Fall is a time of dropping temperatures, early sunsets and rich gold and orange leaves that crunch beneath your feet – if you’re a northerner, that is. For the south, we get to enjoy the cool air by dining outdoors and savoring the lift of humidity and sweat caused by walking outside.
If you’ve got a penchant for outdoor dining, Louisiana blogger Caitlin Holli has all the tricks and treats you’ll need for a positively delectable dinner out on the patio this autumn.
1. Dine With Your Feet in the Grass
Enjoying crisp, fall weather is the perfect complement to good eats for Thanksgiving or even a game day buffet. Holli placed her table and chairs on both a grassy area and paved patio, but guests enjoyed feeling closer to nature with their feet in the grass.
Holli’s tip: experiment with your backyard area and find the place you feel most at peace to sit back and feel the cool breeze while you eat. Whether it’s underneath a tree or beside a fountain, the golden hour of sunset will be that much more marvelous to experience outdoors with the people you love.
Worried about chilly temperatures? Consider adding a fire pit table to your outdoor seating area to round it out and give guests an alternate place to sit after they’re done eating.
2. Use Nature as Your Tablescape
For a truly unique and eye-catching tablescape, Holli used pieces of nature to set the scene, including: pine cones, cotton stems and branches as well as cute, tiny pumpkins atop her matte black dinnerware. Not only did this provide tons of texture, it was also extra eye-catching paired with the long, tapered orange candles for a pop of fall serenity.
Pairing the organic element of the wooden cutting board and clear glasses really brought the beauty of the table to life, including the Beachcroft table’s natural finish and grainy wood. Her expert use of neutrals and fall colors made a well-rounded tablescape we thoroughly enjoy.
Case in point: when in doubt, let a sprinkle of real-world beauty augment your tablescape – you can’t go wrong, especially for fall.
3. Easily Accessible Food for All
Whether it’s a wine and cheese night or the big turkey coming to the table, ditch the boring veggie tray and whet everyone’s appetites instead with a charcuterie board filled with colorful treats. Holli has a mouth watering board filled with citrus, berries, cookies and even chocolate chips. Talk about grazing table inspiration.
This takes away the formal aspect of dinner and allows everyone to relax and reach for what they want, when they want it. The best part? These eatery boards are easily re-filled with little to no fuss.
We highly recommend trying this at your next dinner get-together. You’ll love how it takes the pressure off guests having to scoop things up and feeling awkward if they need to get up for more; it’ll all be right within reach.
A Fall Dinner We’ve Fallen For
We hope you liked Holli’s outdoor dining style as much as we did! You can shop Holli’s dining set, complete with table, chairs and bench on our website. For more dining inspiration during a season full of entertaining, check out our Pinterest boards. You can also scroll through our Instagram for decor and festive items to get you in the spirit of the season.
