Sweet and simple are the secret ingredients for successful summer entertaining outdoors. Easy recipes and resourceful styling ideas pair up to create relaxed gatherings and lasting memories. Mixing a homespun style with carefully gathered accents and a bucolic setting keep thefeeling easy and natural. Add elements of refined rusticity, vintage chic, country flair, romantic touches, and stylish comfort for a one-of-a-kind look that is all about more fun than fuss!
For maximum enjoyment, keep things simple. No need to over-think the decorations or the food. A humble blue and white cloth, folding chairs, wooden benches (or bales of hay), and a few comfy pillows for those who choose to sit on the ground are the picnic ingredients you’ll need.
Add a canopy overhead to gently filter the light as the early morning rays of sunshine give way to a brilliant midday sky. Secure four bamboo poles or garden stakes in the ground to mark your picnic site and top with a large piece of fabric or a tablecloth. For a decorative touch, wrap the bottom of a glass jar with a lacy paper doily, fill with water and wildflowers. Use jute twine to hang your flower vase from the top of a pole.
Hay bales topped with cushy pillows, kitchen chairs, a weathered farm table , a chicken coop, and homemade hearty fare and handmade decorations bring together the best of a homespun picnic.
This picture-perfect, fresh, and fragrant little nook bordered by a lush landscape of herbs and flowering shrubs provides natural visual drama for a French Country lunch. Colorful crockery set on woven and fabric place mats imparts a celebratory mood. Blooms springing from hand-thrown pottery tie in with the natural theme. Candle lanterns showing the patina of time and silverware nestled in a vintage wood candle mold keep pace with the informal decor while serving up plenty of style
Extended hours of sunshine encourage us to linger in the garden. And what better way to spend that time than to enjoy a leisurely meal surrounded by nature. A pretty table set in a meadow beckons with vintage linens (coverlets, sheets and curtains) and disparate chairs topped with pillows. A picnic is the perfect way to entertain, with mix-and-match chairs and tableware adding to the feeling of informal fun. Make-ahead picnic pasta salad is the main attraction. It’s quick to concoct, adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand and always feels festive.Lace remnants make beautiful cover-ups for food and drinks while stylishly keeping bugs away. Hung with recycled ribbon, a canning jar makes a perfectly rustic vase for a bunch of bright yellow flowers.
Elements in blue, white and red (colors of the French flag) conspire to set the tone for this French Country picnic. Add crusty baguettes, sandwiches, cheeses, pates, fresh vegetables, wine (of course) and cool refreshments served in tall Ricard glasses and you have the makings of a true gallic feast.
A pretty floral tablecloth (from Cabbages and Roses) softens the look of an old farmhouse table and garden bench set under the shade of a big oak tree. The pitcher of sweet tea, a just-out-of-the oven apple pie, and cherries nestled in a wire basket are the hallmarks of a perfect summer afternoon treat in the garden.
