With the warmer weather promising to return any time soon (we hope!) now is a great time to be thinking about al fresco dining options, ready for summer. This month we’re focusing on ways that you can brighten up your breakfast time for all of the family and create a stylish, functional outdoor dining space. You can view all of the products we’ve used, complete with links below.
Our garden area is fairly small – slightly bigger than a standard courtyard garden. We wanted a large table for outdoor al fresco dining this summer that was easy to maintain, practical and looked stylish. The folks over at outandoutoriginal.com came up with this amazing option with their Ibiza Garden Dining Set which proves that plastic garden furniture most definitely doesn’t have to be tacky!
I’m in love with this dining set. It is priced at a reasonable £199 and is so much sturdier than you would imagine. The Ibiza Garden Dining Set is clearly built to last and is even UV protected so that fading won’t occur! You can fit plenty of people around it, so this makes it perfect for summer entertaining and all elements are solid, sturdy and not cheap and flyaway like other plastic sets we’ve owned in the past. I have never been quite so impressed with a garden furniture set and the fact that it took mere minutes to assemble was an even bigger bonus! It also comes in various different colours, so if bright hues or crisp, clean whites are more your thing then that’s not a problem. We used it to dish up a variety of different breakfast treats and decorated the table with some stylish, simple accessories.
We used these stunning Gold place-mats from Sainsbury’s which added a shiny, chic touch. We then served up delicious fresh fruit with Rachel’s Greek Style Honey Yoghurt (My personal favourite, either on its own or with various toppings as illustrated) and a sprinkle of good quality granola. Table accessories came in the form of the gorgeous bright yellow candle (£3.50 for a pack of 3 from IKEA) along with the beautiful little glass heart storage pots from Homesense that we use to keep our Granola in. The look was finished off to perfection with the chunky, stylish nautical themed Valo Windlight from Cargo.
Fresh coffee was served in the beautiful and unique ‘Heart in Clover’ cups from Select Japan. These particular cups change from a clover shape, to a heart, the further down you drink! I am absolutely obsessed with heart themed dining products this season so these cups are being used at every given opportunity. They look unbelievable pretty and are a great way to impress dining guests!
There are various different styles available (full details below) but I particularly loved the design element of the Heart in Clover cup and saucer as they really add a delicate, chic touch to your breakfast experience. The porcelain is well made and strong enough to use whenever you like without the risk of it chipping or breaking easily. These are exactly the kind of long lasting pieces of homeware that you’ll be keen to keep in the family and pass down throughout generations. Expect to see them featured in plenty more of our summer themed articles!
Want to see more of the yummy treats we served up at our breakfast table? Take a look at the delicious Al fresco Dining gallery below which includes fruit, yogurt, crepes, bagels and more to inspire you to brighten up your breakfast times!
Hopefully this feature has inspired you to get creative and come up with your own ways to brighten up breakfast this summer with al fresco dining? Here are all of the things we used to create our delicious breakfast feast!