LAST SATURDAY I gathered a few nearest and dearests to celebrate three years of Rikke’s Space, and the launch of my new lifestyle platform. We popped some bubbles, snacked on cherries and cheeses, sipped sundowner aperitivos, and chatted the night away.

It felt magic to bring people together and acknowledge the last three years of being in business, and reflecting on where I started and what Rikke’s Space has now morphed into - a thoughtfully curated source for all things Lifestyle: Styling, Design, Entertaining, Recipes, Gift Guides, and more.

I love this online community and our joint desire to celebrate the ceremony of setting a table, artfully arranging objects in the home, hosting a gathering, and more. Finding beauty in the every day and expressing that through these different mediums has brought me an immense amount of joy. I always dreamed of building a career out of home and lifestyle, so it felt necessary to mark the occasion in a meaningful way - by bringing people together.

GUESTS SIPPED ON Maybe Sammy Cocktails - Jasmine Negronis and Sundowner Aperitivos. The most delicious drinks to set the celebratory mood.

I SPENT TIME on the look and feel of the gathering, choosing to give it an ‘elegant Christmas’ theme, using satin and velvet bows, lots of candlelight, cloves stuck into oranges (mmm, that smell!), and floral/greenery moments around the room.

I KEPT THE FOOD pretty simple, offering snacks such as pepe saya butter with warm fresh bread, cherries, cheeses, gingerbread biscuits, and of course an absolutely beautiful meringue cake shaped as a wreath (kindly baked by my friend Charlotte), which I topped with cream and loads of blackberries to keep to the theme.

I USED XXL TAPER candles from Hall of Flame Candles to achieve this dramatic but elegant Christmas-themed look.