Welcome to the most recent instalment of ‘How We Host,’ our column dedicated to all-things entertaining from those that know a factor or two about having a great time. Subsequent to dissect the effective artwork of entertaining is Lisa Sternfeld, founding father of WLLW, an inside design agency rooted in environmental well being and wellness.
After her son confronted extreme respiratory points, a scary query popped into Lisa Sternfeld’s thoughts: Might her home be making him sick?
Sternfeld, who had been working within the New York-area design world for greater than twenty years, began doing her personal detective work, testing for mould and poor air high quality, from seemingly-benign sources like artificial carpets, off-gassing furnishings and residential fragrances.
As she rethought her house and as her son’s well being improved, she realised she might not be the one one going through a poisonous dwelling area. The epiphany led her to determine the wellness-oriented design agency WLLW (which stands for ‘Nicely Life, Lived Nicely’) in 2022 12 months. The agency has gone on to design for top finish residential for personal purchasers and goals to point out that more healthy design needn’t look sterile or generic.
Her own residence, nestled within the charming city of Fairfield, Connecticut, is proof. By leveraging non-toxic supplies (reminiscent of vegetable-dyed textiles and rugs); antiques (which don’t off-gas like new furnishings); and nature (her backyard is a feast for the senses), she’s created a house that not solely prioritises her household’s well being, but in addition magnificence.
(Picture credit score: Eric Laignel)
‘My final purpose was to carry collectively science, design, and wonder to create a house that helps each bodily well being and emotional connection,’ Sternfeld tells Wallpaper*.
After all, wellness isn’t nearly our environments — it’s about relationships too. And, since Sternfeld, alongside along with her husband, steadily hosts prolonged household gatherings, the home wanted to be spacious and accommodating, whether or not that be for a fast go to, a sit-down meal, or simply time spent collectively. Right here, the designer outlines her suggestions for high quality time with visitors — and why having your cellphone on the dinner desk may simply be the final word faux-pas.
How We Host with Lisa Sternfeld
(Picture credit score: Eric Laignel)
Wallpaper*: Are you a relaxed host, or is there cautious planning?
Lisa Sternfeld: I plan a menu, however I preserve it easy. I like realizing what we’re making and having a way of how the night may unfold, however I don’t plan each element. As soon as the desk is ready and one thing contemporary is cooking, I can chill out.
Internet hosting has all the time been an extension of how I take into consideration properties. I plan simply sufficient to remain calm, then I step again. If the area is working correctly, the night doesn’t want a lot managing. I need to be current, shifting between the kitchen and the desk, listening to how the room feels and the way folks settle in.
(Picture credit score: Eric Laignel)
W*: Are you able to prepare dinner?
LS: Sure, and it’s a part of our on a regular basis life. My husband and I prepare dinner collectively, and that shared time within the kitchen is a part of the pleasure. Cooking isn’t one thing that occurs within the background. It’s typically the place the night begins.
We prepare dinner merely and let our kitchen backyard lead. When components are contemporary, you don’t must do a lot. Cooking collectively additionally has a sensible profit. It retains us out of one another’s means.
W*: What was the primary dish you perfected to feed a gaggle of pals or household?
LS: A easy roast hen with greens from the backyard. It’s one thing we’ve been cooking for years, and it nonetheless seems like essentially the most dependable approach to feed folks.
We’ve made it so many occasions it’s change into instinctive, which might be why it really works. It’s about timing, heat, and realizing when to go away issues alone.
W*: Drinks on arrival – what’s on supply?
LS: One thing gentle and refreshing. Glowing water with lemon or contemporary herbs, and a calming white or a pure wine. It’s simple, unfussy, and provides folks a second to reach.
(Picture credit score: Eric Laignel)
W*: Go on and tempt us – what’s your go-to menu, from starters to afters?
LS: Easy, seasonal meals. Greens picked simply earlier than cooking, herbs used generously, and normally a roast or one thing gently braised positioned on the centre of the desk. We prepare dinner with only a few components and allow them to converse for themselves.
Currently, I’ve been baking Nigella Lawson’s clementine cake. It’s easy, not too candy, and it by no means lasts lengthy.
Cooking from the backyard brings all the things nearer to the senses. The scent of herbs in your fingers, citrus within the air, greens nonetheless heat from the solar. It units the tone earlier than anybody sits down.
(Picture credit score: Eric Laignel)
W*: What’s in your banquet playlist?
LS: I normally begin with Invoice Evans, transfer into Nick Drake, and let somebody like Van Morrison carry the night. The music ought to help the room, not compete with it.
W*: Who’s your dream banquet visitor?
LS: Somebody curious, current, and never in a rush. Stanley Tucci seems like the perfect dinner visitor. He’s heat, observant, genuinely curious about meals and other people, and has a means of creating a desk really feel relaxed and pure. The perfect visitors make everybody else really feel snug being themselves.
(Picture credit score: Eric Laignel)
W*: Dish the grime: what ought to a bunch by no means do?
LS: A number ought to by no means make visitors really feel like they’re in the best way. Issues received’t be good, and that’s a part of what makes a night really feel human. Internet hosting is an act of generosity. As soon as visitors really feel like they’re interrupting you, the vitality within the room shifts.
W*: What ought to a visitor by no means do?
LS: Arrive distracted. You don’t must carry out, however you do have to be there. Telephones have a means of flattening a room and pulling vitality away from the desk.
What’s the key to a profitable night?
LS: Simplicity and a spotlight. When the meals is contemporary, the components are good, and the area feels calm, folks chill out with out realizing why.
When somebody asks what they’ll carry, I normally ask them to carry a narrative, a shared reminiscence, or a favorite recipe they like to make. One thing private all the time provides extra to the night than one other dish. It creates connection earlier than the meal even begins, and over time, it’s how I’ve gathered a few of my most treasured recipes.
And if folks keep longer than they deliberate, it’s normally a great signal. Probably the greatest compliments I’ve acquired is just, “It simply feels so good in right here.”
Supply: Wallpaper
