It’s the perfect time of year for outdoor dining and entertaining.  Here are five tips for making the most of your outdoor living spaces.

1. Start with a colorful set of dinnerware.  The bright summer sunlight is often very harsh, so strong colors look wonderful outdoors.  We love Vietri’s Cucina Fresca collection because it picks up colors and shapes found naturally outdoors.

2.  Add height and sparkle with a pretty set of glasses.  The Pucinelli glasses have robust handles and are perfect for everything form sparkling water to lemonade and wine.

3. Choose interesting flatware with no-fuss acrylic handles.  The Aladdin Antique Horn looks great outdoors, but will work year-round indoors as well.

4. Add a touch of elegance with breezy, lightweight table linens from Libeco Home.  The Bastia tablecloths and napkins are machine washable for easy cleanup.  They come in two pretty, soft color schemes that are just perfect for summer.

5.  Decorative trays do double duty as a pretty accent and a useful tool.  Use them to carry appetizers, drinks, and fruit from the kitchen to the patio.  Place a few on the buffet table to corral silverware and napkins (and add a pretty pop of color).  These new Damask Trays ($34) from Vietri are so cheerful, you’ll find plenty of use for them all summer long. Mix and match with different colors – there are five available.  Coordinating placemats ($13) are also available in four colors.

We hope we’ve inspired you to get outside and start grilling!  Here are some grilling tips from Food & Wine Magazine to get you started.

Enjoy the summer season!

Gracious Style is an online retailer of sophisticated, high-quality products for every room in the house.  We love helping others create warm and welcoming rooms for themselves.  To read more, visit our blog.

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