Fusing understated elegance, relaxed chic, and the Zen attitude, fashiondesigner Marie France Van Damme reveals the secrets of successful, sophisticated,and stress-free entertainment on a budget.Five chapters-Flowers, Candles, The Table, Food, and Art-explore howto create a sense of occasion, a relaxed mood, simple pleasures, and foodwithout worry. Each chapter finishes with actual events: a winter birthday athome, with plain black plates, flowers in a single color, and sushi from a localJapanese restaurant; a Belgian celebration in a greenhouse with a wood-burningstove, transformed in two hours at minimal cost into what looks like a pagefrom an event at Versailles; a stylish working lunch with take-out curry. . . .The principles can be applied in any location, culture, or society, fromSan Francisco to San Tropez, from Seville to Siena. Perfectly attuned to thedesires and realities of today's living, this book will be welcome anywhereon the planet.