We mixed wrought iron and concrete faux bois furniture in this Kessler Park outdoor seating area to create a more interesting look.
An outdoor party takes a little more planning than an indoor one. Here are some of my personal tips for making sure everyone has a great time at your next barbecue, cocktail hour, or pool party.
1. Seating:
For this North Dallas project, it worked out better to have two small tables with umbrellas instead of one large table.
Once you’ve figured out how many guests you’ll be having, you can determine what your seating arrangements will be. Will your guests be seated at a long table? Or will you create a variety of seating arrangements for individual conversation groups? If there will be kids present, do you want a kids’ table?
You may want to rent additional tables, table cloths, linens, and chairs. In the past, I’ve ordered bamboo tables that seat four people and pushed them together to seat six people.
2. Table Settings:
I recommend decorative melamine plates because they are shatterproof and dishwasher safe. With melamine, you can hardly tell that it’s not real porcelain. Acrylic stemware is a sturdy alternative to glassware—after all, you don’t want glass near the pool.
3. Food:
It’s very important that the food you serve won’t melt or wilt in the heat. Some tried-and-true choices for outdoor parties include nuts, crudités and hummus dips, puff pastries, charcuterie boards, and dried fruit.
4. Drinks:
Self-service drink areas encourage guests to circulate the space and possibly cross paths with someone new to talk to. Stock your drink station with glasses, cups, straws, lemons and limes, club soda, and a cocktail shaker. Also consider including your own cocktail mix or punch (serve ice separately so that you don’t water down the mixture).
5. Games:
Food and drinks are not the only ingredients for a successful outdoor party: don’t forget to include games so that your guests never get bored. Good outdoor party games include horseshoes, croquet, giant Jenga, and badminton.
Cheese, olives, crackers, and cold cuts are all good snack choices for an outdoor party, even on a hot day.
6. Weather:
Here in Dallas, the window of opportunity for perfect weather is pretty small. If chill is a concern, provide throw blankets, outdoor heaters, or use a fire pit to keep guests warm. During the hot summer, guests will appreciate access to cold nonalcoholic drinks, misters, plenty of ice, fans, and shade.
Even if you’ve never entertained outdoors before, if you keep these tips in mind, you can plan with confidence. My firm also has a lot of experience with decorating both indoor and outdoor spaces, so if your outdoor living space could use an update, consider giving us a call, too. You can reach us by calling our Dallas office at 214-651-7665 or emailing us at info@chambersinteriors.com.