Outdoor Entertaining and Decorating: Favorite Tricks

August is one of my favorite times of the year in East Texas; says no one ever…  Even though I have lived in East Texas for almost 20 years, I still seriously struggle with getting through the insane August heat and humidity here. I’m a Minnesota girl, my body is better equipped for frozen tundra.

August is when we start thinking about the cooler temperatures that will (hopefully) soon be here.  Today I thought I would share a few of my favorite outdoor entertaining and decorating ideas that I have used over the years.  Hopefully there is something here that you can use on your patio or porch.

A couple of years ago, I shared an inexpensive potting bench that I turned into an outdoor bar.  This is probably my favorite outdoor project because we have used it so much and it’s the perfect set up:

 

For the details on how we transformed the bench by adding bar hardware, you can find that post here.

Another easy trick for serving drinks is to use a garden planter as a beverage chiller:

 

I turn a small tupperware storage container upside down and slip it into the urn, so the water melted from the ice goes to the bottom and the ice itself is still at the top.  I have used large oversized urns for bottles of wine.  It’s such an easy (and pretty) way to chill and serve drinks.

One of the best pieces of outdoor furniture that I picked up years ago is this side table console from World Market.  A console table is a great way to set up a buffet when entertaining and using tiered serving stands helps to maximize the space:

Now is a great time to look for end of seasons sales for an outdoor side table if you can use this idea.  For more details on this project, you can find that post here.

A great way to create a little extra lighting ambiance when entertaining is to slip in solar lights into your plants like this:

 

 

A quick and easy way to make an instant arrangement for outdoor parties is by filling a large ceramic vase with water and add flower and plant clippings from plants around the yard:

 

 

I also love to use a large oversized low bowl planter on my main table that I fill with a large hanging basket mixed plants.  Because low bowl planters have more room at the top, you can fill with 3-4 smaller plants on angle or an oversized hanging basket plant for a gorgeous instant table arrangement:

 

 

By the way, I love to use hanging mixed plant baskets around my back patio and I just remove the hanging part and slip into pretty urns and planters.  The hanging baskets are always larger than traditional plants and they are usually about the same price.  After a few weeks, they really take off and look gorgeous.

I hope there is an idea here you can use.  I would love to hear any outdoor entertaining/decorating tricks that you use on your porch or patio.  I am so ready for things to cool down so we can spend more time outdoors and not sweat like wildebeests!

Thanks for stopping by friends!

Cheers!

Cyndy