JJ Martin: ‘I’ve relaxed in the beautiful chaos that is Italy’

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“Spontaneity and simplicity.” These are the two Italian approaches to accommodation that American journalist-turned-designer JJ Martin has picked up from the country she’s lived in for 22 years. “There’s been a real progression from the angry, disgruntled New Yorker who moved here in 2001 and didn’t know how to put dinner on the table,” she says, “to just giving up and relaxing in the beautiful chaos that is Italy.”

founder of The DoubleJthe maximalist fashion and homewares brand, Martin recalls his frustration in his early days at Milan, in the informality of their social customs. “Italians invite you to dinner the night before and whoever is available comes, and usually everyone is available because no one has made any plans yet,” she says. “So if you’re the host, they say, ‘Can I bring my friend?’ And you’re like, ‘Wait, he’s sitting down and I only have 12 spots!’ I had to change my thinking to be more like them because I thought, ‘Well, they all look so happy: maybe they know what they’re doing!’ Italians are some of the most balanced, calm and loving human beings on the planet.”

In Italy, they have always been doing farm to table.

For a summer lunch alfresco on weekdays, Martin hosts at the home of Jeanne Labib-Lamour, design director of La DoubleJ. “During the fall, winter, and early spring, I entertain in my apartment, but I only have a balcony, so when the weather starts to get really nice, we always go to Jeanne’s house because she has an epic terrace.”

Martin likes to keep the atmosphere relaxed. “I like to bring a bit of California sunshine and a laid-back attitude. I don’t want the rigidity of the table set,” she says. “I make a buffet, so that they don’t serve you one dish after another; everyone keeps rising up for more. It’s easy and I love the effect. It’s aesthetically pleasing and fun to set the table with flowers and all the food in plates and bowls.”

And while he makes some crazy un-Italian foodie moves, like serving quinoa instead of pasta and putting avocado in a tossed salad, he’s embraced the country’s approach to using fresh produce. “It’s a lot of fun: In California, it’s all about farm to table now and the rise of Erewhon Markets. In Italy, they have always been doing farm to table. That’s just food.