At-Home Date Night Tradition + Alice Lane Table Setting

Last month, I created this Alice Lane table setting for a sponsored Instagram reel and, then, this past week, I published a piece on my Friday night at-home date night tradition that became a thing during the pandemic and still stands to this day.

You can read the entire piece here on Apartment Therapy, but the gist is, during the pandemic, rather than going out, Adam and I would have Friday night at-home date nights where we’d cook the fanciest, most involved recipes. We’ve now kept it going for three years (seriously, we have — my brother-in-law read the piece and his first question was, “but do you actually do this?,” and we do!). I love picking up pasta from Eastern Market, cake from Radici, or dedicating Friday to making homemade tortillas. It’s such a lovely way to round out the week.

How I Put Together this Alice Lane Table Setting

One important part of these Friday night at-home date nights is setting the table, and this Alice Lane table setting is modern and elevated, but also super simple. All of our dishware and glassware works within a similar color palette of black, white, and amber. We don’t have room in our DC condo for pieces that don’t mix and match.

I start with the two statement pieces from Alice Lane, the stunning saffron candlesticks and the delicately beautiful smoke drinking glasses.

Then, I start the place setting with our Crate and Barrel Bali Placemats, though, in all honesty, I don’t necessarily recommend these. They shed terribly, but they do look nice and they’re what we have. Then I add a charger plate from Catharge Co. If this weren’t for a photo shoot, we’d just use this as our plate, but, the camera needs a little something extra.

That’s followed by our trusty Aspen Plates from Crate and Barrel. I prefer the all white I bought back in 2012, though we also have the gray rim, since Adam wanted a little something extra when we registered for more. This flatware from CB2 looks to be the updated version of what we got 5 years ago — I love the modern, sleek, stiletto look of the handle, though ours is more sculptural and rounded at the head. The water glasses are also from Catharge Co.

The striped napkins are a favorite, though something about the stripe has them as a spring through early fall look in my head. I’ve somehow updated stripes in my closet to year round, but these napkins still feel like warmer weather despite the color.

Also, What is Alice Lane?

I actually discovered Alice Lane via their podcast, Dear Alice, this past holiday season, when they aired several episodes on holiday entertaining and making a home cozy. And it was a complete coincidence when they reached out to do a sponsored post a few months later. I’d actually never perused their home website, but what a delight it is!

Alice Lane is an interior design studio, podcast, and home shop, name for the street where the founders lived, before selling their house to fund their design dreams. Their style melds modern with traditional, and I love the sculptural, artistic lines of their items.

They have pieces across all price points and, since I was given an amount to spend, I stuck to the less expensive items and created an Alice Lane table setting. The gorgeous saffron candlesticks are only $21 each, while the smoke drinking glasses are $15. For beautifully made pieces, that’s an incredible price point, and also perfectly suited for wedding or shower gifts. It’s definitely worth checking out whether you’re in the market for home items or just want a new design podcast to add to your queue.