Home decor: A dinner party prompts a dining room refresh

The prospect of hosting a dinner party at my house filled my heart with panic. I had been wanting to update my dining room. Suddenly, I had an incentive — and a deadline.

The dinner party wasn’t my idea. A few months ago, a friend hatched a plan to auction off a dinner for eight at my house for an Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra fundraiser.

“You know how your column is At Home With Marni?” was how she framed it. “Well, this would let people actually be at home with Marni. Get it?”

Oh, I got it.