The Art of Hosting with Mary Graham
For this month's edition we headed to the impeccably decorated home of Mary Graham, co-founder of interior design studio Salvesen Graham. As seasoned creatives, Salvesen Graham are dedicated to crafting authentic heritage interiors: classically beautiful, carefully considered spaces designed to feel stylish and comfortable now and long into the future.
What’s your single most favourite thing about hosting?
I’m an okay cook but that’s more my husband's domain; setting the scene is my favourite part of all. Seeing people relaxed and comfortable in your home is a wonderful thing, so I’m not at all precious about drinks spilling (I’m great at removing stains!), because I just like people to feel completely at ease and to make my home their own.
Name the one thing you notice and appreciate most when being hosted by someone else?
This might sound a little weird, but I love people thinking about the loo. Hosting isn’t just about the dining room to me, so when you go to somebody’s home where they’ve considered beyond the principal space I always notice and appreciate that. My friend Hatta [former editor of House & Garden] has my favourite loo. There’s a doll’s house, an armchair and plenty of pictures – they make it feel like a properly decorated room that also happens to be the loo.
Perfect crockery or perfect table linens: if you could only have one which would it be?
Firstly, I don’t think anything has to be perfect; imperfect is charming. On that note, I find imperfect linen easier to get away with. There’s a charm to linen with a visible mend done by a previous owner; it adds to its story. I wouldn’t want a chip on my plate however. So, if I had to pick, it’d be imperfect table linens.
Insider Scoop: what's your number one spot for supper?
It’s a bit different in the country where it’s more about eating at other peoples’ homes than eating out – and I couldn’t and wouldn’t pick a favourite spot out of all of our friends! When in London though, I still love The Wolseley. The theatre of a well-dressed table, the doorman, the chips that come in a silver tumbler lined with greaseproof paper – I love it all and find it such a treat.
Dish the dirt, who's the best person who has ever hosted you?
As I say, I couldn’t pick just one, but my friend Willa who lives locally and has just set up an incredible flower farm in fact is one of our most regular hosts and she has it down to a fine art. Her husband cooks and she sets the table and you arrive and think, now I know I’m going to have a good time here. Hatta is fabulous too with her gorgeous drawing room and attentive husband constantly refilling your drink. He also stokes a fire in your bedroom to get it to that perfect ember level for heading to bed at 2am. Being hosted and well looked after to me is the greatest indulgence.
You're having friends over for supper, what's your go-to dish and drink?
My husband’s on the drinks and I’m on the food. He’ll serve a negroni and has a whole book on them meaning that twists are very much available, but I couldn’t tell you what they are! In summer, I love serving loose and easy food with really good ingredients like burrata and prosciutto salad. In winter, I favour Middle Eastern food or something like Moroccan lamb with courgette ribbons and flatbreads. We have wild garlic on the river so I use that, and it makes me look good even though it’s incredibly simple. But that’s what I like: easy, sociable food and the same for the atmosphere.
And what's your ultimate host-with-the-most finishing touch?
It’s not so much a finishing touch but a consideration that I probably come to at the end – lighting. I like to set it thoughtfully across the whole of the ground floor because there’s nothing worse than leaving the dining room and turning on bright overhead hallway lights and killing the mood. Low-level lighting in corridors and any reception rooms guests might head is a must so the same ambient atmosphere is continued. If a door is shut and a light is off, it says, you shouldn’t be skulking in here but with other rooms lit it hopefully lets them know they can roam a little at least and make themselves at home.
Salvesen Graham x Rebecca Udall: The Edit
Mary's quick-fire five picks straight from the Rebecca Udall collection.
Your go-to glass: I love Murano glass so it has to be the Millefiori tumblers for their colour and informality.
Pick a plate, any plate: It has to be the Olivia crockery: it’s plain enough for everyday with the right amount of detail to take you from kitchen to dining.
Cutlery, take your pick: Honestly, I could choose any. I have some of the bamboo already but I think the everyday, classic ivory would let the other things on the table take centre stage so you can have fun with flowers, linens and ceramics.
Your number one napkin: Possibly boring of me but I love the hemstitch. It’s such a classic! It’s also helpful to mix in with antique table linen if you don’t have a full set. That, for me, is the best bit about the Rebecca Udall collection: it all works so well with antiques.
Your tablecloth one and only: The hemstitch again because I just love a crisp white tablecloth: starched if possible! It sets the scene for an elegant meal and allows you to layer up with pattern and colour via a runner and chargers.
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