10 must-follow holiday table tips from bunny williams & eddie ross!

text by  SHANI SILVER
photography by  MICHAEL WILTBANK
styling by  EDDIE ROSS

In the wake of his new book, Modern Mix: Curating Personal Style with Chic & Accessible Finds, Eddie Ross found time to share with us an inspired holiday table he created together with design icon Bunny Williams (who also wrote the foreword in his book)! Today the creative duo shares with us ten table setting tips perfect for the holiday season, but so valuable we think you’ll use them when hosting dinner parties throughout the year, too!

Bunny

1. I look at each table as a blank canvas on which I can build a still life.
2. In the winter when I don’t have flowers from the garden, I like to use potted plants on the table.

3. I always prefer to create my own uniquely mismatched service, instead of using full sets of china. I revel in the number of different combinations that are possible and I find my guests enjoy the unexpectedness of a different plate pattern per course.

4. I believe in using my china and table linens regularly, not keeping them in the closet and only pulling them out once a year. This beautiful top cloth, made of my Isabella fabric for Lee Jofa, feels festive but could be used for many different occasions.

Eddie

5. Pair high and low fabrics to create the modern mix—buy an inexpensive main cloth, then splurge on a custom topper. On my table, the ikat print adds graphic contrast to Bunny’s floral; grosgrain ribbon trim adds a finished feel.
6. Pair simple and elaborate flatware that works well together. Here I used my own vintage forks and knives with pieces from Bunny’s Paris Flea Market collection for Ballard. Mixing metals feels fresh.

7. Mixing glassware lets your personality shine. Here I paired Bunny’s Gold Rimmed glasses for Ballard with my own French opaline goblets.
8. Add a pinch of glamour with salt cellars, shakers and pepper mills, like fancy jewels for the table. Fill them with colorful salts like Pink Himalayan.

9. Layer lighting on a table with candlesticks in different heights and materials. Colorful tapers from Creative Candles carry up the blue; simple bobeches add a festive touch.
10. Skip the scramble for seats and send guests home happy with place cards that double as parting gifts. On my table, I personalized boxes of white chocolate peppermint bark with glittered letters from Michael’s.