Stylish outdoor dining area ideas for summer living
Whether you have a city garden with a small dining table or a country garden with a pergola or porch, there are few things as evocative of summer as eating outdoors. That’s never been more true than right now; over the last few years, we have come to appreciate our gardens as much an extension of our living space as a place to grow plants.
There are many different approaches you can take to developing a practical but aesthetically pleasing outdoor dining area. Rita Konig advises taking a leaf out of the book of the Americans when designing an outdoor dining area, amongst other useful pieces of advice. Take a look at our garden furniture shopping guides for more garden ideas, including our guides to benches, chairs, tables and solar garden lights, or read on for suggestions for those al fresco dining areas.
Christopher Horwood1/34As with many townhouses in London, this Chelsea home has limited garden space. That didn't limit Steph Hill and Devereux Designs from creating an aspirational outdoor dining area that seamlessly blends the indoor and outdoor living spaces.
Mark Fox2/34The large outdoor space in this new build property skilfully designed by Rixo co-founder Orlagh McCloskey feels contemporary with a bohemian edge. The L-shaped banquette allows for group dining or laid-back party hosting. The panelled walls are a cool, easy way of creating a cocoon-like private space.
Buchanan Studio3/34In their London garden, Angus and Charlotte Buchanan have created an entire outdoor kitchen and dining area, which allows them to eat outside all year round, thanks to their heaters and canvas sides on their garden room
Jason Ingram4/34Mirrors are an age-old trick for a small garden, but they work well to give the illusion of a larger space. In this city garden, Butter Wakefield has used them on the lower terrace behind trellis from The Garden Trellis Co, painted in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Downpipe’, for a subtle effect. The table and chairs on the terrace, and two benches flanking the upper garden are by James Fuller of Home & Garden Ironwork. ‘These galvanised-iron pieces are fairly light and see-through,’ says Butter. ‘It’s a mistake, in a small space, to use chunky pieces.’
Chris Horwood5/34At Nina Campbell's house in Chelsea, there is a tiny courtyard garden lined with greenery in planters.The garden originally had a low wall on to the street which Nina extended to make the space private. There is a bin store hidden behind the wall of roses, and the space is a haven for birds.
Mark Anthony Fox6/34In this London house transformed by Veere Grenney, the house has a lovely little garden designed by Alex Hoyle. The furniture is by the American firm Munder Skiles.
Paul Massey7/34Annabel Bevan's glorious townhouse in Chelsea has a charming courtyard garden, perfect for outdoor dining. Annabel added mirrors to create a sense of space. The 18th-century patisserie table was bought at Violet Grey Antiques.
Michael Sinclair8/34Outside the threshing barn at this house on the Wiltshire-Somerset border is the orchard, which was created after a swimming pool was filled in. It is planted with greengages, apples, plums and sour cherries. The table is made from the trunk of a tree that came down in a storm on the day that owners Keith Johnson and Glen Senk arrived at the house in 2018.
Paul Massey9/34Lesley Cooke laid out the poolside terrace and planted the trees and hedge of this 18th-century rectory in Gloucestershire. There is a rill around the edge which is fed by a waterfall at the rear or the terrace. The table is from The Chelsea Gardener.
Paul Massey10/34In the intimate garden at designer Mark Smith’s home on the Isle of Wight, garden furniture is mostly from the Vintage Garden Co.
Paul Massey11/34The veranda of this holiday home in Cap Ferrat was designed by its architect Jonathan Tuckey as the main dining space of the house. “This was an ideal spot because it leads from the kitchen and has a wonderful view,” he says. The 4.3-metre-long table is set before a built-in bench and below reclaimed pendant lights from Retrouvius.
12/34In this London garden, designer Sean Walter of The Plant Specialist has installed a wisteria-clad pergola to create a private, shaded space.
Simon Brown13/34Paul Lyon-Maris and Robin Muir have closely planted four Tilia henryana trees in their South Downs garden and have pleached them so that so they form a pretty, leafy canopy. Although the trees do not provide cover from rain, they do provide a shady spot for dining.
14/34In this glorious communal city garden designed by Cameron Landscapes & Gardens, the clever use of space, with a table and benches encircled by trees and flowers, has created a relaxed and natural atmosphere.
Paul Massey15/34Fashion designer Katherine Hooker and her boyfriend, architect Dimitri Konstantidis’s shady terrace on the Greek island of Patmos is a little slice of heaven. Every morning the pair have breakfast at the table – made from reclaimed marble pavement that was rescued from Athens – before going for a swim at a nearby beach.
Alicia Taylor16/34The back garden of this London home, reconfigured by interior designer Penny Morrison, is split into different levels, with a terrace for dining and a raised seating area. Several small rooms that made up the basement of the house were taken out to create this new outdoor space.
