Insider Tips on the Best Tableware to Make Your Holiday Gatherings Shine

Here are our insider tips on the best sparkling stemware, decor inspiration and unexpected prints to make your holiday gatherings shine.

Darviny loves mixing worldly items from her travels within the tablescape.

L’arte de Table

Growing up for half of her life on the coastal countryside of Provence, France, Darviny D. spent a lot of her time in her grandmother’s kitchen. Darviny quickly nurtured a talent for food and its multiple channels that has lasted into her adulthood. The South Florida-based lifestyle connoisseur, table designer, French cook and professional vlogger has fused trans-Atlantic tastes with Palm Beach’s tropical flavors curating a personal brand that thrives on her social platforms and beyond. The European table has a way of making meals feel both effortlessly thrown together, and extremely elegant and meaningful at the same time. For this table in particular, Darviny incorporated various shades of blue. “Living in Florida means I can combine bright colors for a holiday get-together and depart from the traditional holiday colors,” she says. Here, Darviny’s mother’s vintage dishes from Italy mix with natural woven chargers, deep ocean blue chalices, and napkins collected from a trip to Portofino, all atop a large fouta serving as a tablecloth sourced from Tunisia. “Anything you have collected over the years can be used to decorate your table,” she ensures. During the holidays, Darviny likes to leave keepsakes on the table for her guests to take home, an act inspired by her French grandmother, who would leave a personal holiday wish under the plates of each houseguest, a touching tradition that everyone in the family looks forward to every year.

Pink is one of Amory’s favorite celebratory colors because there is retro happiness tied to it.

The Fine Print

The transformative power of a good block print is all but lost on Julia Amory. When planning for her own wedding, Amory wanted printed linens that would do her decor justice. Unable to find any she liked, she created her own. Amory left her job in finance to procure India Amory, a lifestyle brand boasting tablecloths, place mats, dinner and tea napkins, and more. When it came time for her husband Minot’s birthday, she pulled out all the stops, opting for an unexpected pink hue. “I love to mix our block prints to create a playful happy vibe," she says, “the grown-up version of a childhood birthday party—just add cake!” The whole family takes an annual trip down to the island the day after Christmas. “I love the flurry of activity of the holidays in Palm Beach—seeing friends you expect to run into and people you had no idea would be in town,” says Amory. For those unexpected houseguests, she suggests “stock[ing] up on multiples in one print” to make impromptu gatherings simple.

The mix of blue and both silver and gold accents are the perfect palette for a beachside meal.

material girl

For Iconic Palm Beach retailer Mary Mahoney, everything has a story behind it. Mahoney, the “master of the mix,” combines an assortment of the world’s finest luxury brands to create elegant tableaus that garner attention, from individuals to many of the country’s leading designers. Here, handembroidered Houria Tazi linens from Morocco mix lovely with patterned Augarten plates from Austria; William Yeoward gold shell plates and leaves dot the table; and lovely sterling silver lobster and shells by Buccellati add levity. “Palm Beach is great because you can mostly dine alfresco year-round,” says Mahoney. “Love of nature, love of the sea...[there’s] nothing quite like dining on the beach.” For the holidays, Mahoney loves to ring in the merriment by getting out of the normal routine. “Time to eat, drink and be merry! Always have cold vodka and Black River Caviar on hand” she suggests. Mahoney’s table dressings and holiday attitude rings true—everything is better when it is together.