Setting a Simple Summer Table
There is something about eating outside in summer that makes even the simplest meal feel like an occasion.
A tomato salad becomes lunch.
Bread, cheese and fruit somehow become a feast.
A normal Wednesday dinner can stretch into a long evening simply because the light is beautiful and nobody wants to go inside.
And perhaps that is why I love setting a summer table.
Not a formal table.
Not the kind where every glass has a specific purpose and you’re afraid of putting the fork in the wrong place.
A relaxed table.
One that looks inviting but still feels like people are allowed to eat at it.
Start with what you already have
You don’t need to buy a collection of summer tableware to make a table beautiful.
I actually prefer tables where everything doesn’t match perfectly.
White plates.
Different glasses.
A wooden board.
A ceramic bowl.
A linen cloth.
Things collected over time usually make a table feel warmer than things bought as a complete set.
For the base, I love natural materials.
Linen is especially beautiful in summer because it doesn’t need to be perfectly ironed.
In fact, please don’t iron it for me.
Those little wrinkles are part of its charm.
If you don’t want a tablecloth, simple placemats or even a bare wooden table can be beautiful.
Let summer provide the colour
Instead of deciding on a complicated colour palette, look at what is in season.
Summer already knows how to combine colours.
Red tomatoes.
Yellow peaches.
Deep purple plums.
Green basil.
Pink flowers.
Golden bread.
Put a bowl of peaches in the middle of the table and half the decorating is already done.
Food can be decoration.
A wooden board covered with tomatoes and mozzarella.
A bowl of cherries.
A basket of bread.
A beautiful salad.
I like the table to tell you what season it is before you have even taken the first bite.
Flowers don’t need to come from a florist
For a casual summer table, I often prefer something that looks as though it was collected five minutes before dinner.
A few stems of lavender.
Rosemary.
Mint.
Wildflowers.
Olive branches.
Whatever is growing nearby.
Put them in a small jug, a jam jar or several little bottles rather than creating one enormous arrangement.
There is one practical rule I always appreciate: keep flowers low enough that people can actually see one another.
A beautiful centrepiece becomes much less charming when you have to lean sideways to have a conversation.
Keep the food simple too
The atmosphere of a relaxed summer table should continue onto the plates.
This isn’t the season when I want to spend the entire evening hidden in the kitchen while everyone else is outside.
Summer ingredients don’t need much help.
Tomatoes with olive oil and herbs.
A burrata.
Grilled vegetables.
Fish or something simple from the barbecue.
A tart.
Good bread.
Fruit.
Food that can be prepared partly in advance is especially useful because the person cooking should also be allowed to enjoy dinner.
Put things on large platters and let everyone serve themselves.
There is something immediately relaxed about passing food around a table.
The little details
I don’t think a table needs many decorative objects, but a few small details can change the feeling completely.
Cloth napkins are lovely and don’t need complicated folding.
Just place them casually beside the plate.
A small dish of sea salt.
A bottle of olive oil.
A carafe of water with slices of lemon or a few herbs.
Perhaps a little bowl for olive stones.
Practical things can also be beautiful.
And don’t forget water.
Summer tables have a mysterious ability to collect bottles of everything except the thing everyone eventually asks for.
When daylight turns into candlelight
My favourite summer dinners begin in daylight and end after dark.
The light slowly changes.
People move their chairs.
The air becomes cooler.
And at some point, you realise you need candles.
This is when a simple table becomes magical.
You don’t need elaborate candle holders. Small glasses, lanterns or simple candles are enough.
If you’re eating outdoors, it is worth thinking about the less romantic inhabitants of summer evenings too.
Mosquitoes apparently enjoy long dinners as much as we do.
A citronella candle nearby or whatever mosquito solution works for your space can make the evening considerably more pleasant.
Don’t make it too perfect
Perhaps the most important part of setting a summer table is knowing when to stop.
The table doesn’t need another decorative object.
The napkins don’t need rearranging.
The tomatoes don’t need to be positioned perfectly.
People are about to sit down.
There will be crumbs.
Someone will spill something.
Serving spoons will end up in the wrong dishes.
Glasses will move.
The table will become messy.
Good.
That means dinner has started.
A table is not really beautiful because of how it looks before anyone arrives.
It becomes beautiful through what happens around it.
A table that makes people stay
When I think about the summer tables I remember, I rarely remember the plates.
I remember the evening.
Someone laughing.
Children getting up and coming back.
A story being told for the hundredth time.
The last piece of bread disappearing.
A bottle being opened because apparently nobody is ready to leave yet.
Dessert arriving even though everyone said they were full.
Candles burning lower.
That is what I want from a table.
Not perfection.
An invitation.
A place that quietly says:
Sit down.
Eat something.
Stay a little longer.
Summer will not last forever.