Summer Entertaining at Home: My Tabletop & Outdoor Living Finds

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Written By Bethany Williard

The pieces I reach for, and how I'd style them, when the goal is simply being together.

A little note: this post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy something through them, at no extra cost to you. I only ever share pieces I genuinely love and would put in my own home. Thank you for supporting the studio.

Somewhere in the last eighteen months, I stopped saving the nice things for a special occasion. Maybe that's what a baby does to you. Ben and I have landed on a way of celebrating that's as much for us as it is for Elodie, and most of it happens around a table in the long light of a summer evening. My parents come for dinner fairly often, Ben's parents roll into town when they can, and we've all quietly adjusted to eating earlier than we used to, or waiting until after she's down to share a slower meal once the house goes still. None of it is fancy. All of it feels like a reason to set a pretty table.

So this is less a list and more an invitation: pull out the good stuff, let it get used, and let the evening run long. Here are the pieces I'm loving for summer, and the way I'd actually approach styling them.

How I'd style a summer table

Before I choose a single thing, I want to know two things: who's coming, and what we're eating. A small, intimate group gets real dinnerware, with flatware and glasses to match. A bigger, more casual crowd gets the kind of melamine that reads like real stoneware from two feet away (more on that below). I build the table around the meal, or if there's a theme driving the night, I start there and choose the dishes to suit it. Lighting comes early in my thinking too, not as an afterthought, because it does more to set a mood than almost anything else for very little money or effort. Only once I know there's room for everyone and their place settings do I add the decorative layer.

A few instincts I come back to every time:

Layer texture and height. This is where a table goes from flat to collected. Texture is also how you keep things feeling elevated and organic rather than themey: it carries the visual interest so you don't have to lean on a lot of literal "summer" props.

Group in odds, and let it be a little imperfect. I almost always prefer odd numbers to even, and a loose rhythm to perfect symmetry. I like to slip in one slightly unexpected element, the thing that makes you think, "huh, I never would have put that there, but it works!"

Respect the scale. The most common mistake I see is going too small. People err toward dainty and the table ends up looking unfinished. You don't want to overcrowd it, but really using the space you have is half the work.

Let lighting do the heavy lifting. Candles, a lantern, a warm bulb at dusk. It's the cheapest, fastest way to make people feel something the moment they sit down, and so much of styling is just that: making people feel a little bit special.

Tabletop

A cloth napkin, when the occasion allows, adds a soft layer that paper simply can't. And I've made my peace with melamine, because it has genuinely come a long way; so much of it now looks like real stoneware, which makes it my go-to for relaxed outdoor settings where I don't want to worry. I'm always drawn to a plate with a little edge detail. I do still prefer real glass to plastic, though I understand the case for plastic outdoors, especially with little ones underfoot.

Serveware & hosting

The pieces I reach for most when people come over are the ones that do double duty: a board that starts the night with cheese and ends it holding dessert, a pitcher that looks lovely sitting out, a tray that turns a handful of glasses into something that feels intentional. Good serveware is quietly the hardest worker at any gathering, so I keep mine simple, warm in tone, and easy to mix.

Outdoor living

The same rule I use indoors applies out here: avoid the matched set. It's so easy to default to the sofa-chair-accent-table combo, but that's exactly what leaves a space feeling a little "meh." Choosing individual pieces that simply work well together is what gives you the curated, custom look. And if you can, change out the pillows that come with everything. A different pattern, print, or texture is the fastest way to make an outdoor space feel like yours.

The little extras

I love what free-form, organic flowers and greenery bring to a table. Nothing too arranged, just a few stems that look gathered rather than ordered. They're the easiest way to soften everything and make it feel alive.

Where I'd splurge, and where I wouldn't

If you spend anywhere, spend on comfortable seating with proper cushions, and on shade. If it's too hot or the sun is glaring straight into your guests' faces, they'll quietly drift somewhere more comfortable and the evening loses its anchor. The piece people underestimate is sound: a good outdoor speaker can be had fairly inexpensively and it does so much for the mood.

The real goal 🤍

If I'm honest, the styling is in service of one thing: creating a space people don't want to leave. Appetizers roll into dinner, dinner rolls into a drink after, and nobody's reaching for their keys. Everyone's lives are so full right now, and our attention has become the most valuable thing we have. Being able to set the work and the noise down and actually be present with the people you love is a genuine luxury. That's what I'm really setting the table for.

For what it's worth, my summer formula is simple: a flavored lemonade that's lovely with or without a little something stronger, a light orzo salad with spinach, feta, and tomatoes that tastes like dining alfresco to me, and always, always a small sweet treat to close the night.

And you don't need all of it. Start with one or two pieces, a nice set of candles, and some soft linen napkins, and build from there as the seasons give you reasons to gather. The point was never the things. It's the table they help you set.

If any of this sparks something, come find me. Follow along on Instagram / Pinterest, and tell me the drink or dish that tastes like summer to you, the one tied to a memory you'd happily relive. I'd love to hear it.

You can shop all of my summer entertaining picks in my storefront.

xo, Bethany

 

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Bethany Williard https://www.studio1049.com
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