Human beings are, by their very nature, social creatures and this explains why we love to have a party. Throwing open your home to others is a great way to catch up with old friends and share fun with the people who you love to share your social time with most. The best homes are geared up to make the magic happen.
Reports of the death of the party are, to paraphrase Mark Twain, greatly exaggerated. Indeed, recently on Super Bowl Sunday, 20 million people attended a party to watch the New England Patriots’ comeback of all comebacks.
And, whenever the weather allows, the best house parties should go outside and make the most of Mother Nature’s gifts.
Yet, if you’re planning to host friends or family outside – either in a fully blown party or for an informal gathering – you need to create the perfect social space in your garden. There are three key factors to doing just that.
Food glorious food
If an army marches on its stomach then a good party can be measured by how well it tickles the taste buds. Rustling up the right food is one thing, but why not make it a super-social event by making food right at the heart of your garden?
A BBQ island is ideal for this. Your guests can literally gather around while you cook up a storm, making it easy to chat to everyone while you ‘work’. You’ll feel at the centre of the action, like a TV chef wowing your very own audience instead of having to awkwardly slope off to make the food for your guests.
Take the indoors out
If you want to get the party to move outdoors to your super-social garden then it’s important to have a natural bridge from your indoor space to the garden.
A balcony or an area of paving or decking are an inviting way of ushering your guests in the right direction and give people somewhere to congregate and admire your garden. Patio doors make the step out as natural and seamless as possible. They also give a great view of your garden that will encourage your guests to go out and explore further.
Take a seat
Finally, if you want your guests to relax then you need to give them somewhere to sit and socialize. Comfy chairs and benches are great to gather around, especially once the food is served up.
Think about cushions too – these can make the hardest of wooden chairs a much more comfortable experience. If you’re lucky enough to have a pool then why not invest in a couple of loungers to give guests somewhere to soak up the sun’s rays when they’re not splashing around in the water?
With your outdoor cooking space set up as a key feature and natural places to gather and relax, your guests are bound to embrace the party atmosphere and enjoy themselves.
(Collaborative post; images courtesy of Pixabay)
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Oh I wish I had an outdoor space in which to socialise!
Next on my list is to tackle my garden again. I love the mix of paved stones with grass and the shade for protection from the sun (or rain)
This has made me pine for summer even more than I was already!
I can’t wait for warmer days to be able to use the garden more, at the moment it’s looking like a sad wasteland! X
Lovely ideas and inspiration! I for one cannot wait til the weather improves and we can start getting outside on our deck!
Great tips Rachael, I do love a good garden party, all we need is the weather!