Take an artful approach to hosting your family and friends.

This is the peak season for adding on to your home, and there are no shingles or drywall involved. Central Iowans love to open up the doors, push out the walls in a figurative sort of way, and create outdoor rooms.

“Outdoor entertaining is so fun,” says Karon Dematteis of Urbandale, who is opening an online
e-commerce “store” August 1 called Boxwoods (see sidebar story below). She grew up in the South, with Texas roots. “Down there, you can be outside much of the year. That’s not the case in Iowa, of course, so we must make the most of the outdoor season as we can.” She and her husband, Shane Miller, have owned Iowa Outdoor Products, a full-service landscaping company in Urbandale,
since 1998.

And while it’s fine on occasion to use paper or plastic plates, Dematteis says this is the time to pull out all the stops. “I love beautiful things, especially dishes. Treat your guests to special touches. Make each place setting personal with place cards in small frames or individual mini floral arrangements.”
Mother Nature is the source for many of the designs that Dematteis enjoys. Nothing has to be extra costly to decorate in the garden style she favors. Pull together vintage pieces and repurpose them for your party. Mix the total look with interesting textures, such as wicker and rattan, plus floral fabrics and botanical prints. Mix real and faux plants and flowers. “Honestly, these days often you can’t tell the difference,” says the designer.

The versatility of entertaining in garden style is that it fits anywhere, from an apartment to a multitiered deck, porch, or patio. The fresh-air approach is full of charm and detail, and Dematteis says it appeals to most people because it can be as simple or as elaborate as they want it to be.
Plus, the whole notion works with delicate pastels, rich and creamy whites, or patriotic reds, whites, and blues.

Here are some outdoor entertaining tips from Dematteis to make your gathering special:
• Make your guests feel that they’re not at the same old barbecue.
• Look around your house. Take furniture and trays outside to set up drinks, wine, and glasses.
• Include the beauty of nature. You are, after all, outside. Put the pots from your
container garden in a grouping for more color impact.
• Don’t worry at all about having everything matchy-matchy. “It’s fun to mix and match what you have,” Dematteis says. “You’ll be amazed at how nicely everything you enjoy really does go together.” She likes to bring out some of her grandmother’s Depression glass as accessory pieces on a table.
• Mix it up with plates and glassware.
• Mix silver and gold. Really, it’s OK. The sparkle will be delightful on your table.
• Look around for interesting containers. A vintage wooden dough bowl, for example, lined with a trash bag and filled with ice, is great for chilling wine bottles, soda or beer cans, and bottles of water. A statuary urn can serve the same purpose.
• For an evening party, set the scene with ambient lighting. If your deck has a stairway, light the way by grouping various sizes of battery-operated candles, then stagger them on every other step. Check out the new remote control candles, too. Hang lanterns to help create a welcoming mood. Wrap tree trunks with low-voltage twinkle lights and fill branches with battery-operated tea lights placed in hanging glass votives for a bit of glow.
• Don’t worry about a fancy centerpiece. Use one of your container pots filled with annuals.
• Keep the food simple. Mix it up by making some and purchasing some. Everything always tastes better outside anyway. It’s a win-win situation for the hosts and guests.

Dematteis loves to layer dishes and accessories on romantic-inspired tables. For example, a big clear vase of flowers might be the centerpiece, and she places it on a stack of two or three books for interest. Likewise, mixing and stacking plates, with a large charger at the bottom, helps create a table of interest. She often uses a clear glass plate in the middle. Small ceramic or metal birds might add a natural touch.

Serving dishes and baskets, also in the mix-and-match vein, create conversation pieces. A champagne bucket or wine chiller, for example, might hold several crusty baguettes for eye and flavor appeal. Or a reproduction Majolica fruit compote becomes the perfect server for pastries. Fruit jars are just right for holding thin breadsticks or extra flatware.

Tall vases or see-through ones won’t hinder conversation and the view of other guests across
the table.

With the mood in place, Dematteis says that enjoying your guests is easy.

Boxwoods: Beautiful Accessories Online
Local entrepreneurs gears up for new e-commerce store.

Karon Dematteis and Shane Miller, the husband-wife team behind Iowa Outdoor Products (IOP) in Urbandale, are gearing up for a new venture. By August 1, their new online e-commerce “store,” Boxwoods Fine Furnishings, will be up and running. The website is BoxwoodsFurnishings.com.
Dematteis, who has worked with the accessories shop at IOP, is pleased to be sharing her passion for lovely home items in this way. “It’s a natural expansion for us,” Miller says. “I deal with the exterior design of landscaping for our customers, and Karon enjoys the design for the interior. As designers, we like to bring the inside out, so this all goes with what our clients like. It all works together beautifully.”   

Why the name Boxwoods? As Dematteis explains, “Boxwoods are the ‘little black dress’ of plants. They are simple, stylish, and elegant.” She says many of the items for sale online are traditional and nature-inspired and range in price from $5 to $200. There are dishes, accessories, small lamps, and artwork, selected for home use or gift giving. There are botanical-inspired pieces, along with those showcasing equestrian, woodland, and hunt themes.

“Many of the items are formal, yet with a casual feel,” she says. There will be about 300 items initially, including spring, summer, and fall pieces, with a few holiday ones.

An e-commerce or online store makes sense for now, Dematteis says. “Initially, this concept seems a better fit than a brick-and-mortar store. It allows for better pricing, for one thing.”

The designer says she is inspired by Mary Carol Garrity of the two Nell Hill’s stores, one in Atchison, Kansas, and the other in the Kansas City, Missouri, area called Briarcliff. Both are destination spots for many central Iowans.

 

Resources

Iowa Outdoor Products
BoxwoodsFurnishings.com