Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams, the stylish duo behind their namesake line of modern-meets-traditional home furnishings, are celebrating 25 years of gorgeous home cozy-making this spring with the opening of their flagship Beverly Hills showroom. Just a hop, skip and a step from Pressed Juicery Beverly Hills, the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams shop makes a welcome addition to an already glamorous neighborhood.
We love the brand’s seamless mix of old and new, casual and glamorous – these two know just what a home should feel like. We took a stab in the dark and asked Mitchell and Bob to give us the lay of the land when it comes to home entertaining. Just as we hoped, these two have the whole thing down pat and are sharing their stellar tips with us below about keeping a perfect home bar. We love their philosophy, we love their barware, and we wish they were hosting our next get-together…
We love to entertain. And it’s a good thing we do, because we’re always hosting something for business or pleasure. (And in our world, the two very often overlap.) What we strive for is the same as in designing our furniture: to make people comfortable.
The key we’ve found is this: If the host feels comfortable, guests will too. And what puts a host at ease is having everything organized. Here are tips to help:
Side Bar
Think about where you’ll place the bar in a room. Make sure there’s enough space around it for people to gather without blocking traffic flow.
Buff It Up
Boost storage with a buffet in the dining room. We’re not much for big china cabinets. A buffet with a mirror or art above lightens up a room—and is perfect for holding napkins, silverware, platters, and plates for hors d’oeuvres. As far as we’re concerned, it’s not cocktail hour without snacks.
cabinet culture
Begin with a bar cabinet. We include one in our homes because they’re ideal for keeping everything in one place—as well as for the sophisticated “cocktail culture” feel they add to a room.
Have and hold
Get great glasses—wine, rocks, martini. And buy extras so you always have enough. We like to either match their style to the décor, like our new silver-striped Capri glasses with a Mad Men feel, or go natural/neutral with our Como glassware, which has a handcrafted feel. And choose glasses that feel really good to hold.
Pretty practical
Add a fabulous tray and create a tablescape of bottles, a pitcher, glasses, flowers, or decorative pieces atop a bar cabinet—pretty and practical.
Rack em up
We love bar accouterments that enhance a room’s décor. Among our current favorites: acrylic pieces like our tabletop wine rack and square acrylic ice bucket with a round interior ice compartment.
Rosy outlook
Have a range of spirits on hand: red and white wines, prosecco, vodka, gin, scotch, and bourbon will get you started. And since this is our company’s 25th anniversary year, and we’re doing a lot of toasting, we’ve developed a new favorite: rosé champagne, a good way to make an evening even more special.
What's your sign
We’re big fans of single-malt scotch. Our company chef, Chef Sean, created a drink for Mitchell, the Mitchell-tini. The recipe is featured in our new book, Who We Are
: Macallan 12 (Mitchell’s favorite) and ice shaken hard in a martini shaker and poured into a chilled martini glass so there’s a layer of froth on top.
Telling touches
Before a party, we try to find out if our guests have something special they like to drink or eat (as well as anything they might be allergic or not enthralled with)—without them knowing. We’ll ask a spouse, assistant, or friend and swear them to secrecy so we can surprise the person. It really moves people when they find you’ve done something just for them.
Get juicy
We find more and more restaurants doing this. Why should a guest be offered only water or cola with an elegant meal? Why not a simple “spa water” with cut-up fruit, an unusual ice tea, an Italian soda or a choice of healthy fruit and/or vegetable juices or smoothies?
