Reese Witherspoon Opens Up About 'Big Little Lies' and Her New Lifestyle Collaboration with Crate and Barrel

Spoiler: She's saving some pieces for her daughter Ava's college dorm.

Product, Wood, Tree, Furniture, Tree stump, Table, Plant, Style, Shoe,
(Image credit: Crate and Barrel)

Reese Witherspoon will be hosting your next dinner party. Well, sort of. On top of her incredible acting career, Witherspoon also owns lifestyle and fashion brand Draper James, and now she's collaborating with Crate and Barrel to add a new title to her resume: brand ambassador. What that means for you? Awesome items made for entertaining.

Amid all the talk of whether or not Big Little Lies will return for a second season, MarieClaire.com caught up with Witherspoon at the unveiling of her Crate and Barrel partnership to discuss the collaboration, her favorite way to entertain, and how she feels about those eight (!) *huge* BLL Emmy wins.

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The partnership with Crate and Barrel was kind of a no-brainer.

"I started Draper James because growing up in the South we love to entertain, we love parties, and we love having family and friends over. So when I created the brand I wanted to talk about entertaining and lifestyle. And then there was this natural collaboration with Crate and Barrel that’s been doing such an incredible quality of work for so long. We’re bringing southern charm to their timeless sensibility. We’re just a perfect match."

She's *incredibly* close to her Big Little Lies co-stars.

"I've talked to Nicole almost everyday for the past 12 days. We just have so much to talk about and we’re producing some other projects together. She’s also really close to me—she lives in Nashville. I actually talk to Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz almost everyday [laughs]. I would talk to Shailene, but she’s in Fiji for the time being so that makes it a little hard. We’re all really close."

She loves to entertain—and will definitely be hosting her friends around Christmastime. 🎄

"I have a Christmas party every year so then I'll get to show [my co-stars] all the great stuff I’ve been working on. I love to have lots of different sizes and shapes of cake plates in my house. Crate and Barrel has some great ones in marble."

Table, Furniture, Cake stand, Porcelain, Wood, Ceramic, Serveware, Marble, Coffee table,

(Image credit: crateandbarrel.com)

Wood Marble Pedestal, $55

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Winning eight Emmys was completely surreal to her.

"It was great to have so much of the team recognized for their incredible hard work. It’s sort of surreal. I kept looking at Nicole and crying, ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ It really speaks to the fact that when women collaborate together they can really accomplish a lot. I believe wholeheartedly in female partnership. Just the idea of collaborating with other very hardworking women and trying to create opportunities for other women in our business is very fulfilling to me."

The response she received from the audience proves the need to create better roles for women.

"I actually have to say it was one of those jobs where you couldn’t believe that we actually got to work together. We had so much fun. And then we had this incredible response from the audience so it really made me feel like there’s a huge audience out there that isn’t seeing what they want to see about women. They want to know more about women’s lives."

She's *definitely* going to save pieces from the collaboration for her daughter Ava when she makes her way to college next fall.

"Oh yeah. How great would it be to have a dorm room decorated with Crate and Barrel pieces? That would be amazing."

You can purchase select Draper James pieces at Crate and Barrel both in-store and online. Draper James will release co-designed collections available spring and summer 2018. Get a sneak peek of Reese in all of her holiday glory below. 

Rachel Epstein

Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the site’s day-to-day editorial operations. Previously, she was an editor at Marie Claire, where she wrote and edited culture, politics, and lifestyle stories ranging from op-eds to profiles to ambitious packages. She also launched and managed the site’s virtual book club, #ReadWithMC. Offline, she’s likely watching a Heat game or finding a new coffee shop.