Fresh Air Food

Outdoor dining doesn't have to mean hotdogs and paper plates. Here's how to bring eye candy to your great outdoors

By Genevieve Knapp
CTW Features

Image courtesy www.KathyPeterson.com

What is every perfectly set dining room table missing? Weather, breezes, birds and beautiful bright colored flowers, says Letitia Little, owner of Letitia Little Interior Design in Savage, Minn. Dining outside is a chance to enjoy nature and get fresh air while relishing a sumptuous spread, but it can take some experience to make it more than a checkered tablecloth and picnic table.

"I try to create outdoor rooms," Little says. "That's a good philosophy when designing for outdoor spaces, like a patio, deck or screened porch. Make sure it has the feel of a room, the furniture is comfortable and it can withstand the weather." Surviving the weather is the biggest thing to consider when choosing outdoor furniture and decorations. Little says weather-resistant, lightweight, aluminum patio furniture is much prettier than it used to be; some finishes even mimic wrought iron. And acrylic fabrics are designed to stay outside all the time.

Melodie Schooley, an interior designer who owns Arrangements With Style in Pittsburgh, Pa., says buying fabrics and having them laminated is an option if your placemat or cushion options aren't up to par. You can also get custom-made tablecloths if the splashy stuff in stores won't do.

"If you are going for more of an elegant look, just pick two or three colors and stick with those colors," Schooley says. "You don't really want to go crazy with a lot of colors." But when it comes to dishes and utensils, it's all about color. Because glass and china breaks so easily, they're no good to tote back and forth between the house and patio. That leaves plastic or acrylic, which usually come in colors that pop. Add potted flowers on the tabletop or around the patio, and dress the table up as if it were indoors.

"If you've got bright colors, like hot pink, orange and red, you might want to serve a Mexican meal and have that hot palate as well," Little says.

"Or if you are [looking for] something that is a little quieter and more subdued like pale blues and greens, you might have succulents or grasses on your porch and you might want to have an Asian menu. You can go further that way and make it a lot of fun."

Japanese lanterns, Tiki torches and candles can add to an outdoor aura. Little suggests café lights, which have larger bulbs than Christmas lights or hurricane lanterns, and are available in traditional or contemporary styles. Lighting candles and lights at dusk gives a festive air to everything, Little says. Another way to create a café or Mediterranean aura is to tile the floor - "Adding tile can really add a lot of pizzazz for a little extra cost," Schooley says.

When a patio becomes an outdoor escape, going 'out' to eat might mean just opening the front door.

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