Thirty style-setting women pay tribute to how their mothers and grandmothers have influenced their own styles of entertaining at home. Whether they proudly incorporate recipes passed down from a grandmother's collection or follow a mother's lessons for making guests feel comfortable, it is clear that family role models have had a strong influence. Blending inherited dinnerware or decorative pieces in their modern tables is also big in the way women embrace their heritage for entertaining. From formal to casual occasions, city to country, and grand to intimate, indoor and outdoor tables beautifully designed tell a story about how these women host guests at their tables. Each style maker shares tips and lessons in entertaining that she learned from the women in her life.

Tip boxes from each generation will help the readers reproduce the ideas and perpetuate their own familial traditions.