Summer dining decor: Bringing nature onto your table

By Anna Paola Snaidero

Summer is here and it’s time to fully embrace its colors, scents, and energy and let them into our daily life!

Whether or not you have already espoused the trend of homegrown fruits and vegetables
and community gardens, you should still take time to bring nature onto your table. Outdoor and indoor dining alike can benefit from drawing inspiration from your natural surroundings; it will add to the pleasure of eating and can be a source of wellness in and of itself.

Here are some summer table décor ideas:

Pick a couple of main colors as your “theme” (for example, one for the table cloth and one for plates and napkins), then use accessories to bring touches of other colors here and there. This will help you keep your table’s aesthetics fun, yet simple and sophisticated. Green, yellow, and orange are good choices but you can mirror the dominant color schemes of the environment around your home.

Linen table cloths are perfect for summer dining, as they feel fresh and elegant. If you have a wooden table, you can keep it bare and just add a linen runner or placemats.

Create a centerpiece with seasonal fruits and vegetables. For example, you can use a composition of bright yellow lemons (better with their leaves still attached), or of fresh carrots, peppers (of different colors) and greens, or apples (all of the same color or two different ones, depending on your theme). You can place the composition directly on the table, or in a wicker basket. If you use a bowl, choose a wooden one or a solid color that can make the fruits and vegetables stand out.

Sprinkle the table with little bouquets of fresh herbs, like mint, thyme, or sage. The fresher they are, the more intense their scent will be, to further stimulate your senses and make you feel like you are really dining in nature, even when you are indoors. Alternatively, you can also use these herbs bouquets as placeholders, laid next to the glassware or on the folded napkins.

Use simple, clear vases filled with leaves and luminous monochromatic flowers to keep within your color scheme.

Once your table is set, all you have to do is forget about time, turn off cell phones, iPads, beepers and what not, soak in the colors and scents of your table, and cheers to the summer with an ice cold cocktail!

Happy Summer everyone!

Anna Paola Snaidero’s photo credit: Daniela Scaramuzza of Studio Scaramuzza
All other photos: Shutterstock