Remodelista is all about interior design, but this week, with summer just around the corner, its editors looked to the outdoors for inspiration. Here, their five essentials for a proper backyard party:
1. A Seat at the Table
Above: Who wants to have to eat while standing up and balancing a full plate of food? Do your guests a favor and provide seating and a surface on which to rest their plates. This wholly charming dining setup, thanks to indoor furniture brought outdoors, is courtesy of the Glen Wilde. This week, its proprietors shared How to Open Up the Summerhouse for the Season.
2. Refreshments in Stylish Dispensers
Above: Instead of plastic water bottles, serve water, flavored with cucumber, mint, citrus, or herbs, in a drinks dispenser. This one from Pottery Barn is among the good-looking dispensers that Alexa rounded up in 10 Easy Pieces: Summer Drinks Dispensers (from High to Low).
3. Respite From the Sun
Above: A must for any summertime outdoor gathering is shade. This sheltered terrace of a 1930s house in Los Angeles would be the perfect spot to shoot the breeze with guests. Photograph by Sam Frost, courtesy of DISC Interiors, from LA Palette Cleanser: A Flash-Free Holmby Hills Makeover by DISC Interiors, Before and After.
4. An Angle of Repose
Above: Julie discovered these cool Brooklyn-by-way-of-El-Salvador hammocks at Field + Supply last week. We approve. See Summery (and Chic) Hammocks from Nudo Handmade.
5. A Place by the Fire
Above: An outdoor party should always end properly with guests gathering around a campfire. Photograph courtesy of Timber Cove, from A ’60s Ocean Lodge Redux: Timber Cove on the Sonoma Coast.
Plus:
- The 13 Best Places to Stay in the Catskills and Hudson Valley This Summer
- Kitchen of the Week: “Preserving the Spirit of the Old” in Reims, France
- Expert Advice: 10 Secrets to Happy Housekeeping
- 10 Things Nobody Tells You About Bathroom Storage
- 7 Storage Ideas to Steal from a Modern Farmhouse-Inspired Kitchen Remodel