How do you celebrate the beginning of summer?  

Alex Matisse: After a long dreary North Carolina winter, bring all the house plants that crowd our kitchen in the winter outside, invite our friends over for an afternoon walk down to the river below our cabin, and have long dinners on the sun-warmed flagstone patio. And if it’s not too hot we light the wood-fired hot tub and watch the stars come out and fireflies drift up into the canopy!

What are your essentials for setting a festive table at home?

Alex Matisse: We are a little wild and loose with our table setting. Our cabinets and shelves are overflowing with things we have collected over the last 15 years of running a housewares business. Many of them are objects our friends made, and they all hold some big memories from the life Connie and I built over the last 16 years. Connie loves color so there is usually something bold that holds it all together, oftentimes a big tablecloth, then layered with flowers or leaves from the woods around our home, sturdy linens, and of course lots of pottery.

What dishes do you find yourself making repeatedly this time of year?

Alex Matisse: It sounds a little basic but good grilled chicken (thighs of course) is just the best, cooked very slowly over real coals so the skin starts to render and crisp. We have this big cast-iron firepit that doubles as a grill, so we get it going to grill and then throw a few more logs on to have the warmth and light through dinner as the sun sets. For dessert, Connie makes a passion fruit pavlova that is a crowd favorite, and there is never enough.  

What are your go-to restaurants in Asheville? 

Alex Matisse: We encourage everyone we know to visit because it’s such an easy flight from so many places, especially New York. Our list is Tall John’s, which is in a beautiful little historic neighborhood we used to live in before we moved to the country, Bull and Beggar down in the River Arts District for some really rich historical Frenchy food, Chai Pani for a really fun and rambunctious Indian feast, and Table, which was one of the first farm-to-table restaurants in Asheville 20 years ago and is still perfect.  

No meal or party is complete without... 

Alex Matisse: A fire burning with people sitting around it, lots of candles dripping wax everywhere, making a mess, massive overflowing platters of grilled meat and vegetables, copal sprinkled on coals, the kids asleep in their beds.

Describe your design style. 

Leanne Ford: My style is relaxed, tonal, and soulful with a touch of rock-and-roll. I love mixing vintage pieces with simple, natural materials like plaster, wood, linen, and stone so a space feels calm, warm, and timeless. I’m always chasing that feeling of a home that has evolved slowly over time — the kind of place where people can gather and stay awhile.

How did you first get started in interior design? 

Leanne Ford: I always knew I would end up in a creative field. As a kid I was constantly making something. In college there was only one shop in town and everyone dressed the same, so I started spray painting my clothes and eventually making my own. That led to my love of fashion and eventually to an internship in New York City. I spent about fifteen years working in fashion styling before buying my first home in 2010. I had always fixed up my rentals, dorm rooms, and even my childhood bedroom, but I never thought of design as a career. When I finally had my own house, I started knocking down walls and shaping the space exactly how I wanted it. Country Living Magazine featured that house in 2011, and suddenly people started calling to ask if I would design their homes too. I was already freelancing, so I just kept saying yes. And that’s really how it all began.

What about your interior design style speaks to who you are as a person?

Leanne Ford: I think my style reflects the way I like to live, relaxed, warm, and pretty loose. I’m drawn to natural materials, old things with history, and spaces that feel personal rather than polished. I want a home to feel like a place where real life happens. Nature has always been a big part of that for me, which is why you’ll often find natural materials — or even actual pieces of nature like branches — brought into my spaces. One of my earliest inspirations was the summer camp I went to as a child. It had massive stone fireplaces, beautiful aged log cabin walls, and huge windows that looked out onto the most incredible views. Those kinds of environments stuck with me. They inspired me as a kid and still shape the kinds of spaces that make my creative mind open up today.

What inspires you when creating a space for entertaining? 

Leanne Ford: I honestly like to stick to the basics. For me it’s all about creating a relaxed atmosphere — soft light, flickering candles, natural textures, gorgeous dinnerware, and music playing in the background (put on a record, or better yet have a talented friend come sing). I love a party and a table that feels beautiful but effortless. I also like to make sure people can grab a drink whenever they want, so I usually set up a simple wine station with a bunch of amazing bottles already opened and ready to pour. I love when a space encourages people to slow down, share a meal, and stay awhile. My number one tip for entertaining is to keep the space and things simple, but never forget to be entertaining and have a good time yourself.

