Summer is now in full swing and with the warmer weather comes the possibility of al fresco lunch or dinner.
Whether the space available to you is a balcony, a metropolitan terrace or a generous garden in the country or in the hills, laying a beautiful summer table is a pleasure you can always treat yourself to: just a few, simple steps are required to amaze your friends and family and spend an enjoyable evening in the open air.
In this article, we’ll provide some useful tips to set an original summer table, without investing too much time or money.
FLOWERY SUMMER TABLE
How to prepare the table: textiles and tableware
Summer is a time for colours, fun and for the triumph of Nature: what better way to celebrate it than to fill your table with flowers?
Start with a tablecloth with a fun floral pattern, with bright colours, perhaps with stylised graphics; if you prefer a summer table without a tablecloth, choose plastic or raffia place mats: each diner gets a different colour!
Variety is also the spice of life for your plates, which you can mix and match and recycle, with uncoordinated colours and patterns, for a bohemian chic look.
Glassware is also very important: choose printed glass bottles and glasses featuring fun patterns and an informal design.
Colourful daisies bloom on the Marge decorated glass collection by Decover, which offers you the chance to choose between cylindrical-shaped and conical water tumblers and the beverage/drink glass with a capacity of 330 cc.
The Marge line is completed by the Alighieri spice jar with hermetically-sealed lid, the practical Lella bottle with a snap-top and the Sirio bottle with a screw cap, in high-quality Italian glass that match the glasses.
For a more minimal and linear floral effect, the Fiorone collection by Decover is just for you!
A refined stylised botanical motif in shades of green blooms on two sizes of water and beverage glasses, bottles, jug and bowls that are ideal for breakfast or to serve appetizers, all in Italian printed glass with an exclusive design.
How to set a floral table
And now, what’s your floral summer table missing? Fresh flowers, of course!
Choose simple, hard-wearing and brightly coloured flowers such as daisies, gerberas, poppies and sunflowers: cut them and arrange them in lots of coloured glass vases or glasses placed all along your table: they will give a cool and graceful touch of country fun to your table. You can add freshness and fragrances to your bunches by inserting a few sprigs of rosemary, mint, sage, thyme or other freshly picked herbs.
If you have the opportunity to hang chains or cables to the roof of your portico or gazebo, you can create hanging floral decorations for high scenic impact: use tin buckets or old plastic pots you can paint over in bright colours and fill with your favourite flowers, better still if they match the ones used to decorate your table.
Make some holes to insert some hooks and use ropes or light chains to hang floral compositions quite low over your summer table.
Ideas for a summer dinner: cooking with flowers
Now you know how to prepare a summer table inspired by Nature, all that is left for you to do is to surprise your guests with some original floral-themed dishes.
Edible flowers - both fresh and dried - are available for purchase, all with splendid colours and a delicate flavour, ideal to add a sophisticated touch to salads, fish and shellfish carpaccios, fresh cheeses and puddings such as mousses and flans.
You could also prepare choreographic soups or cold creamy recipes, such as gazpacho or cream of pulse and vegetable soups, decorated with edible flower petals, fresh herbs and fennel roots.
A really super idea to refresh the water and drinks on your summer table with style? Introduce an edible flower in every compartment in your ice tray, fill with water and freeze. The result will be unusual and ultra-sophisticated floral ice cubes, ideal for cocktails or a glass of bubbly.
PINK FLAMINGO AND CACTUS SUMMER TABLE: TREND FOR 2019
Why not lay a fun outdoor table inspired by the coolest decorative motifs this summer 2019?
One tireless trend is the pink flamingo, for a romantic table setting in shades of tropical sunsets. In shops you’ll find all sorts of themed accessories to set and decorate your summer table: textiles, place mats, runners, even straws and party favours celebrate the “flamingo” motif in its unmistakable coral pink hue or in brighter shades of fuchsia.
To complete your summer table, choose decorated glassware items from the Flamingo line by Decover: cups, bottles, jugs, water and cocktail glasses printed with a fun exclusive “flamingo” themed design.
Another “big hit” for summer 2019 are cactuses, of all shapes and sizes.
These fun thorny plants liven up tablecloths and napkins, but they also come in the shape of original forks for starters, spice jars or unusual lanterns!
The extra idea to set a cactus-themed summer table that will astound everyone?
Place a rather wide and low tray in the middle of the table and fill it with sand: it will be the desert from which lots of small real cactuses can poke out, nestled in coffee cups or metal tea light holders.
You can’t use just any old glasses for your cactus-themed summer table: tableware in 100% Italian stamped glass from the Cactus line by Decover brings the fun and colour of these unique plants to your open-air lunches and dinners thanks to their exclusive wash-resistant graphics.
IDEAS FOR AN ETHNIC STYLE SUMMER DINNER
A touch of Mexican fun or inebriating Middle-Eastern atmospheres?
Setting an ethnic style table is a simple, trendy choice, which can be interpreted in an informal or refined manner.
Prefer unrefined materials such as straw or woven jute charger plates, enamelled terracotta bowls decorated with bright colours and Mediterranean patterns, trays and serving spoons in natural wood.
Setting the table in Mexican style
To interpret the TEX-MEX style, set your table with lots of appetizers such as nachos, guacamole (avocado sauce), red bean chilli and a mixture of multi-coloured raw vegetables. There can be no shortage of themed accessories, such as a runner that brings to mind the typical poncho worn by mariachi and the decorated glassware items from the Lama line by Decover: printed glasses featuring funny exclusive graphics inspired by typical Andes landscapes.
Obviously, don’t forget to season your dishes with plenty of hot chilli and...let the fiesta begin!
Setting the table in Mediterranean style
You’ll only need a few items to recreate the magic of Mediterranean landscapes on your summer table: lots of different sized lanterns, also hanging, bowls with colourful spices and scented incense, a beautiful traditional tajine to serve vegetables or meat to accompany your cous cous or pita bread.
The warm and enveloping shades of Middle-Eastern summers can be found on the Tribal glasses by Decover: high quality Italian printed glass with exclusive graphics inspired by tribal decorative patterns and fabrics.
Decover, the designer decorated glass specialist for 30 years.
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