Time for outdoor living

Whether it’s a balcony, garden, beach, or park, wherever you find your sun-drenched corner this summer, spend the warm days and balmy nights feasting and hanging out in the open air.

Images courtesy of Lovely Linen and Broste Copenhagen

Garden party

Perfect for those alfresco special occasions, textiles are an easy way to instantly make your garden look welcoming. Whether with tablecloths and napkins over your summer table or scattering outdoor cushions and blankets around the grass for a relaxed vibe, it's all about playing with textures and colour to bring comfort and joy to your garden. Portable lamps will look great at centre of the table casting a warming light or simply dot lanterns around to light up paths and to create cosy areas.

Balcony living

For the most relaxed alfresco moments on your balcony, keep things low-key and comfortable. Once you have mastered your seating and possible dining situation work with different levels when decorating to utilise all the space. Put up shelves on the outdoor walls and decorate with interior details such as vases, potted plants, and homewares to make it welcoming. Up the comfort factor with rugs, outdoor cushions, and plenty of blankets, and add fairy lights, portable lamps, and lanterns to keep it cosy and inviting as the sun goes down. Embrace natural textures and tones for your serving ware, even if it’s just a wooden board for your cheese and olives, and easy glassware for the impromptu rose. Don’t worry about items being mismatched as it adds to the charm and laidback nature of the space.

Floor story

Whether you are taking a picnic down to the beach, park, or elsewhere, make it special and set a lovely ‘floor’ setting, which is just as important as the food. You could go all out and set a long low table on the ground by constructing your own by suspending a panel of wood on stacks of bricks, then covering it in a tablecloth and using cushions instead of chairs. Or throw a lovely big outdoor rug or mat on the floor (the basis of any picnic) with lots of cushions and blankets. Whatever you do, line up plenty of sharing platters and generously filled serving bowls alongside cold drinks decanted into pretty glass bottles. Again, set the scene with lanterns and portable lamps for when the light fades.