Outdoor entertaining in a coastal theme is a fun and easy breezy way to serve up your favorite summer foods! Follow these simple tips to create a beautiful, coastal-inspired outdoor table setting for summer.
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How to Create a Beautiful Coastal Outdoor Table Setting
Our South Carolina weather allows us to entertain outdoors from spring to fall, and I love to set a pretty outdoor table for all seasons. I grew up on the shores of both Lake Michigan and the Chesapeake Bay, and large bodies of water embody the feeling of home for me. Summer is the perfect time to celebrate my beach girl roots through coastal-inspired outdoor entertaining! This summer, I wanted to expand my collection of melamine outdoor tableware and knew that Christmas Tree Shops would have just what I was looking for! Christmas Tree Shops is the perfect place to shop for affordable seasonal dining table items and accessories. Watch my short video below to see me shop in-store to create this beautiful coastal table!
Outdoor Coastal Table Setting Tip 1: Choose Your Color Palette
When overwhelmed by color palette options, select fewer colors and go for a tight color palette! A tight color palette will always produce an effortlessly pulled together look.
You aren’t bound by simple shades of blue when creating a coastal look! Coastal colors include the traditional blues, teals, beiges, greiges, warm woods, and grays, but they can also include many more vibrant colors. For a nautical look, choose a color palette of navy, red, and white. For a tropical vibe, choose coral, lemon yellow, lime and kelly green. If you want to embrace the look of a coastal sunset, choose coral, pink, orange, yellow and teal.
My Christmas Tree Shops had dozens of different coastal-inspired melamine dish patterns to choose from. After trying a few combinations of patterns in my cart, I settled on a traditional blue and white coastal palette. My number one tip that applies to all decorating is this: When overwhelmed by color palette options, select fewer colors and go for a tight color palette! A tight color palette will always produce an effortlessly pulled together look.
Outdoor Coastal Table Setting Tip 2: Find an Inspiration Object That Sets the Tone for the Table
Every table I create is typically inspired by one grounding dining table item. This could be a decorative vase, floral plate, table runner, cloth napkin, placemat, etc. This one table item is typically the springboard for the selection of all other items and helps define your color palette. For my coastal table, the inspiration objects were these gorgeous beaded placemats from Christmas Tree Shops Coral Cove collection, pictured below.
The blue, silver, pearl, beige, and jute placemats in a shell motif were the perfect nod to the beach I was looking for! Once I had them in my cart, my melamine dishware and table accessory selections came easily.
Outdoor Coastal Table Setting Tip 3: Table Runners, Tablecloths, and Placemats are the “Rugs” of Your Table
When styling a room, your rug selections ground the furniture in a space and add texture, color, dimension, and style to your room. Similarly, your tablecloth, runners, and placemats play the same role! For this table, I wanted my beaded placemats to be the star of the show and therefore selected a solid colored runner that would compliment and not compete with the placemats. My Christmas Tree Shops had a wide selection of tablecloths, table runners, placemats, and cloth and paper napkins to choose from.
Outdoor Coastal Table Setting Tip 4: Add Texture and Coastal Patterns to the Table
One unconventional decorating idea I almost always incorporate on my tables is to create a different look for the heads of the table. By choosing different, yet complementary placemats or chargers at the heads of the table, I’m able to incorporate more texture and pattern on the table. Oftentimes this is done out of necessity when I’m unable to find six or more of a particular charger or placemat. However, over the years creating different looks at the heads of table has become one of my trademarks, and I enjoy mixing in different looks on the same table.
These wood and white chargers from Christmas Tree Shops are a great coastal look that complement the jute fringe on the beaded placemats. They also look great with my lantern chandelier from Christmas Tree Shops!
Another great way to add texture to your table is through your soft textiles. Fringed cloth napkins and a fringed beach towel on the bench add some additional pattern, color, texture and flare! Christmas Tree Shops has a variety of lush beach towels that could work double duty at your table as table runners, seat warmers, toss blankets, or picnic blankets. Don’t be scared to think outside the box when decorating!
Outdoor Coastal Table Setting Tip 5: Use the Concept of High-Low Decorating on Your Table
The concept of high-low decorating in interior design allows for the mixing of high end items with more affordable decor. The end look is sophisticated and elegant, yet obtainable and practical. The same principle can be applied to your table settings! For example, on this table I incorporated cloth napkins, beaded placemats, and real silverware with melamine dishware. You could also use paper plates in place of the melamine. Purchase the products that make the most sense for your lifestyle and budget and elevate the look with a few good investment pieces!
My Christmas Tree Shops offered a variety of affordable melamine dishware that have the look and feel of glass and ceramic. In fact, on my way to my car I accidentally dropped my entire bag of melamine dishes which subsequently spilled all over the parking lot. Not one dish was damaged! This is the beauty of melamine for outdoors. You don’t have to worry about clumsy mishaps when carting your dishes to and from the kitchen!
Outdoor Coastal Table Setting Tip 6: Create a “Talk Over” Centerpiece that Evokes the Spirit of the Sea
I’ll admit it. I sometimes get carried away and am guilty of creating gorgeous centerpieces that just aren’t practical on the table! Your centerpiece needs to be low enough that guests can easily see each other over it and talk comfortably around it. This is what I like to call the “talk over” test. Be sure to sit at your table and be sure you’re able to talk over the centerpiece. If your centerpiece is too large to pass the “talk over” test, then simply repurpose it elsewhere during the meal. If you don’t, chances are good your guests will!
For my coastal-inspired centerpiece, I had originally planned on using a beautiful mercury glass vase purchased at Christmas Tree Shops; however, it didn’t pass the talk over test! Instead, I used a piece of driftwood, some faux succulents, some glass beads I already owned, and some faux sea stars from Christmas Tree Shops. The sea glass-inspired bud vases are also from CTS and are filled with lavender and honeysuckle.
Outdoor Coastal Table Setting Tip 7: Add a Few Matching Accessories to Complement Your Table
If your outdoor table is located on your deck or patio, don’t forget to incorporate a few matching accessories to tie together your adjoining spaces. I used two denim striped pillows from Christmas Tree Shops to complement my blue and white coastal table. The entire space looks cohesive and beautiful!
If you enjoyed today’s post, you might also enjoy some of my other Christmas Tree Shop posts! Be sure to check out the following and click here to receive $10 off your $50 or more purchase.
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