Outdoor dining

Eating al fresco is one of my favorite things to do in the summer, assuming the humidity is not unbearable.  I know people that use their outdoor dining spaces more than their indoor ones.  Yet, many people don't take the time to make them as inviting or interesting as their indoor ones.  People feel that it's a casual space and they are not going to be out there that long.  But if the company and the weather are good, you could spend hours chatting, playing games, and just enjoying the weather.  If you are going to sit at your dining table or picnic table, you should have something beautiful to look at, not just the ketchup and mustard bottles.  The outdoor table is the perfect place to get creative with your centerpieces. 

A few weeks ago I had to display a set of outdoor dinnerware in various locations. When I need to do more then one lifestyle display, I always try to make them different in style and feeling. I could have easily made up a floral arrangement for each table, but I wanted to be more creative and match the locale we were shooting in.  Our first scenario was a beach house.  Once again, we built this in the studio.  As you can see, I mixed pieces of drift wood, white coral, starfish, and shells down the center of the table.  The neutral colors of the objects mixed with the black and white dishes, add a subtle formality to the casual nature of the beach. What a great way to use what you have collected over the years.  A fun variation would have been a long pile of sand with shells, sand dollars, and little tea lights.  You can really have fun with a beach theme.

Next we went to a local home with a beautiful raised deck overlooking an expansive lawn and garden.  I tried to bring the backyard up to the table. I used a low container and filled it with faux grass.  I then added the croquet stake, wickets, and balls. The mallets and other balls are casually arranged on the table runner. I love this idea of the grass container.  You could easily plant real grass and keep it watered and trimmed.  It becomes the base for your summertime centerpieces. Cut flowers, fruit, or other garden objects could be changed out for each gathering. To make this even more modern, do not add anything to the grass or substitute the grass with small succulents, such as sedums, hens and chicks, or jovibarbas.

Finally, we went creek side and had a picnic. I kept this scenario all American with reds, whites, and blues.  I did a simple arrangement of white gerbera daisies in a red watering can grouped with birdhouses. A rustic box with the flatware and simple condiments become part of the centerpiece grouping.   A small container of fresh flowers from your garden grouped with candles, terra cotta pots, or even clean garden hand tools could also make a fun casual table.  If you just want to just have flowers on your table, try splitting your arrangement into smaller mismatched containers or a grouping of mason jars.





All three of these arrangements were very inexpensive to create.  They were made with found natural objects and things you probably have in your garage or garden shed.  If you don't have many flowers in your garden, purchase some while you're at the grocery store picking up the rest of your meal. Also, notice I kept them all fairly low to the table.  You do not want to be moving from side to side, dodging a tall vase of sunflowers to hold a conversation with the person across from you.  So next time you are enjoying dinner outside, take a few minutes to arrange a centerpiece, you're guests will love it!