Paul Massey17/34This stylish all-weather area created by Ebba Thott for her client’s London home uses matchboard planks, which flow up the wall to create a bench for the table, and a planting area for the living wall.
Andrew Montgomery18/34Designer Bunny Guinness’s garden is a mix of formal areas and functional productive spaces. The courtyard garden is the most intimate part of the space – surrounded on three sides by buildings and a hedge with pillars on the other. Bright borders and a knee-high box hedge completes the interior courtyard.
Simon Brown19/34A trestle table makes for a simple, rustic dining area in the threshing barn of this Herefordshire farmhouse. On the other side of the parterre is the farm’s old milking house.
James Merrell20/34Tricia Guild’s Italian garden boasts not one but two outdoor dining spaces. This shaded area stands below a green canopy of six pollarded plane trees. The chairs are the ‘Surprising’ stacking steel chair from Fermob and the table features ‘Lario’ linen napkins (grass) from Designers Guild. There are is two long tables, ideal for languorous dining.
Michael Sinclair21/34Since he was a child, Russell Pinch’s family has been restoring a sleepy hamlet in western France. Now he and his wife Oona Bannon have transformed the last building, an old cowshed, into a holiday house filled with their elegant furniture, which includes a loggia where they enjoy meals in the cool shade.
Benjamin Edwards22/34Designed by Charles Harman, the garden of Emma Sims-Hilditch’s London house features a Neptune dining table and custom bench. Cushions are in a mix of fabrics from Christopher Farr Cloth.
Elsa Young23/34In Victoria von Westenholz’s Battersea cottage, the wall between the kitchen and garden is sliding glass, meaning it can be pushed right back to create an outdoor dining space indoors. A table from Farmhouse Table Co is teamed with antique Gordon Russell chairs from Westenholz. The bench cushions are in Beacon Hill’s ‘Lotus Stripe’ and Lisa Fine’s ‘Mughal Flower’.
Michael Sinclair24/34The kitchen extension at this Oxfordshire country cottage has a traditional thatched roof above large sliding French windows framed with rough-hewn planks. The paved seating area is edged with ferns, nepeta and rosemary, and dotted with erigeron.
Jason Ingram25/34An extension at Adam Sykes’ California-inspired house in south London is clad in Siberian larch. The kitchen in the extension leads out to a paved seating area in the garden, designed by Town & Country Gardens.
Paul Massey26/34The terrace of a coastal Cornish house by Marion Lichtig is furnished with woven willow chairs from Gloster Furniture.
Rachel Whiting27/34The young designer Octavia Dickinson’s Battersea flat captures the essence of an English cottage, no more so than in the narrow slice of garden that she’s decorated with potted trees and plants and a white iron bench, table (from Anne Fowler in Tetbury) and chairs (from Potting Up).
Alessio Mei28/34The owner of this garden in Marrakech loves the simple generosity and glowing flowers of the Plumbago family. Here, Plumbago auriculata has been trained over an arch in the riad to frame a view of the beautifully painted niche, which makes the perfect hideout on hot afternoons. Intricately patterned tiling decorates the interior of the alcove seating area.
Extract taken from Gardens of Marrakesh by Angelica Gray, photographs by Alessio Mei, published by Frances Lincoln.
Alex James29/34Situated between Marrakesh and the Atlas Mountains, this elegant house, with its airy rooms, is decorated in a combination of English country-house style and traditional Moroccan elements. The light-filled house ripples round a whitewashed courtyard containing a dining table, on another side is a traditionally tiled cloistered walkway from which bedrooms lead off, each with its own terrace and access to the garden beyond.
Lucas Allen30/34This west London industrial mews house is owned by designer Caroline Riddell. In the evenings the Riddells have the cobbled mews all to themselves.
Paul Massey31/34In this French hotel by interior designer Jocelyne Sibuet, dark green French windows open onto a balcony which doubles as an intimate alfresco dining area. The wrought iron outdoor furniture – also green – is in keeping with both internal and external environment. As a bonus, this balcony offers incredible views over the gardens.
Paul Massey32/34In a hotel by interior designer Jocelyne Sibuet, the outdoor dining area has a pretty, rustic feel. Vintage, French-style wrought iron furniture sits on the back patio beneath a pendant light.
Paul Massey33/34In the French country home of textiles dealer Susan Deliss, situated in rural Burgundy, this shaded spot in the garden is often used for lunches. The vintage metal table is from 88 Antiques on Golbourne Road, the garden chairs from Italy and the tableware from France.
Simon Brown34/34This spectacular loggia at Holker Hall in Cumbria was built in the Twenties to replace a Joseph Paxton-designed conservatory. Simple wooden furniture and lanterns decorate it, with a trompe-l'œil design painted in the Eighties by architectural historian and artist Alan Powers.
