November 6, 2017

Dinner in the Barn

On Saturday night, I was lucky enough to be invited to “dinner in the barn”, which, on first thought sounds like it might be a hoe-down or a square dance. But I assure you, it was neither. Okay, I concede the food was country-like with amazing fried chicken and a delicious cobbler, but everything else was more elegant than most people’s homes!IMG_5768

The barn is a big rectangle, and in three of the corners, little gathering areas had been set up to have a cozy chat with a few friends. IMG_5786

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There were seven tables, ranging from six to twelve seats at each. Seating was a combination of Chippendale-style chairs, small love seats, benches, and casual bamboo and cane chairs at each table. Old chairs had all been re-covered with fabrics in a variety of brown and green prints, some the reverse of others. IMG_5764IMG_5773IMG_5779IMG_5791

Many of the tables had the same cloth, but all had the same china, silver and glassware. The centerpieces varied wildly – one had a classical staircase in the center, IMG_5769another had a rosemary plant, IMG_5776and a third had a small farm scene. IMG_5784

The walls were lined literally from floor to ceiling with artwork the hosts had collected over the years. The pictures ranged from early 19th century architectural plans to an assortment of male nudes (my view at dinner!). Small vignettes of farm life dotted the tables, like this one of the farm’s two pet steers, Alexander and Napoleon. IMG_5815

Despite the heaving rain outside, the inside of the barn was warm and cozy, lit by iron chandeliers hanging from the rafters, table lamps on many surfaces, and dozens of battery-powered candles scattered everywhere. IMG_5775

All in all, it was a great celebration of the opening of our friend’s tea caddy exhibition and the publication of his accompanying book… more on this in the next post.

10 comments:

  1. So beautiful. Interestingly, Emily Henderson today featured a barn she had furnished for a sponsored post, also with multiple small seating areas. I hope someone makes a public space like this somewhere, soon.

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    1. I checked it out! Pretty amazing, but a really different feel.

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  2. Just wow. Normally I am not into barn conversions etc but maybe the English are just doing it wrong.

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    1. This is mostly as a party space, but it is fabulous, nevertheless!

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  3. Utterly charming. Your hosts really know how to entertain. Some people just have a gift.

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  4. Wow, this is a gorgeous venue, I can't wait to read the next posts...love all the historical references in the paintings and furnishings. Male nudes, interesting, but maybe not everyone's 'cup of tea'.

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    1. We were laughing because one of the nudes seemed to have a bit of a "glandular" problem!

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  5. Hello Meg, That's what I need to do: Buy a barn and then start buying enough stuff so that I can stage dinners for one hundred. Your pictures of the event are so inviting that I wish each could be blown up a great deal to magnify the details.
    --Jim

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    1. Jim... if you double click on them, they should open in a new window and are much bigger.

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