How To Entertain Guests in Your Garden
15 October 2020

How To Entertain Guests in Your Garden

Whether you’re planning on a BBQ with friends, or inviting your co-workers over for a get together, garden entertaining is great fun. Best of all, if you structure your garden as an entertaining hub, you’ll make full use of your outdoor space all year round.

Creating that upbeat, festive, free-flowing get-together filled with good food and conversation isn’t simply a case of just stepping outside. When you’re entertaining in your garden, you have more factors to consider than if you were indoors.

How do you shelter from the sun in a South facing garden? Where can your guests sit when they want to have an individual chat? How are the different areas of your garden going to connect? Where do you position your garden room?

To achieve the perfect outdoor entertaining pad, there are a few things you may wish to consider that perhaps you haven’t even thought about.

The Basics of Garden Entertaining

Regardless of how big or small your garden is, the chances are that you’ve thought about using it for a soiree. If you’re quite savvy when it comes to maximising space, even small gardens offer a great entertaining space.

To make the best use of your garden for entertaining, you need to decide what type of spaces you would like of course, and how connected you want them to be.

It helps if you think of outdoor entertaining areas as being divided into three purposeful spaces – dining, conversation, and open lawn.

These spaces need to relate to one and other so that your guests are encouraged to use them. For example, you might choose cut-stone steps that shimmy down the lawn from the terrace, inviting guests to explore your garden.

Your conversational area, on the other hand, may be partitioned by a decorative foliage wall to provide natural privacy.

Similarly, a little bit of creative thinking will be needed when considering where to position your open lawn area. If you ever have large gatherings, an accessible lawn close to your outdoor dining area is a great idea. It helps to disperse people and if you’re partial to the odd traditional lawn game, it’s a great space for guests to entertain themselves whilst you host.

One of the biggest mistakes people make though when designing their outdoor entertaining space is to make their dining area or patio too big. Most landscapers will advise you to size the area for everyday use, then allow space for another family to comfortably join you.

Exterior of Key Studio Range Office

A lawn area next to your dining area is perfect!

Utilising a Garden Room

This same attention to detail is required when deciding where to place your garden room.

Adding a garden room to your outside space is a real benefit when it comes to entertaining. Not only does it give you yet another usable and highly versatile space, it can be a real show-stopper in terms of aesthetic appeal. So, what do you need to consider when choosing a garden room for entertaining?

Scale

When selecting your garden room, it’s important you keep it in proportion to the rest of your garden. If it’s too big it will feel imposing and too small, it may get lost in the expanse of space.

Position

Before you decide on its location, consider how you would like to use it. Pay attention as to where the sun lands in your garden. If you do a lot of entertaining in the summer, it could be that you want to place your garden room with its decking platform capturing the late afternoon or evening sun.

Style

At SMART Garden Offices, we offer 7 unique ranges, available in over 60 different sizes, with 13 colours, seven doubled-glazed window styles, three types of doors, and a range of exterior and interior fixtures and fittings. There is a design to suit every taste. That’s why we offer a complimentary site consultation. We’ll help you consider every aspect of how you intend to use your garden room.

Raised office with steps leading up to it.

Positioning your office at a different height can make your garden look bigger.

The Small Details That Make a Large Difference

There will be some practical things to think of too, such as how close your outdoor dining space is to the kitchen. Or you might even decide to create your own outdoor kitchen, complete with cooking facilities and a washing area.

Plants can also add another dimension to your entertaining area. Not only can they be used as a screen for prying eyes, but they can also protect against the wind and even be a talking point. An exotic garden in a cool climate can create interest and intrigue. Likewise, perfumed plants such as the Star Jasmine, provide a wonderful scent in the Summer and an evergreen wall all year long.

Garden accessories can also bring an outdoor entertaining area to life. If you’re looking for something different, why not try Not On The High Street or Etsy?  Think lanterns for soft lighting, outdoor fairy lights, a stone-built fire pit for cooler evenings, and a hammock for those really looking to relax in your company. If you have a theme, don’t be afraid to carry this into your garden room either.

brochure

Order your own brochure

We hope you’ve found these tips useful. For inspiration, you’re welcome to download our brochure, which includes some beautiful examples of garden rooms. Prices start from £7,944 and every one of our SMART garden rooms boasts full thermal insulation, making them truly versatile entertaining spaces.