Designing the Perfect Cozy Gathering

By Angie Johnson-Schmit

The winter months are a great time to reconnect with friends and family . Hosting a cozy get-together is a wonderful way to do just that. Whether it’s a casual gathering around an outdoor fire pit, or a more elaborate event, good planning and event design can help take your celebration to the next level. If your party skills are in need of an upgrade or refresh, sisters Holly Favour Jones and Annie Sharp, of One Hundred Chairs have some tips for you. They agreed to sit down for a chat about how they would approach designing a smaller, in-home gathering. What follows is our conversation, edited for clarity.Photos courtesy of One Hundred Chairs

Photos courtesy of One Hundred Chairs

TG Magazine: Before I dig into my questions for you, do you want to tell me a little bit about yourselves and about your business?

Holly: You want to start that one again?

Annie: We are sisters, born and raised in Prescott, as were our parents. Multi-generation Prescott. I think both of us, in different ways, have always had a love of events, parties, experiences, aesthetic design, helping people or being part of those kind of life milestones or reasons to celebrate and gather.

In 2017 we were approached to purchase this business, One Hundred Chairs, that was started by some other Prescottonians. We were very starry-eyed and without hesitation said, “Yes, please!”

We saw the potential for growth and to put our own spin on things. Very thankfully, even with 2020 in the mix, almost five years later, we've been able to grow the business pretty substantially while staying true to both our roots in Prescott and helping to create experiences more than just providing rental items.

TG Magazine: So, you do party and event planning, and you have the opportunity for people to rent unique pieces for their special parties and events. Is that right?

Annie: One Hundred Chairs is vintage inspired and unique rental pieces. We have a niche market in that. We also do event design and event styling. We don't do full event planning or coordinating usually. We focus our efforts and talents on the aesthetic parts of the events and creating experiences for people that are unique.

TG Magazine: For event styling, what would that encompass? Would that be, we're looking for these colors, we're looking for these fabrics, that type of thing?

Annie: That would be in our event design, really helping pull all of those wants and desires together into a cohesive look and considering all the different detail elements of it. Our event styling would be going and setting up the events and putting all of the pieces out.

TG Magazine: What would be your top tips for the average person who wants to do a cozy gathering of six to eight people? If they just want to have some friends over, and they want to make it cozy and warm and welcoming?

Holly: Ultimately, we think any event should be an experience. To create an atmosphere that carries through the event with different ways guests can experience them, we would recommend starting with your décor.

Then, how you want the evening to unfold might be a good question for them to ask themselves.

If that's a dinner, or then after dinner, you move with a specialty cocktail to a fire, then you can decide, well, my fire aspect, how do I make that a very curated, special cove where they can enjoy that part of the experience in the evening? That's obviously where we feel special pieces and the décor play a big role in things. Oftentimes people think, oh I don't need décor, but it creates that experience for people. More so than I think people even realize sometimes.

TG Magazine: Explain what you mean by décor.

Holly: Basically, you have two types of décor. The first would be your bigger statement pieces that you need to make that foundation of your event. And then you have your detailed items. That's your tabletop décor, the plate they're eating off, the things that layer on the table to make it feel cozy.

Candles, huge décor that we think any table should have. It makes the whole atmosphere come alive. That would be a cozy element that is pretty much a must have. Or, if you have an upholstered lounge area that's very warm and inviting and allows you to have a space where you can have conversation and enjoy the people that you've invited over.

Then you can add some small, detailed items there for décor like lush pillows and cozy blankets in there too. And then a nice side table so that they can set their drink down. They're comfortable and it's aesthetically pleasing.

TG Magazine: Well, that sounds...I want to go to that party.

Annie: Some unassuming things can be part of the décor. Things such as, and Holly touched on this, your dishware. Choosing the type of plate that you're putting on the table.

Something that has a warm or soothing color or something that's bright and light and airy. Being very thoughtful of what type of glass you serve your specialty cocktail in takes a really yummy drink to the experience level. Those things you wouldn't necessarily assume as being décor, but thoughtfully put together, they become part of the décor and the “feel.”

Holly: We are very big proponents of pretty and practical. You need a chair to sit in, but that chair can have just as much of importance of what things look like and how the person feels sitting in it, that they're comfortable. All of those things play a part in it.

