at the house

A long table on the terrace at dusk, flowers and candles from end to end, the stone sitting nook glowing beside it

In the South of France

Until the Wee Hours

My grandmother’s house in the South of France: dinner at eleven, and talking by the fire until three.

Words and photographs by Lucy Cuneo · 4 minutes · From the notebook

Our dinners in France start very late. The sun set around nine, and after a late lunch on the beach we nap by the sea as long as possible, sometimes until 7 PM .

We crawl home, light the fire, crank the music, take turns getting cleaned up and helping with dinner. Someone will share a new recipe, someone will chop, the rosé will flow, and no one can find their glass. The dinner party has already started with the prep.

The men man the grill and gather firewood while the rest of us make salads and other simple dishes. We often end up cozying into the nook by the fire for dessert, and chatting until 3 a.m. Maybe the occasional naughy cig (does it count in France?)

Lucy lighting the table at dusk, tapers and votives among low red flowers, the house glowing behind
Tapers and votives, at different heights.

Start with the flowers

Wild flowers grow all around the property and the market is overflowing with them, so it's easy to gather inspiration for a beautiful table.

A long table at night, flowers and candles from end to end
A table laid in white and blue under the vines, white roses and peonies down the middle, cushions on the bench behind Glass hurricanes, rosé and a pink rose on a blue and white cloth
Every table we set is littered in candles.

Shop the basement

My grandmother was a chronic collector. When she liked something, she would buy it in bulk. The basement of the house is full of tableware, so that’s where I shop for dinner, and what I can’t find there, I pick up at the local brocante.

Pink peonies, a burgundy taper and a blue-rimmed plate on a pale blue cloth Dinner by the stone fireplace, candles along the mantel and flowers down the table

Set the tone

I want every guest to feel very special and appreciated, which is why we go through the effort of setting tables that feel like a celebration in themselves.

The vibe is meant to be fluid and fun and joyful, and not in any way uptight.

Our childhood summers were spent dancing under the stars until five in the morning. In France we eat dinner around eleven, everybody makes the effort to dress up for dinner.

A toast around the candlelit table, late at night

It’s all about the light

I grew up with my family lighting the candles every night for dinner, so it’s genetic, what can I say! I always use a mixture of tapers and votives to create levels, so the light is soft and flickers on people’s faces in the most flattering way.

Lighting the tapers on a blue table with pink peonies Setting the table outside at dusk, the hills behind

Market day

One of those evenings fell on a market day, so we went out early for flowers and ingredients. I did not anticipate how plentiful and beautiful the peonies would be, and ended up buying quite a few, plus some quiches and vegetables for dinner.

If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend the St. Tropez market (it was Tuesdays and Saturdays, 7 to 1, when we went). It is full of all sorts of goods, from baskets to soap to cashmere sweaters and great suede loafers.

Lucy in front of a pink wall and pale blue shutters, bougainvillea spilling over Lucy walking up a narrow yellow street in St. Tropez
St. Tropez.
A woman in white walking through a stone archway in a pale yellow lane

We brought a group of strangers together and were delighted to see how much everyone enjoyed each other’s company, and how well our friends understood the magic of the place, without explanation.

As told to Veranda, 2019

By the fire

Dinner at eleven. Bed at three.

Further in

Turquoise water beneath limestone cliffs On the water Sardinia, Barefoot Caves, the most charming village, and long lunches on the water every day. A candlelit table in the courtyard at Trasierra In Andalusia Falling for Trasierra A day that went wrong in every direction, and a table for two still waiting at half past midnight. A long gingham table on the lawn at sunset In the garden The Pizza Party Thirty for pizza in August, and nothing rented but the tables and chairs.