Setting the Table with: Ali LaBelle

Setting the Table with: Ali LaBelle

Where were you raised?

I grew up in Orange County, California.


Did anyone teach you to set the table? If so, what did you learn?

My mom put my sister and me in charge of setting the table when we were really young. She would let us “design” the centerpiece for the table, which was usually made up of a mix of objects we’d find around the house, like candles and pumpkins or little vases of flowers. She always encouraged us to have fun with it and was never too formal or precious about how it looked.She has collected tableware for as long as I can remember—linen napkins, salad plates, serving bowls… We always had lots to choose from. I think that’s what’s stuck with me the most in adulthood; I have an ever-growing collection of linens and dishes and glassware, just like she does.

Ali LaBelle
Fig 1. Ali’s Decorated Table Setting

Where does your table setting inspiration come from?

I don’t know that I look at any particular inspiration when it comes to setting the table. If I’m designing paper menus I might look at some graphic inspiration, like vintage ephemera from old restaurants. There are people who do beautiful table settings professionally, like Tables Tables Tables—they just did a gorgeous table for a Thom Brown event that I loved, and I mentally noted how they used ribbon at each place setting in a very clean, non-bow way. Ironically I embroidered napkins to use as place cards just like they did for my birthday dinner a couple of years ago!

Fig 2. Ali’s Birthday Menu
Fig 3. Ali’s Hand Embroidered Napkins

You are naturally a collector. Could you describe your own archive in relation to your home aesthetic?

I am naturally drawn to things from the past, like archival textiles and old books. I collect all kinds of things—postcards from flea markets, restaurant pens, lace tablecloths, vintage cookbooks, French ribbon—and I actually use it all. I have a reference library (well, really it’s just a giant plastic storage bin in a closet) where I keep bits of packaging and fabrics and other things I might look to for inspiration. But when it comes to my home, I just really like the things I like and try to use all of it in everyday life.

Pattern-mixing is big for me—I love that “collected over time” look. Almost nothing matches in my house, and if it does it starts to make me feel a little uneasy. I don’t love when things look too controlled (which is ironic, because I love control.) I’d rather wait to find something I really like than to buy it when I decide I need it, even if it takes years. I see my home as an evolving design project, one that will never really be finished.


When setting the table, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

I always have the same goal when I have people over: to create a comfortable, easy, cozy feeling. I want people to feel relaxed and taken care of. So when I’m choosing what to use for any particular dinner, I’m thinking about the food itself—the experience of serving it, what we’ll need to eat it. I’m thinking about the music and the lighting and the temperature inside… It’s less about how it all looks and more about how it will feel to sit in my dining room together.

Fig 5. Ali’s A.S. Place Setting
Fig 6. The Ingrid Napkins

For those new to hosting, is there a particular lesson you’d like to impart?

Two things!. For one, force yourself to delegate. If you want to have people over but you’re nervous about cooking for a group, ask everyone to bring something. If 8 people are on their way but you only have 6 plates, have someone bring a couple more. I hate doing dishes, so often I’ll ask people to rinse theirs when we’re done eating so I can just quickly load the dishwasher before bed. Entertaining is a lot of work, so do what you can to make it easy on yourself.

The second thing: Consider the entire experience of having someone over, don’t just focus on your dining table. What music is playing when they arrive? Do they have to walk through a messy living room to get to your kitchen? Is there a candle burning in the bathroom? Create a space where people will want to hang out and linger long after the dinner is over.


Place settings or no seating arrangements?

If we’re talking 6 people or less, I don’t think you need to worry about seating arrangements in any context—everyone will be able to talk to each other and the table won’t be so large that there can’t be a group conversation. But for more than 6 people, it really depends! If everyone knows each other you probably don’t need a seating plan. If no one knows each other, you might want to intentionally seat people together who have things in common. It’s scary to go to an event by yourself, so to avoid that little shuffle around the table that everyone does when they don’t know where to sit, you can alleviate some anxiety by choosing for them. 


Who are you typically hosting in your space and for what kind of gathering?

I’m in a cookbook club with a few friends and we rotate hosting duties, so every few months it’s my turn to have people over. It’s a fun way to invite people into my home without assuming all of the responsibilities of cooking a big meal..Last fall I hosted a girls night for maybe 10 or 12 friends. I filled my entire dining table with snacks and drinks, and we all just sat on the floor in the living room, passing around bottles of wine and a tray of cookies someone made. Someone brought a platter of mini corn dogs—those were popular.

Fig 7. Ali’s served Marcella Hazan's Butter Tomato Sauce + Dulan Wines
Fig 8. Ali’s Dining Room

You have hosted various events around Los Angeles under Pasta Girlfriend. What have you learned about setting large tables, versus that of your own?

Pasta Girlfriend has a brand look and feel that isn’t necessarily my own personal style, so I approach designing the table a little differently. PGF’s aesthetic is much more graphic and colorful than my own, and that isn’t to say that I don’t like it, but it’s just not what I would do at my own dining table.

When I’m designing a table for an event, I usually make a mood board that includes menu graphics, flowers, and dishware. I’m much more fussed with how things look in these contexts than I am when I’m hosting at home—I want people to take photos and get excited about the experience, so a lot more planning goes into it.


Dream dinner party guests?

Okay, let’s see… Dolly Alderton, for sure. Andy Cohen and SJP (since they’re besties—I think they’d be fun in the mix.) Andrew Scott and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Ziwe. Amelia Dimoldenberg, the Chicken Shop Date girl. Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers.

Fig 9. The Ingrid Napkins, Marriane Placements and Eva Tablecloth

Follow along Ali’s creativity and knack for setting the table at her Substack:

À La Carte 

Instagram:

@alilabelle

Fig 10. À La Carte
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