August 27, 2026

At the Table with Lucy Larsen

in The Gathering Place

For Lucy Larsen, making a home has very little to do with how much space you have, whether you own it, or if everything is exactly as you’d imagined it would be.

A tastemaker and mother of two raising her family in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Lucy has created a home that feels collected, personal, and very much lived in. It’s a perspective rooted in something simple: you don’t have to wait for someday to make the life you’re living now feel special.

“There’s something I’ve learned about being a single mom of two in Lincoln Park. You don’t need a huge house or a perfect one to make room for people.”

Lucy has always loved hosting, but not for the elaborate tables or perfectly planned evenings. For her, gathering is a way of showing people they matter.

“I’ve always loved hosting, not because I need everything to be elaborate, but because gathering the people I love around a table feels like one of the simplest ways to say, you matter to me.”

That same philosophy carries through her home. Rather than waiting until she owns a house, has more space, or finds the “right” dining room, Lucy has chosen to make this chapter feel like theirs.

She collects slowly: linens that are meant to be used, serving pieces picked up on trips, and objects tied to people, places, and memories. Nothing needs to be overly precious to be meaningful.

Her children are part of that process, too. Painted place cards make their way onto the table. Flowers they’ve picked become the centerpiece. A craft made together might eventually find a place on the wall. Their fingerprints are quite literally part of the home they’re creating together.

“Our home is small. It’s rented. Things get spilled on and broken. But it’s ours for this season.”

Maybe that’s what makes Lucy’s approach feel so refreshing. A beautiful home isn’t something reserved for a future version of life. It can be the rented apartment. The crowded table. The handmade place card. The serving piece with a story behind it.

A home full of things you love, things you’ve made, and as many of your favorite people as you can squeeze around the table.

Lucy's Picks: Sally Floral Nantucket Blue, James Stripe French Sage
Follow Lucy on Instagram: @lucicatherine

August 5, 2026

At the Table with Kristin Kavanagh

Some of the most meaningful conversations about home have very little to do with design. For this edition of At the Table, we sat down with Winnetka-based interior designer Kristin Kavanagh to talk about the quiet rituals that shape a family, the memories held around the table, and why the smallest traditions often become the ones that last. Kristin shared that some of her earliest memories weren’t of what was served for dinner, but of helping set the table. “Growing up, my mom always made setting the table feel really special. Whether it was a Tuesday after soccer practice or a holiday, my siblings and I were always helping set the table. It was just something we did.” That simple routine stayed with her long after childhood and continues to influence the way she thinks about home today. It’s also why she has such a love for collecting dishes. “Some are new, some are vintage, and some remind me of the very ones that I grew up seeing in my own home. Every time I set the table, it brings me right back to that feeling.” Perhaps the most memorable part of our conversation came when Kristin reflected on what those evenings around the table were really teaching. “Looking back, I realized my mom wasn’t teaching us how to set the table. She was teaching us that gathering around it mattered.” It’s a beautiful reminder that the rituals we repeat every day often become the memories our families carry for years to come. For her table, Kristin chose our Sally Floral Placemats in Nantucket Blue and Blush, paired with our James Stripe Placemats. A layered combination that feels classic, collected, and perfectly at home with her timeless approach to design. As our conversation came to a close, Kristin left us with a thought that feels especially fitting for At the Table: “My hope is that in 20 years my kids won’t remember this room because it was beautiful. They’ll remember how it felt to be here. And maybe one day, we’ll be pulling up extra chairs because everyone wants to come home.” We couldn’t think of a better definition of home.You can follow Kristin on Instagram at @kristinkavanaghinteriors.

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June 3, 2026

The Story Behind the Coastal Berry Collection

I’ve loved strawberries for as long as I can remember. Strawberry prints, strawberry baskets at the farmers market, strawberry desserts in the summer. There is just something nostalgic and happy about them. Years ago, when I was pregnant with the baby girl we had waited so long for, I bought a strawberry Christmas stocking. I remember seeing it and immediately thinking of her. At the time, I had no idea what she would look like, but when she was born she arrived with the sweetest strawberry blonde hair. Our Sally. Ever since then, strawberries have felt even more special to me. They remind me of her, of those early days of motherhood, and now of all the summer memories we’re making together. When it came time to design this collection, I kept coming back to two things I love: classic coastal summers and strawberries. I thought about berry picking with kids, baskets on the kitchen counter, Nantucket blues, striped umbrellas, salty air, and dinners that stretch long after the sun starts to set. The kinds of summers that feel simple in the moment but become the memories you treasure years later. The Coastal Berry Collection is our love letter to those summers. A little classic, a little playful, and designed for the tables where life is actually happening. I hope it brings a bit of summer to your home and becomes part of the memories you’re making around your own table. xo, Emmy

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May 7, 2026

For the Women Who Make the Table Feel Like Home

Mother’s Day always makes me think about the women who create the feeling of home. The ones who gather everyone in.Who remember the birthdays and favorite meals.Who set the table before guests arrive.Who somehow make ordinary nights feel special just by being there. And not just mothers, but all women who nurture so beautifully. Grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, neighbors, mentors. The women who care for people in a hundred quiet ways every single day. So much of life happens around a table. Morning pancakes.After school snacks.Long dinners with friends.Holiday traditions.Late-night conversations after everyone should’ve gone home already. Some of my favorite memories in life have happened gathered around a table. And now, building a family and a home of my own, I see even more how meaningful those spaces really are. Not because they’re perfect, but because they’re lived in. Loved in. That’s a huge part of why I started Sally Splash. I wanted pieces that could hold real life while still making the everyday feel beautiful. Things that could handle the messes and the gathering and the constant wiping down, but still help create a home people feel good in. Because I don’t think making a home feel warm is about perfection. It’s in the little things. Fresh flowers from the grocery store.Lighting a candle before dinner.Kids climbing into their same seats every night.Friends lingering at the table a little longer. Those small moments become the feeling people remember. This Mother’s Day, I keep thinking about how much beauty there is in the women who create that feeling for others. The ones who nurture, gather, host, care for, and make people feel welcome again and again. This is for them. For the women who make the table feel like home.

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