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After all the rain we had this winter in California, everything is abloom! This is beautiful on the hills and sides of the highways, but unfortunately meant our yards needed A LOT of maintenance to take care of all the overgrowth. And because we love to entertain in our backyards or patios during the spring and summer months, the spaces needed a major refresh to get them entertaining-ready. We partnered with Tuesday Morning to show our outdoor space a bit of love and prep it for the season. There is little we love more than inviting over family and friends and enjoying time with them outside, so we’re sharing a few easy backyard entertaining ideas that you can take with you into the coming months. With a little bit of gardening and a few great accessories, you will be ready to host your loved ones in your most loved spaces!
We wanted to try and achieve this backyard makeover on a budget, and succeeded thanks to Tuesday Morning. The array of options they carry at budget-friendly prices is astounding. This came into play in a major way when shopping for furniture for the space. Outdoor pieces can be pricey, and when you are looking for furniture that can stand a bit of weathering when left outside, you really want durable, quality items. We were so impressed by the selection at Tuesday Morning; from complete outdoor dining sets to lounge chairs to more one-off character pieces, they had everything we could have wanted to choose from. We also love that every Tuesday Morning location carries unique inventory; there is an extra thrill to hunting for and finding that perfect piece!
For this space and our entertaining needs, we selected beautiful dark brown wicker pieces. This bar cart was the first thing to catch our eye. Maybe it was its beauty, or maybe its great price (can you believe it was only $120!!), but something about this cart struck us. It is the perfect statement piece, but also incredibly useful for outdoor entertaining. For our small gathering, we used it to serve drinks and snacks, but it also served as a great way to display glassware, flowers, and beach towels for anyone who wanted to lounge in the grass.
OK, let’s talk about some of the cute accessories and entertaining essentials we discovered at our local Tuesday Morning. For starters, you need things to serve out of and sip from! We fell in love with this pretty decanter, perfect for pouring a spring cocktail or lemonade. For a pop of color, we chose these great turquoise drinking glasses with a matching pattern. They are not only cute, but also plastic, which we love for outdoor entertaining. Other key pieces included a vegetable platter tray and these fun light blue starfish bowls that we used for fruit. We also found a few fun dish towels that went perfectly with our colorful spring theme.
When it comes to backyard entertaining ideas and tips, we always recommend making the space feel warm and welcoming. After all, you want your guests to feel comfortable and that they can stay a while. We did this with great woven items from Tuesday Morning like a cute rug, and weather-proof pillows. Not only do these help create a cozy atmosphere, but they also brighten up the space.
Another way we achieved this, was by having a seating area. Every function has a flow to it; sometimes everyone is standing and mingling and moving about, and others are a sit down dinner affair. Either way, it is always good to create conversation-ready nooks where people can rest their feet and chat more intimately with other guests. We found these great lightweight woven chairs that matched the bar cart perfectly and can easily be moved around the yard when seeking shade or sunshine. To create an inviting atmosphere, we added this great white pedestal and topped it with a cute bud vase. Even the great white pot our Fig leaf tree is in is from Tuesday Morning!
As you can tell we really wanted to incorporate fun spring colors into the backyard to revive it. They help accentuate the flowers in the garden, amplify the spring ‘theme’, and also and just make us happy. These minor, colorful additions go to show that you can make a big impact with small changes and a minimal budget. We hope our backyard refresh party gives you plenty of your own backyard entertaining ideas for the spring and summer. And there are ample opportunities to put them to use! From Cinco de Mayo to Labor Day, we will be bringing people together in this space all season long.
For more backyard entertaining ideas, check out this beautiful backyard farm to table dinner party!