Create the perfect alfresco dining at home in your own garden... read more
Warmer weather = outdoor dining and making the most of the higher temperatures which is why summer is one of our favourite times of the year. The fabulous Sally from Getting Stuff Done In Heels gives us her top tips for creating the perfect Alfresco atmosphere in your outdoor space with a little help from Laura Ashley…
Hello! It’s Sally here from @gettingstuffdoneinheels.
When Laura Ashley invited me to chat about Alfresco Dining, I jumped at the chance as eating outside is one of my favourite things to do in the summer!
But before the best bit (the eating) can commence, a little prep’ is needed!
I am all for making things easy, & I’ll start with the basics – the tablecloth.
I decided not to use my usual white linen, I find outside dining a slightly risky business, as ketchup is usually involved, so I decided to go ‘off piste’ and make my own tablecloth instead ( I say ‘make’ …keep reading).
After a very happy 20 minutes perusing the fabric by the metre online, I plumped for pink gingham! And yes, I know it’s curtain fabric, but I don’t think there are any laws to say you can’t use it however you like!
I measured my table and ordered 2 metres. Slightly more than I needed.
The fabric arrived with both long edges having a very pleasing frayed rough edge, so I decided to leave it just like that
The two short ends would be easy to hem, but it really didn’t worry me, so I call this tablecloth the No Sew Tablecloth! Huzzah! It’s super easy and really doesn’t need to be perfect. It’ll all look so pretty that no one will notice the unhemmed edges, and it can always be tidied up later.
I also ordered a metre of the duck egg gingham (totally spoilt for choice – have you SEEN the fabrics?!)
I hate measuring anything, so used one of my old napkins as a template and cut around it. The fab thing about using the gingham is that you can just cut along the straight lines of the pattern so it’s pretty fool-proof. I did spend a while hemming them but left the lovely rough edge on some of them. I don’t own any napkin rings, so I chopped a bit off the tablecloth and tore it into long strips which I used to tie around the napkins. I think they look so pretty.
Moving on to glasses, I ordered the Laura Ashley champagne flute and champagne saucers.
The saucers are actually quite large, so I filled them with strawberries instead. The flutes are gorgeous! Guess what?? They are ACRYLIC!! Yep! The saucers and flutes are picnic-proof and droppable!
Brilliant! They look so real don’t they!
See that cake dome? You got it, also acrylic! Laura Ashley have seriously upped their picnic-ware game!
I love to have flowers on the table too, and the green Laura Ashley jug is just the ticket. It’s a beautiful shape and has a gorgeous handle. I like to have a random selection of blousy ‘weeds’ from the garden, so I scoured the garden and soon had a large enough bunch for the day – it doesn’t matter if your flowers don’t like being cut, they don’t have to last long!
I usually dot little bud vases down the centre of the table too, and for a pretty, country look, you could use whatever you have in the garden at the time, even clover and daisies from the lawn, or sprigs of herbs.
For this tea party, I used some of my favourite old china that I bought ages ago from a charity shop. I love old china and I’ve said it before, it really doesn’t have to match. In fact, it’s better if it doesn’t! You can pick up really pretty pieces for a few pounds. I am not precious over mine, if it gets broken, I’ll just find some more!
I love vintage tea cups and saucers – which reminds me, have you ever tried gin and rose lemonade?!! OH MY GOODNESS it’s good! It’s my all time favourite Summer tipple, and it tastes even better when sipped from a pretty cup and saucer, Yes, the menfolk might roll their eyes at me, but I don’t care! It’s a very enjoyable past time; I even stick my little finger out, haha!
Gold accents are really fashionable at the moment, aren’t they; I used the gorgeous teaspoons from the Floral Heritage Range.
If you find yourself sitting outside until the sun goes down, grab some candles, whatever you have, to make the ambience warmer as the light starts to fade. I love using a tall lantern with a pillar candle, and also have a few storm lanterns or even jam jars with tea lights inside, dotted around.
The Laura Ashley tall lantern is perfect
So after all that hard work, it’s definitely time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the precious time spent with your nearest and dearest. And if you happen to have that vintage teacup to hand, no one needs to know exactly what you choose to fill it with! If anyone asks, it’s tea… 😉
Have a lovely summer!
Love Sally x
How great does Sally’s garden look? Do you have any tips for the perfect Alfresco dining? Let us know below or on Twitter @LauraAshleyUK