Looking for a fun and easy solution to entertaining? Take it outdoors! Everyone enjoys alfresco dining. Whether you are planning a brunch, a lunch time family gathering or an evening party with friends, your outdoor space can be great for entertaining. 

Here are our top tips on how to turn your backyard into a stylish and festive outdoor living space.  

Select the Right Outdoor Furniture

Before shopping for outdoor furniture, it is a good idea to get a pencil and paper and sketch the layout of your outdoor area or deck (including dimensions). You can use this to see which possible furniture layouts would best suit your space. Once you know what will fit, you can start making your wishlist of what you really need. 

Check out Mitre 10's latest Outdoor Furniture range of exterior furniture and be inspired! You'll see a variety of timber, steel and aluminium designs to suit any style and size of outdoor area. 

If you're wanting a dining space, browse the range settings with tables and chairs, or try bench seats for a modern look. For more of a comfortable, conversation area, create an outdoor "living room" by placing an outdoor couch and armchair with a coffee table. (As an example, the Latitude Sienna 4 Piece Setting is pictured below.) 


 
Create an Outside Room
To enhance the indoor-outdoor flow of your house, treat your outdoor area as another room of your home and decorate this space in a similar way to how you'd decorate indoors. A splash of brightly coloured cushions, wall décor and some lanterns or candles add interest and warmth to the space.

You can view a selection of garden décor and pots on the Mitre 10 MEGA Website.

You could also create your own decorations. For example, you can collect an assortment of old or new bottles in different shapes and colours. Group them together on a table and then place a single flower or sprig of greenery from your garden into each one. 

Display items that you love and that reflect your personal taste. 


 

Barbeques

For easy, social cooking and minimal cleaning - Barbeques are the way to go!

Gas BBQs provide instant heat that you can regulate. Plus, the hooded range often allow for a rotisserie kit (yum!) and a warming shelf.  Charcoal BBQs take a little longer to get the heat right for cooking but give food that unique, smoked bbq flavour. Glowing coal embers also create a wonderful outdoor ambience and are perfect for roasting marshmallows - a quick and easy dessert option!

To keep your outdoor area looking neat and tidy, consider throwing a BBQ Cover over your barbeque when it is not being used. This will also help to protect your bbq from the elements.

 
Provide Shade
It's wonderful to be outside on a summers day, but only if guests have some shade to retreat under. Plus whatever you use to create shade will also introduce a splash of colour. 
 
Gazebos and shade sails are great to shade large areas. Umbrellas provide more of a focal point. Select an umbrella that matches your outdoor furniture setting and consider an umbrella stand to keep the umbrella from blowing away.

Cantilever umbrellas (with a side hanging mechanism) can offer more flexibility than centre poled umbrellas. They can cover larger areas and are useful to provide shade in areas where regular umbrellas cannot be used. For example over large outdoor seating areas, children's pools or sand pits.  
 

Plan your Lighting

At night, exterior lighting is important to add to the mood of your outdoor area. 

String some outdoor Christmas lights underneath your umbrella or gasebo to add a festive sparkle.  

Uplights draw attention to focal plants in the garden or specific garden art features. Downlights that are fitted in trees create a soft flickering carpet of light on the ground as foliage moves in the breeze. Downlights placed on walls provide a pleasing washed-out effect. Pathlights are used to provide a continuous line of light along a pathway or following the border of a garden bed. They are typically low, creating elegant lines and contours in the landscape. See our Exterior Lighting department for more ideas.

Solar garden lights are also a good option as they don't need wiring and you can just stake them into the ground or into pot plants where you need them. 

Of course, placing candles and lanterns near where people are seated adds a soft, romantic glow. Use citronella candles to help keep flying pests away too. 

 

Outdoor Heaters

Gas Patio Heaters are perfect to keep away the chill night air, just be careful where you position them. You don’t want to place them underneath a low pergola!  Braziers and Chimeneas (also spelled "chimineas") are great for creating ambience and warming hands and toes around an open fire. Please remember safety is important when using outdoor heating. Be sure to keep the children away from open fires at all times.

See our Outdoor Heating section for these great products.