What is your go-to activity to take your mind off work? 

Leanne Ford: Getting into my art studio and getting messy. Painting, making ceramics, screenprinting, drawing with my daughter — making things with my hands is one of the best ways for me to reset and clear my mind.

No home is complete without? 

Leanne Ford: A big kitchen table, good light, and a little music playing.

What is your go-to entertaining playlist? 
Leanne Ford: My “Pour Mon Pied À Terre” playlist on Spotify, it’s my go-to when people come over. It’s relaxed and a touch whimsical, perfect for creating ambiance.

Who inspires your entertaining and/or home decor style? 

Leanne Ford: Everything inspires my work. Everywhere you look, everything you see, everything you listen to and think about eventually makes its way into what you put out into the world. But music has always been my biggest inspiration. Music, musicals, musician biographies — that’s what I turn to again and again. There’s something about the storytelling, the artistry, and the rhythm of it all that feels deeply connected to how I design and live. There’s a Quincy Jones quote I come back to all the time: “Leave space for God to walk into the room.” It applies to music, to art, to design — to everything. You can’t overfill a space or overwork an idea and expect magic to happen. You have to leave room for something greater to enter. That mindset has really shaped how I create. Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.

Where in neighboring Pittsburgh or the surrounding area would you tell visitors is a ‘must see/do’? 

Leanne Ford: Come spend a day in Sewickley — it’s literally a Hallmark town in real life. Visit and do a little shopping at our BM x LF shop, grab flowers at Fox and the Fleur, get a smoothie at Mic’s, treat yourself to a facial or pedi at Rust Beauty, and finish it off with a blowout or in my case, a bang trim, at Sarah Pelco Salon. And don’t forget to spend some time walking or driving around town to admire all the beautiful old houses. The next day, head into Pittsburgh and spend the afternoon at the Warhol Museum. It’s truly one of a kind, and no matter how many times I go, I always leave inspired. Then have dinner that evening at Pusadee’s Garden. And if you have one more day, make the drive out to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater for a tour of the iconic home.

Lightening Round

Solids or Patterns? 

Leanne Ford: Solids! But I also love a monochromatic checkerboard or stripe.

East Coast or West Coast? 

Leanne Ford: Both! PA + CA. I need them both. And Texas too, I LOVE Texas.

One word to describe you? 

Leanne Ford: Curious.

Favorite piece in your home?

Leanne Ford: Our big kitchen table that I put in place of a kitchen island — it’s where life happens.

What are the keys to creating a sustainable dinner menu?

Jill Donenfeld: I consider sustainability in terms of (a) using what one has on hand, and (b) easy repetition. I think about a menu that will play with my collection of ceramics, in terms of color, texture, size, and material. I think about what I can use that is already in my pantry & fridge. I think about what fresh ingredients I have easy access to, which in my case it is bivalves. I like to host a lot so I think of a menu that will be fun for me, easy to give attention to guests while preparing, and filled with ingredients that I am craving. And, I consider mostly what will make my guests feel really great; the best dinner ends with people not wanting it to end and waking up the next morning wanting to come back soon. I brought this same philosophy to The Culinistas, the in-home chef platform I co-founded: we make the art of planning a dinner party easy, accessible, and fun.

What are your essentials to setting a seasonal table at home?

Jill Donenfeld: It has been very important in growing The Culinistas that we always have a chef shopping, directly, for each gathering so that she can assess what is at the market not only for cooking but also for display. If we find stemmy citrus in the winter, it fill the table well. In the winter, we eat after the sun goes down, so everything leans towards flickering candle light. Summertime meals hit at sunset, so the table should look good against a backdrop of pinks & blues. I can skew Surrealist when it comes to treatment of objects, mixing found artifacts with heirlooms, the permanent with the impermanent, and treasures I collect from the natural world with manufactured & hand built items. I make a lot of the porcelain plates that I use. I collect textiles & turn them into napkins. At minimum, I think it is pretty playing against a feast. My birthday falls around the Hindu Ganesh festival so I am able to find strings of jasmine and that has become a requisite each year now. I love how it marks the time.

