Bunny Williams launches Ballard collection, talks holiday entertaining
Known for her elegant mix of the antique and the contemporary, the always-in-demand interior designer Bunny Williams has an impressive number of high end home lines, from fabrics to furniture, rugs to lighting fixtures.
But now she’s put her name on a new tabletop collection from affordable retailer Ballard Designs, using several personal items (such as antique silver salt cellars and cachepots) for inspiration. With the holidays approaching, we asked the frequent hostess for her thoughts about throwing dinner parties and get-togethers.
What are your tips for dressing a table during the holidays?
I think you want a little sparkle, but don’t go overboard. I’ll often use some simple greens and pine boughs, but then add something like the gilded fruit or beaded crystal pagoda candle holders [both from the Ballard collection] for sparkle.
What’s your advice for those of us who get stressed and anxious when hosting a dinner or party?
First of all, I think people get anxious because they make it a bigger do than they have to. If you’re an anxious hostess, everyone will be anxious, so keep it simple. If you’re cooking, just do something easy like a pasta with tomato sauce. People think they have to make a cordon bleu meal, but you don’t have to do the most complicated recipe. Just bake a chicken. And go ahead and buy something—buy the dessert, buy the side dishes, you don’t have to cook everything. People just want to have a good time—they want good conversation and camaraderie. Don’t stress yourself out.
Buffet or sit-down?
I do buffet to sit down. My husband and I entertain a lot and if there’s more than six people, we always serve buffet and have [assigned] seating—at a table. I don’t like trying to balance a plate on my lap or at a coffee table. And what’s more awkward than getting your food and then standing there thinking, where am I going to sit? I hate that feeling myself, and as a hostess, it’s just a gracious thing to do—to think about who should sit next to one another. I mix people up, so, for example, couples don’t sit next to each other. I’d rather talk to my husband on the way home about the dinner than sit next to him during it.
You’re known for your beautiful gardens and setting a table with fresh flowers, but what can we do in winter when the garden’s bare and buying flowers is too expensive?
You go to the grocery store and get artichokes or other kinds of vegetables. You don’t always need flowers in the middle of a table; it can be a carved wooden reindeer or something with a pretty or interesting shape, like squash. But I do think that nothing is prettier than artichokes in a big, beautiful bowl—and then you can have them for dinner the next day.
Your dogs are a big part of your life; what are your thoughts about entertaining with pets, i.e., do you let them roam, do you lock them up, etc.?
Everybody who knows me knows I have dogs, so they’re not surprised when they come to my house. And mine aren’t that big and they often greet everyone and then go fall asleep under the table. [Laughs] And they don’t beg for food. Occasionally, I’ve had people over who I know don’t like dogs or have allergies, and I’ve tried not to have them around. But mostly, I’m not friends with those kinds of people! But if I had a dog that was badly behaved, I’d put it in another room. It goes without saying, though, that you should make sure to train your dogs.
In lieu of bringing a bottle of wine or a candle, what’s a good hostess gift?
Well, that’s one of the great things about my Ballard collection—there are a lot of fabulous hostess gifts! [Laughs] Really, there are so many things, like the bone guest towel holder, that would make a great gift. But another thing I’ve been doing for years is picking up inexpensive vintage vases at a yard sale or flea market for 5 or 6 bucks, and then filling it with flowers or greens and giving it to the host. But I also want to say that you don’t have to bring a gift every time you go to someone’s house. I don’t know where that came from. I don’t want or expect it from good friends who I see fairly regularly. Their company is more than enough.
