Garden Dining Tables

When it comes to designing your perfect outdoor space, whether it be a garden, entertaining area complete with patio of decking, or even a small balcony space, including the perfect dining surface is key if you hope to enjoy al fresco meals during the summer months and beyond.

The fact is, indoor and outdoor dining tables are not much different – the difference comes in the way you dress the surface, and the way in which you use it as a multi-purpose base for other activities; for example as an indoor/outdoor desk space, for dining purposes, and as a decorative accessory to bring the whole space together.

The best ways to use a garden dining table

Of course, the to way to use a garden dining table is for outdoor eating, either as a date night or with the family. We tend to recommend that buyers get a dining table larger than what they think they might need – dependent on the space they have available – as this opens the surface up for wider use and allows them to host gatherings and family dinners as well as date nights and other occasions.

One of our top tips for using a garden dining table is to ascertain how many people you are catering for and then use lighting to create the right kind of atmosphere on and around your table – for example, during date night you could use one or two candles on the table surface to create a small pool of light at one end around the area you are going to be using, while a larger occasion with more diners would be best served by fairy light strung up and over the surface to add spots of light along the entire length of the table.

Things to consider when it comes to selecting a garden dining table

As with any large item of furniture, the main thing you need to consider at first is the size of the space you have available and how large your table needs to be in order to best utilise the space. Once you have ascertained the size you have, you can give thought to the shape of the table – deciding if you would be better opting for a long rectangular table or a larger circular one. We tend to find that rectangular tables are best placed in modern outdoor space sat on patio or decking as they are more modern in their angular finish, while circular and oval tables suit more rustic spaces.

Another thing to consider is the material of your table and how that relates to and compliments your flooring surface. For example, though hardwood tables are very popular due to their aesthetic appearance and sturdy structure, we do recommend that buyers with wooden decking consider how the table surface material looks against the flooring – avoiding wood which is too close in colour, instead opting for something much light or much darker in tone.

The final thing to consider is the way in which you furnish and dress the table – including accessories, place mats and centre pieces, and the chairs you choose to place around the table. The best dining tables often come as part of sets which compliment each other and fill a space really well – ranging with multiple options in terms of the quantity of chairs to buy and the size of the table you need.

For the best garden dining tables, head to furniture retailers and garden centres, as well as department stores.