Tips for Elegant and Extravagant Holiday Parties From MartinPatrick 3

Photos by Spacecrafting Photography/Rob Grosse || Interior Design by MartinPatrick 3

Consider doing more this holiday season—and less. More hosting. Less posting. More layered decor that embraces the uplifting power of fresh flowers and food. Less dusty motifs of balsam and poinsettia. More unexpected touches, say a giant silver egg filled with flatware or a slightly naughty absinthe fountain. And while we’re at it, why not swap the velvet and plaid standard wardrobe for a vibrant dress?

Midwest Design and the stylish experts from MartinPatrick 3 took over a luxurious 25th-floor condominium at ELEVEN in Minneapolis to demonstrate the many ways to invigorate small and large gatherings with fun, intention, and a generosity of spirit that’s at the heart of the season.

Impress Guests With a Festive Feast

Food is the fulcrum of a holiday party, so this is the time to pull out all the stops. Planning a few stations (maybe one for savory and one for sweet) helps smooth party traffic, encourages mingling, and creates engaging tableaus for the eyes and palate.

Designer Arielle Slobotski begins by grabbing a paper and pencil to map out the tables, deciding where serving dishes and enhancements (such as candles and flowers) will be placed. “I play around with different sizes and shapes of serving dishes, making sure I’ve also got some height,” she says. “It looks more appealing and makes the food easier to get to.”

Dark tapers in fluted, twisted, and smooth textures help create a mood, complemented by towers of fresh red grapes and mandarin oranges. And this is the time to break out or add special serving pieces—such as a vintage-inspired absinthe dispenser, hand-blown cake dome, or horn serving utensils. 

Add a Dose of Drama

Eschewing standard pine garland doesn’t have to mean the absence of greenery or fragrance. Here, fresh silvery sage eucalyptus echoes frost while plummy thistle acts as a spiky foil for velvety red roses—a more dramatic take on the traditional holiday hue.

Use the Bar Cart for Special Toasts

A separate bar cart or area is an opportunity to create a special, festive moment. Champagne flutes need not match (and might be easier to keep track of if they don’t), and colored glass is another way to add richness. A dish of dried oranges is ready to pop in an old-fashioned, while mixology tomes are ready for reference if the host or guest needs a refreshment refresher.

Extend Holiday Decor

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Designer Greta Anderson recommends extending holiday decor throughout the public spaces in your home. “You can create a lot of atmosphere in a small space like the powder room,” she says. Here, a fresh rose garland draped over the mirror, a Baccarat crystal candle lamp, and a Maison Trudon room spray with a pretty atomizer bulb offer a luxurious private moment. 

Holidays are an excellent opportunity to freshen up spaces and rearrange pieces you already have, too. It can be as minimal as moving a drink table to another room or even swapping out wall art. “It’s just a nail on a wall,” Anderson says.

Layers of coffee table books on various topics can serve as a platform for objects and spark conversation.

Dress to Impress

Elegance and ease are not mutually exclusive with these holiday dresses, ​in lengths that provide warmth and rich fabrics, patterns, and hues that light up the room. Add a high-shine flat and a piece of statement jewelry, and you’re good to go. 

Tips for Achieving Maximalism Without Clutter

While the holidays are definitely the time for maximalism, there is a thin line between glorious abundance and agitated clutter. Here are some ways to strike a balance:

• Negative space: A little breathing room around objects enhances the architecture and beauty of individual pieces within a display, say, on a shelf,  “so your eye can land somewhere and take it in,” designer Leigh Hull explains.
• Create depth: On a shelf, bring some items forward and push others back, leaving open space in between to frame the objects. On a table, do the same
  with varying heights.
• Group items by color: Choose three or four colors and work within that palette for the room, using a variety of shades, patterns, scales, and prints to add visual interest. During the holidays, designer Amber O’Brien recommends extending this rule to gift wrap. “The wrapping paper and ribbons you choose for your gifts are a great way to pull colors in from the surrounding decor.”
• Mix function and decor: “Beautiful boxes in lacquer or wood look wonderful on a shelf or table but also offer practical storage for coasters, special photos, or remotes,” designer Greta Anderson explains.

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