Having a garden at your home is so much more than simply a place for plants and flowers to grow; it also provides the perfect opportunity to create an outdoor entertaining space. Inviting your friends and family to join you in your garden for food and drinks is the perfect way to catch up, spend quality time together, and have lots of fun. But to ensure you and your guests all have the best time, it’s important to get your outdoor entertaining space set up right.
Keep reading to discover some helpful hints to transform your backyard into an outdoor entertaining space to enjoy with your loved ones:
Choose the Best Outdoor Furniture
Choosing outdoor furniture for your entertaining space is about so much more than buying a basic set consisting of a table and a few chairs. Instead, you need to select outdoor furniture that will be as comfortable as possible for your guests and also adds some wow factor to the space.
Selecting furniture that is thoughtfully designed for your space is an excellent place to start. Consider the shape and size of your garden when choosing your tables and chairs to help you pick the most suitable option for the available space. Once you have chosen the furniture, it’s time to think about comfort. Having some custom-made outdoor cushions created for your garden furniture will bring an added dose of style to your entertaining space while providing you and your guests with the best level of comfort.
Introduce Some Shade
Having the sun shine down on you while you’re enjoying time with your friends and family is always a welcome treat. But on the hottest days of the year, being in the full glare of the sun can feel unbearable and have your guests heading inside to avoid being burned.
Introducing plenty of shade to your entertaining area will make it perfect for use even on the warmest of days, helping to keep your guests cool and out of the direct sun. There are a few ways to bring some added shade to your outdoor entertaining area. One option is to introduce parasols and position them around the main seating areas. Alternatively, you could add a shade sail to provide some relief from the sun’s unforgiving rays. Or, if you want to fully commit to having a permanent shaded area in your garden, you could have a pergola constructed to shelter yourself and your guests. Out of all of these options, introducing parasols is likely to be the most practical. This is because you can safely remove and store garden parasols during the winter, and move them around during the summer to provide you with shade in exactly the parts of your garden that need it the most.
Consider an Outdoor Kitchen
Whether you invite guests for a daytime get-together or an evening event, it’s always best to provide plenty of food and drinks. Being the perfect host often means lots of time spent in the kitchen away from your guests while you prepare food. But being the host doesn’t mean that you need to be stuck in the kitchen while your guests have fun outside. Introducing an outdoor kitchen to your home is an excellent way to solve this issue. With help from an outdoor pizza oven or a built-in barbecue area, you will be able to cook delicious food for your guests without needing to disappear inside to make it happen. Your outdoor kitchen will make both preparing, cooking, and eating the food one seamless, sociable event.
Finding new ways to create al fresco treats is a great way to enjoy outside dining throughout the summer and to maximise the amount of time you spend outdoors enjoying your garden.
Add Lighting
One aspect of creating an entertaining space in your garden that’s often overlooked is the lighting. As the sun goes down, having lighting in your garden becomes a practical necessity. Outdoor lighting may be practical, but it’s also an excellent way to further enhance your outside entertaining area.
There are so many different ways to add lighting to your garden, and each will help to create a different mood within the space. If you want a festival feel for your entertaining space, festoon lighting strung up around the garden can create this look. However, if you prefer a more bohemian or Moorish vibe, choosing to light up your garden with candles and storm lanterns will help you achieve this. Finally, if you like the idea of creating a dramatic lighting look for your outdoor entertaining space, then carefully positioning uplighters and spotlights and shining them on distinctive features in your garden is an excellent way to create this. Shining different coloured, or colour-changing spot lights on trees and water features can look particularly impressive. Whichever lighting choices you make, just be sure to doublecheck that the lights are suitable for outside use to prevent them becoming damaged or unsafe if they’re exposed to the elements.
Create Privacy
No one wants to feel like they’re being watched when they’re trying to relax and have fun with their loved ones. But unfortunately, if you have neighbours close to your property, this can happen. Being overlooked by surrounding neighbours when you’re trying to enjoy time outside is something that you can try to resolve. If your local planning rules or neighbourhood committee rules allow you to, you could add some additional screening to your property. Screens made from natural materials, for example, bamboo or rattan, can integrate seamlessly into your garden and provide added height and covering to prevent neighbours from looking into your outdoor entertaining space. If you’re looking for a longer term solution, planting trees or hedges that grow quickly could be an excellent alternative. Just be aware that you will need to maintain these hedges and trees each year to keep them tidy and prevent them from becoming overgrown.
Some simple changes to your backyard can transform it into the ultimate outdoor entertaining space.
