4th June 2025

Set the Mood with Gentle, Layered Lighting

Layered lighting is a key ingredient for outdoor dining, helping to extend the invitation to guests to linger a little longer. For larger gardens that may include a tree or a pergola, placing the table beneath it can provide myriad opportunities to create a truly breathtaking dining experience. Interlacing battery-powered or solar fairy lights or festoon lights through the tree branches or around the pergola ensures that once the daylight fades and darkness creeps in, a soft light replaces it, creating a cosy and intimate atmosphere into the evening.

To make a real statement, hang a pendant shade above the table to give the impression that you’ve created an entire room outside. A rechargeable cordless lightbulb will have guests questioning how you managed to achieve the impossible. Enhance the ambience by using strategically placed lanterns around the wooden garden table to create pools of light that cast an atmospheric glow late into the night. Candlesticks in various shapes and sizes are great for adding height to the table, just ensure they are weighty and very sturdy so they can withstand more than a light breeze without toppling over. If in doubt, tealight holders may be a safer option and can be used to add a pop of colour to the table. Our Linora Recycled Glass Tealight Holder in Terracotta is made from hand-blown rust-coloured recycled glass with slivers of aluminium, providing an atmospheric glow that dances across the table and will delight guests once the sun has set.

Outdoor dining doesn’t need to be uncomfortable and there are steps we can take to create comfort that encourages connection and encourages our guests to linger a little longer. Place cushions on an outdoor dining bench or on outdoor seating to turn hard surfaces into cosy corners designed for connection. Use lightweight blankets and throws, or a sheepskin casually draped over garden furniture and turn even the simplest garden coffee table setup into something warm and welcoming.

Creating a beautiful space for outdoor dining is the perfect way to honour the spring-summer season, gather with people who matter and create mealtimes that become memorable experiences. Your garden can become an extension of your home and with careful thought and intention, you can create the illusion of an outdoor room that is cosy and atmospheric. Choosing beautifully made, multipurpose pieces allows you to live more with less. Every piece used in an outdoor dining setting should feel as beautiful and useful tomorrow as it does today. A wooden serving board becomes a charcuterie platter or a display tray, while a ceramic flower vase doubles as a kitchen countertop piece. Choose items that transition easily across occasions and seasons and from indoors to out. When each piece is chosen with care, the table becomes more than just a place to dine. It becomes a setting for connection, celebration, and the simple pleasure of being together.