Journal

Stories of Italian living, the art of the table, and the places behind MI RE LA

All What We Make Your Table The Collections Caring for Linen Hosting Trunk Shows Who We Are
When the Motif Has Nowhere to Hide
When the Motif Has Nowhere to Hide
Choosing the motif is the part people spend the least time on and should probably spend the most. On a placemat it matters less than you think. On a basket... Read more...
How Many Cocktail Napkins Do You Actually Need?
How Many Cocktail Napkins Do You Actually Need?
The number usually quoted was written for paper. Linen is counted differently. Read more...
Cocktail, Beverage or Luncheon?
Cocktail, Beverage or Luncheon?
Three names, and far less agreement about the measurements than the names suggest. Read more...
Six round embroidered linen placemats on a round wooden table, with the wood visible between the settings
What Size Should a Placemat Be?
A nineteen-inch placemat looks composed on a long table and impossible on a small round one. The size that works is a relationship, not a number. Read more...
Placemats or a Tablecloth?
Placemats or a Tablecloth?
A tablecloth changes the whole surface at once. Placemats mark each place and leave the table part of the room. Which one, and when. Read more...
Nobody Agrees About the Napkin
Nobody Agrees About the Napkin
A napkin looks like the least controversial object on a table. Then somebody stands up mid-meal, and a question appears that has no settled answer anywhere. Read more...
held in one hand with a linen cocktail napkin between the palm and the glass MI RE LA
Hold With the Left, Toast With the Right
Italian etiquette says hold the glass in your left hand. It also says toast with your right. The napkin is what makes the handover work. Read more...
The Basket With Nothing Inside It
The Basket With Nothing Inside It
Most bread baskets have something inside holding them up. Wicker, wire, a stiffened base. Ours has none of that, and three useful things follow. Read more...
Your Linen Napkin Will Not Stand Up
Your Linen Napkin Will Not Stand Up
Every guide says the fold failed because your linen is not good enough. Every one of those guides is written by somebody who sells linen. Read more...
Two Napkins, Two Finishes
Two Napkins, Two Finishes
A dinner napkin is in your lap within thirty seconds and nobody sees it flat again. A cocktail napkin lies flat under a glass for an hour. That is the... Read more...
A Guest Will Not Open Your Drawers
A Guest Will Not Open Your Drawers
MI RE LA · Italian Lifestyle Journal Hosting · The Guest Room A Guest Will NotOpen Your Drawers What to leave out in a guest bathroom, what to leave in... Read more...
Charger or Placemat?
Charger or Placemat?
A researched guide to what actually separates a charger from a placemat — and how a single structured piece can serve both roles at your table. Read more...