What are your go-to restaurants in the Hamptons?

Jill Donenfeld: Il Buco is one of the few I frequent. Too on the nose? I love always the Chutney.

What does a seasonal menu look like and taste like for you? Any specific recipes?

Jill Donenfeld: I like when a meal grounds me to a place & time. That is why I am eating so many oysters & clams these days & using the firepit that sits right against the water in front of my house. I think winter I almost always serve potatoes. I find myself craving them. I always get Mont D'Or from France and have a few dinners with that as the centerpiece. It's a creamy cheese that gets cooked in it's wooden box and served on top of potatoes. Needs to be cold out for this dish to be fully enjoyed. In summertime, I become 80% made of watermelon. I serve it at every meal. And I love all the shoulder & short season finds: favas & agretti in spring, delicata in the fall.

What local organizations in the east end do you work with/are you passionate about?

Jill Donenfeld: This year I start farming oysters with the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery & it is a win win win. I get to learn about my second favorite bivalve, cultivate a nearly unlimited supply of oysters to serve to my guests (& stop relying on my neighbor!), and do my little part to filter & keep Long Island waters clean. I am lucky also that the oyster farm is directly outside of my home.

Describe your entertaining style.

Jill Donenfeld: The more the merrier but with a seating chart. I will move things around if you want to bring someone! My dining room is a pillow room – everyone gets recliney around a large low steel table. I live in Lazy Point after all.

Who inspires your entertaining style?

Jill Donenfeld: My favorite PARTY is in Shampoo, but in my two decades living in small spaces in Manhattan, I always wanted my parties to feel like Holly Golightly parties. Now I am so into the firepit that maybe I am leaning more towards Francis Mallman! Wherever I am, the idea is informal & fun, delicious & communal. I am grateful when clients of The Culinistas share pics from their dinners because sometimes they are so special & inspiring!

No meal/party is complete without:

Jill Donenfeld: A seating chart, a game, a party favor. And, ice! Cold drinks go down smoother.

Where was the most memorable tablescape you've ever seen?

Jill Donenfeld: I had the fortune of being invited to stay with an American woman in her 80s who had moved to Rome with her friend Cy Twombly (!!) in the 60s & retired to Porto Ercole, where the famous il Pelicano Hotel is. Every meal that I had at her house was abundant, casual, and filled with various family members across three generations. There was so much stuff on the table at each meal – linens, glassware, wines, salads, pasta, sardines, prosciutto, bread, cigarettes, flowers – in a sunroom stacked with plants growing from everywhere. It was effortlessly decadent & filled with love and joy.

Who features heavily on your entertaining playlist?

Jill Donenfeld: Hard question because I am ravenous for music so it is changing changing changing. This year it has been much Al Green. The Bryan Ferry-Television-T.Rex trifecta seems to go over well with most age groups & types though. Fela Kuti finds his way maybe most consistently; he gets everyone feeling so good and peppy. Right now fifty years ago (1972! The best music year!), The Grateful Dead would be touring Europe so I'm throwing an anniversary party playing every single concert back to back.

Whose home would you be the most excited to be invited to for dinner, and why?

Jill Donenfeld: This is important to me because seeking out delicious ingredients informs my creative & culinary direction of The Culinistas. On trips to the city, I shop Chinatown for most of my greens & mushrooms. I load up. I get dates sent to me from a farm in California. I get almonds sent to me from a place called Vision Sprouts. Out east when I buy fish, I buy from a well respected fisherman on Church Lane in the Springs. Honey from that little place on Hog Creek in the Springs, too. Buy the expensive wine at cheap wine shops & the cheaper stuff at the expensive joints.

Whose home would you be the most excited to be invited to for dinner, and why?

Jill Donenfeld: I have a profound admiration for Jeong Kwan. She is a Korean monk extremely dedicated to vegetables & creating meals that manifest the lifeline of growth, cultivation, and consumption. It would be a deep bow honor to be invited to eat with her!

Who would you love to have as a dinner party guest in your home?

Jill Donenfeld: Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Plato, Socrates, Stanley Kubrick, George Harrison but everyone is dead so looks like it'll just be me, Jim & Steve.

Check out Jill's recipe for the perfect spring salad!