Saturday, November 12, 2011

It's all in the fold!


In the chateau de Versailles, there is the salon of the Grand Couvert, part of the Queen's grand apartment(dining area for Marie Antoinette).




The rooms are very ornate , but those folded napkins are just amazing!



The lotus blossom is so exquisite....representing a time when meals were a ritual with much attention to detail.

No fast food foam cartons here! Just the lovely details of a formal dinner....tines down, of course! I urge you to slow down this week and enjoy a special meal. Buy some flowers, light a candle and fold your linen napkins in a clever shape! Remember, it is the celebration of the small things in daily life that really matter!

10 comments:

Len said...

What a great post. The folding screen looks amazing against the red brocade wallpaper.

A while back I did a blog post about napkin folding. I posted a fold a day over 14 days. I am familiar with the lotus blossom. This fold is referred to as the rose and star in "Mrs. Beeton's Cookbook", my source for the scanned images for the napkin folds. I have never seen the pleated shell shape before, it is quite wonderful. I have enclosed a link to the first blog post about napkin folding, there are another 13 after this introductory post.

http://happyholidays-blog.blogspot.com/2008/06/happy-holidays-school-of-napkin.html

I enjoy your blog, there is always something unique that you post.

Theresa Cheek said...

thanks so much for the link Len! I love it when blogs can combine their sources!

Ann at PlumSiena said...

Back a few years, I always used to enjoy watching the fabric guy at the Ritz Carlton do his fold magic on the central table of the Prefunction Room where cocktail hour was usually held. This carved wood table was about eight feet long, so they didn't need/want to cover its legs with a floor length cloth. He would take as many perfectly white cloths as needed and scrunch them up on the entire top. It was a thing of beauty.

Theresa Cheek said...

Very neat Ann! There is so much decorum being lost from even just two generations back.
I even remember(and took photos) of the swans the staff made with the napkins in the hotel dining room where I ate she-crab soup In Charleston for SALI.

ceecee said...

This is a strange coincidence...Two days ago I was studying the directions for how to fold this lotus blossom napkin. I haven't tried it yet but it's on my to-do list for the week. The other is magnificent!
Catherine

Theresa Cheek said...

Catherine-I prefer to think that two creative minds were on the same wave link! I do love the lotus fold.

Mark D. Ruffner said...

Hi, Theresa - Years ago I learned the simple way of folding napkins the way some restaurants do, to look like a bishop's miter. I must say that it's put me in good stead at many dinner parties, and it's true that such simple details delight and set the tone for the rest of the dinner.

designchic said...

I have never seen anything like the last one...it's amazing!!

Lynne Rutter said...

i used to fold napkins, like artful know tying, it's a great skill. but then i decided to start collecting silver napkin rings...

stencil helen said...

I was at an hotel last week. We decontrusted the napkin folds and photographed each step so that we could attempt them at home! Thanks for dropping by Designinspiration, I have replied and suggested that my readers visit this post.

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