This Company Will Deliver Curated Tablescapes to Your Door

My mother is a masterful entertainer. Not least because she has every possible supply at arm’s reach. Her cabinets in North Carolina are stuffed with dishes for all occasions (the woman buys china like her life depends on it), candles of every length, flatware and linens aplenty, and enough greenery, ribbons, and pine cones to whip up a ravishing seasonal centerpiece in seconds.

This year I decided that I, too, should perfect the art of the dinner party. The only problem? My New York City cabinet space was severely lacking. Based on my collection of dinner plates and flatware alone, it seems I’d have to do some serious shopping to host a head count larger than six.

Enter: Social Studies, a New York–based upstart that promises to “take the planning out of party planning” by offering rentable dinner-party supplies delivered to your door, with everything from the plates and flatware to the fun decor. The best part: They pick it all up once your guests leave. I decided to try it out. After all, my intimate holiday gathering had snowballed into a dinner party for 15. I placed an order for the Color Block pattern (it’s $30 a head, plus florals) and focused on my next task: the menu.

A day before my party, three cloth-covered bins and two boxes of flowers were delivered to my doorstep. One, smartly marked “Open me first,” told me what to do next: Start with the table runner, then build from there. Each box contained supplies for roughly five settings, filled with plates, glassware, a table runner, and a selection of decor.

I’d chosen the artsy Color Block look because I didn’t want things to feel too fancy. I’d had my eye on those Thomas Fuchs melamine plates since we featured them in AD’s market pages years ago. Plus, I live with lots of color and I thought the set’s bold palette would feel right at home in my living room. It’s worth noting: This set is actually designed to be kid-friendly—everything is pretty much unbreakable—but that’s just as useful for adults. (When everything emerged unscathed from a late-night dish spill, I was pretty grateful).

I don’t have a proper dining table, so when people come over for dinner, I usually repurpose my long red console. But since I was hosting more people than usual, I went online to order a cheap folding table that seats eight and arranged the two in a T formation. The kit came with a Mondrian-esque paper runner that I rolled out over some psychedelic floral fabric I had in my closet. I laid out plates, flatware, candlesticks, and more and filled the mason jars they sent me with fresh daisies. For the centerpiece I went rogue, filling my own Gaetano Pesce resin vase with the remaining florals. While Social Studies curates dinner looks for customers, for me it was fun to weave in my own things and make it my own.

For dinner we were having spaghetti and meatballs—the only thing I could personally cook for 15—and I asked my illustrator friend Shayna to inscribe it simply on the menus. In the frenzy of finishing the cooking and laying the table (full disclosure: My boyfriend handled most of the tablescaping), I forgot to put out place cards. But it was probably for the best considering we all crowded around the tables on any seat or stool we could find.

After dinner, as guests started to get antsy, I lit more candles, turned down the lights, and brought out the crafts—and a few more bottles of wine. Who says coloring on the tablecloth is just for kids? My friends were in heaven, painting the table with their creations. (Sadly, I threw out my collective work of art.)

Once everyone left, cleanup was a breeze: I simply rinsed off plates, cups, and flatware, put them back in the bins (Social Studies picked everything up the next day), and, just before I passed out, sent some party pictures to my mom. As soon as Social Studies goes national (right now they cater to New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey,) they’ll have a customer waiting in North Carolina.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest