ideas for entertaining outdoors

 1.

Create Crate Shelves

Wooden crates make fantastic shelves when turned on their side and fixed to the wall. The rustic finish fits with the outdoor setting and whether you use them practically for storing tools or as a place to put glasses or crockery when having a party, they're guaranteed to look great. 

2.Take Movie Night Outdoors

A projector is a great investment for any film-loving family. Warm evening? String a sheet up between two trees and watch a movie while snuggling up under some blankets with a bag of microwave popcorn.

3.Pot Plant It

Flowerbeds can be high maintenance so a great solution for an urban garden is to opt for potted plants. The more the merrier, as en masse they have real impact. It's all about the containers so go for pretty ceramic pots or get creative with milk pails or vintage buckets.

4.firefly glass lanterns

YOU WILL NEED

• Muslin
• Fabric scissors
• Old glass jars
• White fabric (optional)

• Double-sided tape
• Battery-operated tea lights, one for each lantern

1. For each lantern, cut a square of muslin big enough to cover the lid and overhang the jar. Place the muslin over the top of the lid and anchor it to the top of the lid by fixing it with a piece of double-sided tape.
2. Place the battery-operated tea light into the jar, screw on the lid so the cloth hangs down and covers the jar.

3. To make the hanging loop, cut or tear a strip of muslin measuring approximately 30 x 2cm. Loop it around the neck of the jar and secure with a slip knot. Now take the long loose end over to the opposite side of the neck of the jar so that a long loop is formed over the lid. Push the end under the fabric tied around the jar and secure with a looped slip knot. You can easily undo and redo the hanging loop when you take off the lid to turn the light on or off.

 

5.Accessorise Outdoors

This gardener's corner makes a feature of garden tools and adds some simple accessories. The result is a stylish nook, which is the perfect place to relax after a day of getting your hands dirty.

 

6.Your Living Room Outdoors

On a sunny day, take your living room outdoors, whether it's the entire sofa or a few cushions and throws. A voile canopy and a few lanterns strung from a tree will make it so much more than an impromptu picnic.

7.Your Colour Scheme

Cushions are a real luxury for outside seating and also allow you to bring a little more colour outdoors. Co-ordinate with flowers or plants (a yellow cushion would have looked great next to the lemon tree) or go for natural tones mixed with a few fun neons.

 

8.Go For Greenery

Lacklustre patio? Even the most industrial looking space can be transformed with some fake grass and stylishly arranged pot-plants, just look at The Balcony Gardener's recent pop-up shop for inspiration.

9.The scene

The US-based styling this relaxed scheme. They used reclaimed wooden planks to create a low picnic table, placed stylish and disposable bamboo plates in two neat rows and hung a garland of festoon lights to pull the look together. An informal selection of rugs and cushions on the ground gives a bohemian and picnic-like atmosphere.
 

10. Hang ten

Clustered tepees are a fun addition to an outdoor party with a festival feel. Furnish the interior with comfortable cushions and rugs, string coloured jars with candles from the trees and add a brazier for warmth.

 

11. In the Shade

Awnings can be as simple or as extravagant as you wish, and they will always have a use at a garden party, come rain or shine. Interior designer Nina Campbell says, 'My electric awning in my little garden at home creates an exterior room, extending the drawing room for those times when I over-invite. It is perfect for where space is limited, such as in London.' 
Vicky Charles, the design director of Soho House, suggests, 'Use fabrics such as canvas, hessian or sailcloth; they look great suspended on ropes or stretched across poles or trees.' In the garden of Soho Beach House Miami (pictured), as featured in Eat, Drink, Nap (Random House, £30), beautiful shadows are reflected onto sailcloth from the trees above, creating a natural-born party decoration with minimal fuss that's perfect for a daytime party.

 

11. Going green

Try treating draping foliage like theatre curtains, tying it back with string. Properly installed outdoor lighting creates atmosphere, as well as providing illumination above a table. 

 

12.Having a ball

'Floral balls are a real crowd-pleaser,