel

Anna Trzebinski | The Luxury of African Chic

You know when you see a certain woman on the street who just has that special something? That unmistakable style… Read More

hotel labels from northern Europe
Art & Antiques, Books, Design, Travel

World Tour

World Tour is a tribute to travel. Not the travel of today with long lines and frequent frustrations but the… Read More

Andrea Salvetti Prato Colorato mirror
Art & Antiques, Design, Interior design, Travel

Rachel Laxer Paris Design Finds | Avant-Scène

All of Rachel Laxer’s interiors are marked by a sophisticated and often unexpected edge, due in great part to her… Read More

serierare verdigris mirror
Interior design, Travel

Rachel Laxer | Favorite Paris Design Finds

With offices in the States and London, Rachel Laxer is a design star on the rise. After a successful career… Read More

Astier de Villatte teapot
Design, Gifts, Interior design, Travel

Astier de Villatte at Maison et Objet

Since 1996 Ivan Pericoli and Benoit Astier de Villatte have been producing their furniture and distinctive white ceramics that are… Read More

Créations Métaphores at Paris Deco Off
Interior design, Travel

Créations Métaphores at Paris Deco Off

The triumverate that is Créations Métaphores represents the brilliant blending of three distinct brands that are as different as they… Read More

Nautic lighting at Maison
Interior design, Travel

Vintage Meets Modern at Nautic Lighting

While wandering the overwhelming halls at Maison et Objet, I was stopped by the stunning lighting at Nautic. Part of… 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.