Exuberant wallpapers, lusciously lacquered furniture, art that pops — Jay Jeffers is unafraid of the grand gesture. (See for yourself in his first book, Jay Jeffers: Collected Cool: The Art of Bold, Stylish Interiors, Rizzoli, $55. When the dapper designer is not outfitting over-the-top homes around the country or seeing to his San Francisco home-decor boutique, Cavalier, he and husband Michael Purdy love to entertain. We talked with Jeffers to get some tricks of the trade.

You grew up on a cul-de-sac in Plano. Were your parents big on entertaining? It was constant. We had a pool and our neighbor had a tennis court, so practically every weekend in the summer there were people hanging out. I can remember margarita parties and homemade ice cream. My mother’s a great cook, and my dad was always in charge of the barbecue and the cocktails.

Do you and Michael prefer hosting cocktail parties or seated dinners? A little bit of both. We have a little house up in the wine country in Napa Valley. And we love having a cocktail party outside and then coming inside for dinner.

How do you divvy up responsibilities? I’m in charge of ambience — getting the lighting right, getting all the candles done, making sure the house looks nice, ironing the napkins if we’re having a dinner party, that sort of thing. Michael’s a wiz in the kitchen and in charge of food.

How do you set your table? My grandmother lived on a farm in South Texas — she died in 1993 — and I’ve got her sterling silver. It’s very intricate, with patterns, and I love to pair it with simple earthen dishware.

How about the flowers? I like to keep the flowers very simple. On the dining table, I’ll do a big bunch of white hydrangeas, and I might add something like a dahlia, for a little color. Sometimes I’ll do two different tones of purple flowers and then I’ll put them together. I prefer to keep it low and sculptural. I don’t like too many flowers, but it’s good to have something fresh in every room.

You are obsessed with one particular candle. There is a hotel in Paris called Hôtel Costes and they have a signature scent, and that has been my favorite for years — pretty much all I burn in my house. It’s just the perfect blend, not too feminine and not too masculine. It’s the cleanest, most beautiful scent.

What about mood lighting? You can have everything perfect for a party and if your lights are super-bright, it just ruins it. Michael and I will sometimes have issues with this because our kitchen is open in our house and I want the lights dim, and he’s, like, “I can’t see anything and I’m cooking.” So I’ll give him some brighter lights, just for a little while, and then I’m over there dimming them the minute he’s finished.

And the music? I was just at a cocktail party last night and they had a woman playing the violin, but she was playing pop songs and it was fabulous. If it’s a bigger party, we might have a deejay. If we’re having a dinner party, I’m a huge Pandora fan because it’s really easy. You might start the night with the Diana Krall station or a little jazz, and then end the night with the Michael Jackson station and dancing.

How do you nudge those last guests toward the door? Put on some really quiet music, and that’s the time when you might raise the lights a little bit. That starts letting people know it’s time to go home. If they’re really wearing out their welcome, then turn off the music completely and start doing dishes.