I think another question that they could ask themselves is how do you want it to evolve through the night? Where do I want my highlight or my emphasis of things to be? Do I want the dinner and the table to be where my main focus is? Or do we want it to be more outside by the fire and let's do a really great lounge area? It can be both but knowing where you want to spend most of your time or what you want the highlight to be helps you know your focus in the décor.

TG Magazine: If you're going to have a dinner and then clear off the table and play board games, then obviously the table would be the centerpiece.

Holly: Yes. Then you're going to keep it a little bit simpler with the center piece, because it's just going to get moved. Maybe then you have a hot cocoa bar that people can go and get a hot beverage while you're clearing the table off for them to sit down, enjoy it, and have games. That helps you figure out how you want the night to evolve.

Annie: Another good question that we'll often ask clients is, what feel do you want through the night? Some people want relaxed and cozy and quiet conversation. Other people are like, we've been cooped up, we're ready to party. Answering those questions then helps guide them down to these other things we've talked about.

TG Magazine: What would be the difference for you?

Holly: I would say, if you're going down the route of cozy and comfy, I would try to elevate some looks a little bit. Make the areas where you're going to be spending your time and kind of sitting still a little bit grander. That's where you're doing full place settings. You're making it a longer, more enjoyable dinner.

If you want a more active event, maybe you don't have a place setting for everyone. Maybe it's more like passed hors d'oeuvres or a grazing table so people don't ever actually completely sit down. You want people up and moving. It slightly changes your approach to where you put the focus.

TG Magazine: Is there anything else you think somebody might want to ask themselves when they're planning a party?

Holly: Just knowing certain personalities. Often you can pull in things, which if they're doing it in their own home, those are already around you. So maybe it doesn't apply as much here. Something we try to do is get to know the person and how you can integrate things. An example would be, we did a wedding for a couple that owned a bookstore, so in the centerpieces we made sure to use books.

If you have a theme that you want to stick with, try to find those subtle ways to do it. If it's an intimate dinner party, it's really nice to do name tags. It looks like you've been very thoughtful to your guests. You've been excited they're coming; you know where they're sitting. Those little touches go a long way.

One tip would be, we tend to go towards the darker colors in the winter, but sometimes it's nice to keep things neutral and clean with creams and beiges. You can still get a cozy feel without going dark.

Annie: Some other tips Holly can explain more is texturing and layering when you're using these more neutral colors.

Holly: An example would be, when it gets cold you get bundled up. You can do the same thing with décor. You can give that feel through your décor. If you have a wood table, feel free to layer it. A soft runner with a woven charger and then a cream plate, for instance. That highlights the layering that you're doing, and makes it feel a little bit warmer and more inviting.

TG Magazine: What about the end of the event? Is there usually a closure to it or is it kind of open-ended?

Annie: We've seen a trend in weddings where you see a lot of sendoffs, whether it's a sparkler sendoff or a champagne toast sendoff that's going to happen at “x” time, which then signals to the guests that the event is closing or winding down.

With some creativity, you could integrate something like that into a dinner party. Maybe it's dessert. You linger around the fire a little bit and go in for dessert or a dessert bar, or coffee is served before they leave or something to signal that the pace is changing. You could do something like a parting gift like, by the door is a bag of cookies for you to take.

I would say if it's something that is important to the host, and we didn't really talk much about invitations, that's something that I would pay attention to. Say that the party is running from begin time to end time.

Often as I host parties, it's less important to me when people leave and so I just will indicate the start time. As the guest reading that, it's less important that it wraps up at a specific time.

To find out more about One Hundred Chairs, visit their website www.onehundredchairs.com or find them on Facebook and Instagram.

Cozy Christmas Hot Chocolate: Naughty Elf

Ingredients

1/3 c. cocoa powder ,¾ c. granulated sugar, Pinch of salt, 1/3 c. boiling water, 3 ½ c. whole milk, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, ½ c. half and half, Irish whiskey, Cinnamon Schnapps, Whipped cream, Ground cinnamon for garnish

Directions

Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in saucepan. Whisk in boiling water. Bring to low boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes while stirring constantly. Add milk and heat, but DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat, add vanilla and half and half. Pour into large mugs.

Add 1.5 oz. Irish Whiskey and 1.5 oz. Cinnamon Schnapps to each mug of hot cocoa.

Garnish with whipped cream and light dusting of ground cinnamon.

*Note: If you prefer a less sweet drink, reduce sugar in hot cocoa to ¼ cup.