Create A Great Outdoor Dining Environment

The lovely thing about a garden in the backyard is that it can become an extra room at a moment’s notice. Cushions, candles and festive napkins can all be borrowed from indoors to create a fantasy dining room.

It can seat all your friends or just a special few. With bowls of flowers and thick candles you can transform your garden into a peaceful retreat in which everyone will enjoy whiling away hours, even as day passes into night.

All the better if you have an outdoor kitchen complete with deluxe grill and fireplace. But a simple barbecue from the hardware store works just as well, too. Don’t forget to spoil your guests with comfortable seating, whether you use lounge chairs or overstuffed cushions. You are aiming to transport your guests to a relaxing setting, away from the cares of the world, where you can serve them a meal they will linger over and enjoy.

An outdoor dining room in the garden is limited only by your creativity. You can cover your table with a market umbrella or a vine-draped pergola. Or you can surround it with chairs from inside, covered with fabrics to match or contrast with the tablecloth. Other festive options include lanterns for more lighting than candles can supply. And please don’t use paper plates. If you don’t want to use family heirlooms to set the table, your every day kitchen dishes will do just fine.

If you don’t have a garden, a balcony will do, no matter how small. Simply furnish with draperies that billow in the wind for instant romantic appeal. A comfortable chair or two, a colorful indoor/outdoor rug, and as many throw pillows as needed can all transform this balcony into a garden, provided you use bowls of fresh flowers on every available surface.

You don’t have to be able to feed an army to have an outdoor dining room. Even serving a meal on individual trays can be fun and festive, if a table is out of the question. Be sure to hand out huge cloth napkins, every color in the rainbow will do nicely, so that everyone can eat without fear of falling food. The best thing about outdoor dining is the company, the conversation and the cuisine.

And for those who feel deprived without a garden or a balcony, there is always a nearby park, a picnic basket and colorful throw rugs or tablecloths. Don’t forget the jug of wine or lemonade, and all will be right with the world.


Find out more about picnic bench options and garden furniture by reading further articles, as discussed by Simon Barnett. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.