Traditional Home – Gatherings: On The Waterfront
Traditional Home – July / August 2019
By: Krissa Rossbund, Photography: John Granen
For Beth Dotolo and Carolina V Gentry, owners and founders of the hip interiors firm Pulp Design Studios, life is all about surf and turf. With offices in Seattle and Dallas, one half of the duo works surrounded by water, pine trees, and the laid-back attitude of the picturesque Pacific Northwest while the other operates in a glamorous city ringed by the rugged cattle country of Texas.
The design duo brought both tastes to the table for a summer celebration with friends and colleagues at Lake Washington, inside a waterfront home they outfitted with contemporary indoor-outdoor furnishings.
“We especially love our projects that are near water because water automatically imbues relaxation,” Beth says.
In keeping with the summer season, casual ease is on the menu. That means no precious dinnerware or stuffy accoutrements. Beth and Carolina put a priority on creating a tablescape that’s stylish but doesn’t steal time better spent with guests.
The imperfect form of a live-edge dining table automatically extends permission for an unmatched scheme. Matte black dinner plates set a simple foundation for formal porcelain salad plates bearing a contemporary celestial design. Plum and smoky-glass stemware adds sophistication with moody color. Shapely ceramic vessels hold flower arrangements. A table runner designed by Beth and Carolina layers a graphic tribal pattern down the table’s center without disrupting the beautiful grain of the wood.
The organic, handcrafted vibe of the table sparked other artisanal touches. Leather placemats were embellished by an artist in Dallas who puts painterly flourishes on custom garments and home goods. Another Dallas-based maker fashioned the sage-color platters used to pass courses of food served family style. Dappled with a golden glaze, the serving pieces inject a bit of glitz into the comfortable setting.
“We always want to show personality in the interiors we design by using unique pieces,” Carolina says. “One-of-a-kind and small-batch objects help achieve that. When you can mix uncommon pieces with everyday objects that are more recognizable, you create a custom experience.”
And creating memories and meaning is what it’s all about—in a home or at a relaxed summer dinner party.
Less is more when it comes to this enticing menu for summer. It features beautiful fresh food with high-quality ingredients. Fresh herbs and citrus elevate the best cuts for surf-and-turf: filet mignon and center-cut salmon fillets. These accents are carried through the meal from cocktails to appetizers to salad. Finish with a “coffee course” of cooling custard and ice cream. Recipes by Chef Mary Payne Moran of Hail Mary, Food of Grace
Menu
•Genovese Peanut Pesto Bruschetta
•Thyme-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
•Butter Lettuce Salad with Stone Fruit and Blackberries
•Surf and Turf: Filet Mignon and Citrus-Marinated Salmon
•Coffee Custard Sundae with Crumbled Almond Biscotti and Vanilla Ice Cream
