Well-Set: Hutton Wilkinson's Tables of Fancy

Like many successful hosts, Hutton Wilkinson doesn't entertain by halves. From his magical, ornate table settings it is easy to see that Wilkinson was a longtime friend, protégé and business partner of the late Tony Duquette, one of the last century's most eccentric figures in the world of decoration and design.

Hutton Wilkinson alfresco.

The rarefied realm that Duquette and his wife and muse, Elizabeth, began creating in Los Angeles in the late 1940s—surrounded by brightly branched coral, mother-of-pearl and Eastern exoticism mixed with "let's-put-on-a-show" old Hollywood—is an association that Wilkinson clearly relishes both in his home life as well as for his frequent guests. "Tony had such a highly personal and individual style," Wilkinson says, "and people are starving for individuality these days."

Each area could be a dramatic spot for plein air dining, from the banks of a small lake with its own Vietnamese wedding boat to the orientalist pagodas, arbors and summer houses hidden among the alluring palms and bromeliads.

Grasshopper pavilion. Chairs designed by Duquette.

In the Wilkinson/Duquette universe, there are certain rules for entertaining. Foremost, no white napkins allowed. Using a vast collection of china, flatware and figurines inherited from the Duquettes, Wilkinson adds his own newer pieces to create fantastically colored landscapes for the table. Coral red mixes happily with jade green, cerulean blue and, of course, gold—lots and lots of gold.

Small tables make a large party more intimate.

"If it wasn't already gold, Tony had it gold- plated," Wilkinson says of the decorative objects that populate his arrangements. Small metallic birds sit comfortably with crayfish, spiders, grass- hoppers and, rather unexpectedly, rats, which "symbolize wealth in Japan.

Pagoda made by Duquette.

But not everything is rare and expensive here. Duquette was well known for his ability to put on a dazzling show with nontraditional materials salvaged from unlikely sources, such as the jade- colored Chinese fretwork screen made out of plastic building materials. He famously mixed high and low, the costly and the found, the rare and the common. "Tony was a visionary," Wilkinson says. "Nothing was too precious to him. He always said, 'Beauty, not luxury, is what I value.'"

Silk for tablecloth, Jim Thompson's Tony Duquette Collection. Custom Venetian glasses. Thai covered bowls. Antique vermeil animals.

As in Duquette's day, floral centerpieces are rarely used. Instead, decorative objects like inkwells, obelisks, abalone shells and pieces Wilkinson describes as "not ordinarily used for the dining table" add interest alongside potted jade trees or tropical leaves snipped from the garden. "I am very interested in the European interpretation of Asia," says Wilkinson, who aptly dubs Duquette's taste "Hollywood Chinoiserie."

It's obvious that Wilkinson, like his mentor, thrives in a time apart. "I live on old movies," he says. "They teach us how to sit and act at the table, and they do so in those beautifully decorated rooms! People don't entertain like they used to, but everyone should remember that it doesn't have to be complicated. Just order wonderful takeout, dress up a little and set a marvelous table, and no one will know the difference."