Image: Design Soda

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Welcome to the weekend friends, we made it through another beautifully warm week and the election at the end of it (UK) proved to be more interesting than expected. Apologies if you followed the blog hop as I mentioned this piece and I am a little late with it. But it’s Saturday, the sun is going to be shining (again) and today I thought I’d share my current obsession with really simple outdoor dining settings.

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Images: Design Soda

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I am not a terribly sophisticated person, firstly I tend to over gild the Lily with my outdoor tablescapes and I certainly hardly ever remember to use a napkin when it’s laid out, but I’ve seen so many lovely laid back stylish outdoor gatherings online that I thought I’d give it a go at it myself. My friend Kay at Kinship Creative who holds fabulous creative gatherings is queen of this style and you should check out her Instagram feed for beautiful botanical Scandinavian simplicity inspiration.

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Images: Design Soda

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Having looked at a fair few tablescapes recently, I’ve hit upon a few common themes which make this look sing and incorporated them into my own. Natural textures are a must, so linen is a good option, I picked up a table runner and napkin set reasonably cheap on high street stalwart H&M Home. The beauty of this look is that you don’t have to iron the linen, simply bung it straight in the machine, hang out to dry and crumple a little in your hands if it’s looking a little too perfect.

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Images: Design Soda

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Next up, the dinnerware, sticking to just two colours here really works and I went for some pink and blue plates we already own with Scandinavian cut glasses from Rose & Grey for £5.95 each and my grandmas silver cutlery set.

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As simplicity is key here all table decoration is both laid back and simple. Think scattered tealights without holders, sprigs of foliage from the garden (I used cuttings from our Ceanothus tree), perhaps a really simple vase of flowers (I used white Stocks and Viburnum), some hand tied foliage on napkins (lemon thyme tied with jute) and place settings without any adornment past the flick of watered down Annie Sloan paint that I had in the cupboard (Scandinavian Pink if you are interested).

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Image: Design Soda

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And that’s it, simple, laid back, unfussy. Perfect for a gathering with friends that doesn’t feel at all formal but still has the air of a special occasion. How do you like to style your summer gatherings?

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