happy may day, dolls! it’s finally starting to warm up and stay warm on a more consistent basis here, which means we can finally start dining outside again! time to sweep up the patio and do a little refresh on my outdoor dining dinnerware.
to do the same you’ll need some basics – my suggestion is to keep things bright and fun! seriously, don’t take it too seriously. it should be fun and lively when you dine outside. pick bold colors and have fun playing with patterns.
1. start with your dishes – they can be melamine (target has a great selection this time of year) if you are concerned about breakage, or traditional ceramic/porcelain, etc. highly recommend keeping your fine china indoors though. pick a bold pattern and color.
2. grab some place-mats – they have a way of finishing off a table even with melamine plates and paper napkins and plastic utensils and cups. here’s the key: if you have a dish with a big pattern, then make your place-mat a tight pattern. if your dish has a tight pattern like the one above, then pick a place-mat with a big pattern.
3. napkins – pick a complementing color in a tight pattern. here, i love that pop of red/coral against the blue and yellow. you can use cloth napkins, which i like for fancier affairs, or paper napkins – which, by the way, can be perfect for fancier affairs now that they make such awesome paper napkins.
4. juice glasses. i love the size of juice glasses for water, iced tea and wine. it’s casual and relaxed and to me that’s what dining al fresco should be all about. of course you can stack water glasses, wine glasses, etc. at your place settings the fancier the event.
5. utensils. plastic. silverware. whatever pleases you. i do love that plastic flatware that looks like silver…
that’s all you need! share pictures of your dining al fresco adventures – i’d love to see!
