Outdoor table setting should be visual feast

6:50am Saturday 2nd August 2008

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SUMMER’S here and that means the joy of eating outdoors and enjoying leisurely alfresco meals.

But that doesn’t mean you should let down your stylish standards. Meals served in the open should be presented as well as those indoors, especially as you and your family and friends are more inclined to linger longer at the table.

So don’t resort to flimsy, disposable paper tablecloths and a faded selection of wobbly plastic cups which would be more suited to a toddler’s tea party.

Instead, that outdoor table setting should be a sophisticated feast for the eye. Its appearance should transform even a simple meal into an occasion and, most importantly, enhance the food.

But making it special doesn’t require oodles of cash that will bust a summer budget, nor does it require cupboards bulging with expensive china and glass.

There’s a brilliant new selection of well-designed picnic and patio tableware on the high street made in materials like melamine – so it'’ both durable (highly child proof!) and cheap. So use your imagination and combine some fun new pieces with your existing china, the older the better. Formality and delicate bone china are not needed for these meals.

Interiors writer Caroline Clifton-Mogg asked top designers throughout the world for the secret ingredients they use to create stunning settings.

She reveals them in her book, Set With Style, and says: “What I found out is that everyone is capable of setting a great table – provided they use just a little imagination. Most of us usually set a table daily and make relaxed choices about what to display.

“To make one really special it’s just a question of getting together the right ingredients – that can be china and glassware you already have – and seeing dressing the table as another form of interior design.”

While blue skies and sun can’t be guaranteed there are a few essentials for relaxed outdoor dining.

Caroline says: “Always make sure the seating – whether it’s cushions and blankets on the grass, upholstered chairs or seats piled with cushions – is comfortable.

“There’s nothing worse than perching on a hard, wobbly chair and trying to enjoy a meal. In fact, it’s impossible!”

Shade a table with an awning or parasol – so that as well as preventing uncomfortable glare there’s also handy shelter from a shower.

Caroline says: “When you eat outdoors the table should look less formal than an indoor setting, but just as pretty and attractive.

“The thing is not to be over-elaborate and to serve relatively simple but delicious food.”

This is a rustic, traditional look and one of the easiest tables to create.

Even a plain, unadorned, wooden table can look wonderful if it’ set with a gaily-decorated collection of china.