Summer Design Ideas for Hosting Your Next Party

Summer Hosting Design and Décor Ideas

Memorial Day is officially the start of summer. When I think of summer I think of the beach, lazy days spent by the pool, popsicles, ice cream, yummy salads and even more, lots of time spent outdoors. In Southern California, where we are based, we live outdoors 8 months out of the year. We are lucky to experience such moderate and ideal climate temperatures in sunny SoCal to be able to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. We have an indoor-outdoor lifestyle that seems to follow this as well. So in this post, we’d like to share some summer design ideas, that you can implement in your home for these next few months.

The Bar Cart:

The Bar Cart Serves as a stylish and functional serving piece, ready for all your drinks, snacks and barware. Its easy to maneuver around your patio, you can bring it indoors or out, and it serves as an entertaining piece for all your friends and family. This one below from West Elm is the perfect piece for your outdoor living space.

Outdoor Lounge Seating

Since you’ll be spending lots of time outdoors, you’ll want to make sure you have a comfortable lounge seating area for all of your gatherings. There are lots of different configurations you can purchase, from loveseats, to sectionals, swivel chairs, and sofas. Create the set up that’s right for you with different mix and match pieces. Make sure you add coordinating pillows and an accent rug to tie the space together.

Outdoor Rug

Make sure you accessorize your space with an outdoor rug. Area rugs ground the space under your seating area and create a comfortable and finished space for everyone to enjoy. Select from a variety of different patterns, solids, colors, and textures. Look for outdoor rugs made of polypropelene and or polyester.

Side Tables

Add in a side table to place your drinks or summer reading. There are a lot of options for your side tables and all will be made with a weather proof outdoor material. See this one below from West Elm.

Twinkle Lights

For an even more festive spin on your outdoor entertaining space, make sure you hang some twinkle lights for those warm summer evenings. Twinkle lights and or hanging lights will allow you to enjoy the outdoors long past the sunset and well into the evening hours, allowing for all your guests to hang out a little bit longer.

Summer Cocktails

The best summer moments are when you have a favorite cocktail in hand. Mine happens to be a Watermelon Mojito that is a fun spin-off of the classic version. Here’s the recipe below…

Prep Time: 5 min

Total Time: 5 min

Ingredients:

10 Sprigs of fresh mint, 30-40 leaves

6 Large slices of watermelon

9 ounces of rum

½ cup of simple syrup

Juice of 3 limes

Watermelon spears and sprigs of mint for garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop the watermelon into large chunks, and remove any large seeds and the rind.

2. Puree the fruit in a food processor until smooth.

3. Use a mortar and pestle to mash your mint leaves.

4. Combine the mashed mint, rum, simple syrup, 2 cups of the pureed watermelon, and the lime juice and stir to combine.

5. Fill glasses with ice cubes and pour mojito mixture over. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a spear of watermelon in each glass. Enjoy!

*To make simple syrup, put equal parts sugar and water into a small saucepan and boil until the sugar dissolves (I usually do one cup of each so that I have some leftover). Cool before using.

Enjoy and Happy Summer!

XOXO,

Gina and The Design Team