The host and home owner Ruth Bailey offers spring tips | Entertaining

While Nashville boasts Many good restaurants such as in cities like New York or Los Angeles, it is still a lot in the south – and we love to entertain the Southerners at home. Regardless of whether it is an intimate family meal in the family or a Backyard -Bash for 50 years, nothing says Mediterranean hospitality like an invitation to lunch or dinner in a person's house.

However, aligning a meeting at home can feel intimidating, especially if you have not done it for some time. For this reason, we turned to Ruth Bailey, a native Nashvillian and owner of Hostess & Home, a charming, curated living and accessories boutique in the heart of Green Hills. Ruth was fresh from her latest trip to the market and was full of ideas and ready to share the latest entertaining trends for the entertaining spring. “We are enthusiastic to celebrate our first spring season in the shop and can't wait to welcome everyone at our happy place!” she says.

Hug color

First off, Say goodbye to simple white tablecloths. This spring the focus is on the color. The table settings move towards courageous, lively colors and from matchy matchy styles. Mixing and matching is the name of the game. Think of vintage china paired with interesting patterns and textures.

Ruth suggested that a client uses her pale pink soup Tureen as a heart on a deeper pink tablecloth, which is surrounded by square glass vases by Ivy and white -blooded calanchoe. In order to give a playful note, smaller tier figures in different colors looked out under the ivy leaves. The high combination of formal porcelain, which was used in an unexpected way, gave the table a fresh and easier feeling. Nature-inspired elements completed the look and brought the entire table landscape to life.

“Color was all over the market,” says Ruth. “Many beautiful blues, green and pink – plus tons of flowers and fabulous bed linen. The more colors the table, the better. Combine multicolored glassware with printed space mats and a mixture of melamine and colorful porcelain. The more, the more Merrier! “

Choose a topic

Another growing trend In entertaining, there are themed parties that give an entertaining, personal touch and create a feeling of belonging for the guests. Ruth loves to involve her fine china, sterling and herb animal figures in thematic table landscapes. For example, rabbits and ducks decorate their table for Easter, Lovebirds on Valentine's Day, nutcracker and snowmen for Christmas, African animals for safari dinner and a number of deer, dogs, horses and foxes for hunting meetings.

For those with a collection of vintage China, Ruth suggests pulling pieces from their shelves to meet their topic and spread them over the table to achieve a bizarre effect. And for those who have not yet started their treasure, Hostess & Home has one of the greatest repertories in the southeast.

Family style

Classic, family style Meeting a strong comeback celebrates this spring. Ruth loves to entertain on her veranda or in her dining room. Regardless of location or group size, it always contains a children's table.

Her daughter Virginia often helps with the seating and uses Place cards in a creative way. Ruth's passion for the entertainment of her mother Beth Franklin, who is famous for thematic dinner parties that last until night. Ruth carries out this tradition, but refined it by starting earlier and children are involved in the celebrations.

Sustainability and stations

Other spring entertaining The trends include sustainability thinking of reusable center pieces or tablets with flame-free tapered candles and events in the pasture style. Food stations and creative sausage boards promote mixing, while grilling outdoors, picnic and pool parties include the relaxed atmosphere of the season.