Whether you have a city garden or balcony with a small dining table or a country garden with a pergola or porch, there are few things as evocative of summer as eating outdoors. That’s never been more true than right now; over the last few years, we have come to appreciate our gardens as much an extension of our living space as a place to grow plants, while the oft-cited benefits to mental and physical wellbeing from spending time outside are well documented and very real. Per the NHS, those who spend time outdoors are happier and more energetic. You don’t have to be climbing a mountain to appreciate birdsong and a gentle breeze; sitting outside with a gin and tonic of an evening can be as deeply calming.
There are many different approaches you can take to developing a practical but aesthetically pleasing outdoor dining area. Rita Konig advises borrowing from the Americans and installing an outdoor kitchen and fireplace when designing an al fresco dining area, amongst other useful pieces of advice. “I am quite particular about the sort of garden furniture in our rustic landscape,” says Rita of her Wales cottage. “What I really like is rattan chairs with soft cushions. I have a hotchpotch of them and they are terribly comfortable – especially with proper cushions in the seat and back, rather than ‘outdoor’ cushions, which are simply never comfortable.”
Nicola Harding, for her part, suggests that you should think about a mixed-use outdoor dining area with furniture that can be put out or away depending on when you’re eating, and the seasons. “When I lived in London,” she says, “we didn’t want to fill our garden with outdoor chairs. Instead, when eating outside, we would take out our kitchen chairs and gather around a wooden potting table. The rest of the time, the table was styled with a few antique plant pots and looked quite sculptural from inside.
“Conversely, I love seeing things out of context: a garden table used as a side table in a sitting room; or a piece of wicker furniture that feels just as at home in the corner of a kitchen as under the shade of a tree.”
What you end up doing will depend on the physical space you have with which to work, but as with all garden design ideas, don’t forget to consider things like sunlight and lighting for daytime and evening eating respectively, nor accessibility – if you think you’re going to be spending a lot of time carrying dishes out from a kitchen onto a terrace, say, it might be better to position that terrace close to your house, if you can. Unless you’re willing to risk crossing a slippery lawn while laden with salads, that is.
Take a look at our garden furniture shopping guides for more garden ideas, including our guides to benches, chairs, tables and solar garden lights, or read on for suggestions for those al fresco dining areas.
