Delicious Dinner Party
Many of us will be hosting a party or dinner party in the next 2 weeks.
This beauty will certainly inspire!
Holiday Dining at This New York Apartment Is All About Puttin’ on the Ritz
Opulent colors — and a little disco music — bring elegance to this entertaining hotspot.
From white-jacketed waiters to a buffet table laden with porcelain and flowers, a holiday dinner at designer Alex Papachristidis’s elegant New York apartment is all about swanking it up.
Papachristidis and his partner, Scott Nelson, with their Yorkshire terrier, Teddy, an Instagram star (search #TeddyNewYorkie to see).Thomas Loof
Alex Papachristidis confesses, “I’m old school, always have been.” The designer, a vivacious host and native New Yorker, has an affinity for entertaining with echoes of the formality and frivolity of times past. He does not disappoint at the dinner parties for 30 that he and his partner, Scott Nelson, host at their jaw-dropping Upper East Side apartment. “I’ll run into friends weeks later and they’ll say, ‘Oh my gosh, it was just heaven! I wish more people would entertain at home.’”
In the dining room of Papachristidis and Nelson’s apartment, waiters set out antique trays and terrines and Blue Canton porcelain by Mottahedeh. Vases brim with arrangements by Zezé, a noted florist who knows the couple’s apartment colors well. The 19th-century chandelier is from John Rosselli Antiques, and the curtains are in a Lee Jofa silk.Thomas Loof
From the impressive yet warm ambience to the savory cuisine and skilled waitstaff, Papachristidis embraces all things extravagant and luxurious. “Everything should smell delicious, look beautiful, and feel yummy,” he notes. “And dim the lighting — it shouldn’t feel like McDonald’s!” The couple’s guests are immediately greeted with a generous pour of rosé Champagne in an overscale glass with a single giant ice cube — a personal touch that has become something of a party signature for the pair. After helping themselves to a buffet of warm curried chicken with coconut milk and rice (a beloved dish of Papachristidis’s), friends meander throughout the apartment. Some perch with plates on velvet-covered sofas in the library, while others lounge in Nelson’s dressing room—which the gentlemen heartily encourage with a plush daybed and tiny tables and chairs.
Make no mistake: It’s wonderfully posh. But Papachristidis never forgets the importance of levity. “We always play disco music in the background to put a smile on everyone’s face. I’ll never recover from Studio 54!” he says, laughing.
On the dining room table, the batik and ikat napkins are vintage, the parrot was purchased at a Paris flea market, and the 19th-century ceramic of a Chinese immortal is antique.Thomas Loof
In the living room, a William Yeoward Crystal glass is filled with rosé Champagne. The cocktail napkin is by Schweitzer Linens, the lamp is by Christopher Spitzmiller, and the curtains are in a Lee Jofa satin with a Samuel & Sons trim. Wallpaper, Gracie.Thomas Loof
See something here you like? Check out our shopping guide for where to find it.
This story originally appeared in the December/January 2018 issue of House Beautiful. Hillary Brown / Nov 29, 2017
Be sure to continue to check my gift guides as I update them daily throughout the season as I discover the next best thing or as things sell out…
Holiday Guide to Festive Fashions
2017 Gift Guide for Stocking Stuffers
2017 Gift Guide for The Teens / Tweens
2017 Gift Guide for The Little Ones
2017 Gift Guide for Holiday Decor
2017 Gift Guide for the Host / Hostess
2017 Gift Guide for the Bibliophile
Shop my additional guides in the coming days.
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