Have the chance to be able to dine and entertain outside has to be one of the highlights of summer. It is symbolic of easy living and satisfies some deep rooted desires to be more in contact with nature. Your idea of summer outdoor entertaining may be a chic under cover dinner party or you might prefer picnicking in the middle of a meadow. Here are some lovely examples of settings for al fresco celebrations.
This first example provides the perfect space for an elegant dinner party. The roof is an added bonus for shelter against summer showers. Also, having direct access to your house through patio doors means that outdoor entertaining is all the more simple to organize. Guests have easy access to the rest of the home if they need to freshen up and moving food and dishes between the table and the kitchen presents no problems to the host.
If you want to avoid the expense of buying a whole new dining suite for stylish outdoor entertaining, then think creatively. You could shop around for furniture bargains in flea markets and second hand stores. This way you could create a very fashionable eclectic look using a combination of different chairs and a table of different styles. These could be left in their original state or given a lick of paint to transform them into a shabby chic delight! Alternatively, if you have a casual dining area in the house you could use this same furniture outside on special occasions.
