Interior designer Joe Nye knows how to have a good time. He did, after all, write Flair: Exquisite Invitations, Lush Flowers, and Gorgeous Table Settings (Rizzoli, April 2010), the just-released consummate guide to throwing fabulous fêtes, from pretty plates to inexpensive flowers to decent food and of course, good friends. “People get paralyzed thinking about getting the place settings and the flowers just right,” Nye says. “But entertaining is about getting together with your friends, not fretting over the details. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

While Nye is a decorator by trade with a thriving business in San Francisco, he’s planned more than a few parties, for both himself and for clients. Most importantly, he was raised in a household where entertaining was de rigeur. “I grew up in a family with five brothers and sisters in Nebraska; in the middle of nowhere, really,” Nye says. “But my parents had black tie dinner parties every month. The neighbors would get all dressed up, they’d play cards and dance—my mother was a fabulous cook.”

With memories like that, it’s no wonder Nye wants to share the magic. In researching the market, he found most books on entertaining to be too complicated, in danger of further intimidating an already ambivalent host or hostess. His target audience is those who don't necessarily know how to set a table, or order flowers, but who want to open up their home. Or, rather, your average “28-year-old woman just out of law school who just wants to learn enough so she can go the grocery store, buy some carnations and be done,” he says.

Roll over items for details

Antique Blue Castle Pattern Soup Tureen

(buy it now price, $279.99)

Rare Durgin Sterling Silver Asparagus Serving Fork

(buy it now price, $475)

Antique Ruby Glass Gorham Hurricanes

(buy it now price, $174.99)

Spratling Sterling Silver Candlestick

(buy it now price, $990)

Set of Eight Cobalt Blue Goblets

(buy it now price, $99.99)

Chinoiserie Ebonized Chest

(buy it now price, $695)

Regency Chinoiserie Tea Caddy and Canisters

(buy it now price, $795)

Rare Early European Chinoiserie Tray

(buy it now price, $300)

Antique Hand Crocheted Table Cloth

(buy it now price, $7)

Lee Behren Antique Chinoiserie Toile Fabric

(current bid, $24)

1812 Masons Ironstone China Plate

(sold for, $65)

Decorative Japanese China Finger Bowl

(buy it now price, $14.99)

12 Antique Irish Linen Monogram Napkins

(buy it now price, $65)

1. Flair: Exquisite Invitations, Lush Flowers, and Gorgeous Table Settings (Rizzoli, April 2010)

2. Handmade chargers in the Palladian pattern from Isis Ceramics Ltd., black bamboo flatware and black water goblets by Juliska, and a chinoiserie-style tablecloth.

3. A yellow antique coffee service with gold trim rests on a chinoiserie tea table, along with blue linen cocktail napkins.

4. Contemporary Chinese Chipendale chargers paired with rare antique chinoiserie-style floral china, both from Nye's personal collection and pretty aqua finger bowls from a flea market. The natural wood handles of the bamboo flatware brings out the yellow and green tones in the plate.

5. Custom handmade flatware from James Robinson, Inc. rests in a pair of antique bone china platters by Coalport. The water goblets and green wine glasses are from William Yeoward.

6. Red, printed silk-toile tablecloths, and blue and red glassware from Cost Plus World Market mix nicely with fancy sterling silver and Blue Canton dinner plates. The red lantern is a fun centerpiece. A single flower on the napkin dresses up the plate.

7.  Purple floral Mottahedeh dessert plates sit atop Charlotte Moss’s treillage pattern dinner plates. Green hydrangeas and amethyst goblets play up the green and purple theme.

8. Inexpensive bunches of yellow chrysanthemums are used for the centerpieces and single yellow Fuji mums sit in teacups at each place. The dinnerware is Torquay from Mottahedeh. Like the flowers, the cobalt blue-handled flatware provides an informal touch as do the casual French country style napkins.

We came away from our chat with Nye with these helpful tips:

1) If you have fancy stuff, by all means use it. “The notion of saving your good china and silver for Christmas and Easter is just silly,” says Nye, who lives alone but uses even the priciest pieces from his vast collection of dishes and silver daily. “With everyone’s schedules so out of control, it adds a little refinement and elegance to the everyday.”

2) Mix things up. Nye despises the static look of uniform dinnerware. “I probably have a dozen of sets of china,” he says. “I always mix them up.” And don’t hesitate to shuffle funky flea market finds in with valuable family heirlooms.

3) How to mix and match? “If you inherited your grandmother's floral china, pick up one or two of its colors, then pair it with another piece, solid or striped, in those colors,” he says. For instance, you might use a striped charger, floral salad plate and solid color finger bowl.

4) You thought carnations were cheesy? Not if they’re done right. Nye thinks these inexpensive wonders look amazing cut down short and grouped in a tight cluster in pretty containers, like silver mint julep cups or tiny tin pails.

5) Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself. Nye advises once you get a menu nailed down, serve the same thing every time.

Many of the table settings shown in Flair were created using pieces from Nye’s personal collection, often in the dining room of his clients. We went through the antiques category on eBay to curate a Flair-worthy table. As you can see, both from his book and his eBay finds, Nye is nuts (his word, not ours!) for chinoiserie.