unreal venues

Expert at-home party hostess Danielle Rollins' new book, Soirée: Entertaining with Style, is published by Rizzoli.

Rollins (pictured, left) and fashion designer Lela Rose collaborated on a Texas-inspired dinner party at Rose's ground-floor living space in TriBeCa. Succulents "were a perfect fit with Lela's aesthetic approach to modern design," writes Rollins of the tabletop decor, which also included turquoise tapers in Frances Palmer’s "Alice in Wonderland" candle holders. Guests received DVDs of Peter Sellers' movie The Party as take-home gifts at the end of the night.

For a springtime luncheon on the lawn of Rollins' home, rounds were covered in vibrant chinoiserie tablecloths. "Centerpieces of goldfish in bowls, a nod to my inner Auntie Mame, were set atop bright orange lacquered plant stands," writes Rollins. Silver julep cups holding pink peonies surrounded the bowls. "Napkins with colorful, embroidered floral letter Rs, bamboo-handled flatware, amethyst-colored water glasses, and aqua-bordered tented name cards written in a beautiful calligraphic hand in yellow ink tied the look together."

Rollins used inexpensive bread baskets as individual picnic baskets during a friend's birthday weekend in the south of France. "Guests' faces actually lit up with delight when they found a plate, napkin, silverware, and lunch all tucked inside," writes Rollins. Silverware was rolled in paisley napkins, tied with raffia, and placed alongside dishwasher-safe Mottahedeh Turkish Garden tin plates.

For a dinner Rollins hosted in honor of Oscar de la Renta that benefited Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, the hostess covered a long dining table with burlap and linen and topped it with simple arrangements of dahlias and wheatgrass. Fruitwood Chiavari chairs complemented the garden setting.

The table at a holiday dinner thrown for close friends displayed a clear vase filled with cranberries, peonies, roses, and pepper berries.