Why I Never Want to Host Indoors Again
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There was a time when the idea of entertaining outside, especially in the dead of summer, made my skin crawl — I live in Atlanta and am lucky enough to have central AC, so why would I choose to get sweaty? Then, the pandemic happened and seeing friends outside became the least risky socialization option. Somewhere among the citronella candle fumes and the carefully arranged snack plates, something happened: I realized I actually love entertaining outdoors. In fact, I never want to host people inside again.
I’m not alone in this, it seems. People all over the country turned to restaurant patios and picnics for entertainment during the pandemic—and have continued these al fresco gatherings even post-vaccine. And, of course, many of us redesigned our own exterior spaces, often in a way that blurs the line between indoors and out, and how we use each. “I feel like it used to be very separate,” says Susan Davis Taylor, a Los Angeles-based interior designer. "You would hire your interior designer and you would hire your landscape architect. And I feel like the line between interior and exterior is getting blurrier, because we're getting more experienced being outside."
I'm lucky in that my outdoor set-up was already pretty nice—I happen to have a pool and the patio furniture that our home’s previous owners left behind—but it definitely got spruced up with outdoor pillows as I started entertaining more outside. Just that simple act of adding more visual interest made me appreciate sitting outside more and want to be there.
When it comes to entertaining outside, I find that I put way less pressure on myself to please my guests. This doesn’t mean I’ve become a slacker host, but the considerations for hosting outside are different than for, let’s say, an indoor dinner party.
Let’s start with the fact that when I host people in my backyard I don’t have to deep clean the house (other than the powder room, naturally). My usual frenetic cleaning spurt is energy draining and leaves me feeling frazzled right as guests show up. If I’m just ushering my guests outside, I don’t really care if the rug isn’t vacuumed or if my magazine pile has been tamed. A couple of dishes in the sink? Well, you won’t be hanging out in my kitchen or even within sight of it, so who cares? I still do a quick scan to make sure things are presentable (i.e. push the toddler toys out of the way) but I have way more energy to devote to the fun things, like “curating” snacks.
When it comes to arranging the snacks for my al fresco guests, I let my patio furniture dictate it. In my case, I have a couple of patio loveseats with a coffee table in the center. This means that when I have people over I stick with finger foods or small plates. Charcuterie boards are always in season (these mini boards from EtuHome are especially great if you’re only hosting two or three people).
I used to think that dining outside meant being relegated to plastic plates and acrylic glassware. While those things are functional (and safer if you’re hanging out on the water), by no means are they only option. Now I’ll break out china dishes, lay a linen on the coffee table, use cloth napkins (love these from Tribute Goods) and even serve cocktails and wine in my crystal stemware. Dicey? Yes, but even a refreshing, zero proof tipple is more fun to drink in the Orrefors wine glasses that I received for my wedding a decade ago (and have never used so much in my life).
At the end of the day, it’s just nice to gather with loved ones again, full stop. I’m sure there will be occasions when I gather with them indoors again (I can’t picture Thanksgiving dinner hovered over my patio coffee table), deep cleaning and all. But there’s something about chatting against a backdrop of chirping birds and whirring traffic that makes us truly listen to each other, and pandemic or not I don’t want to give that up.
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