How to Style an Outdoor Summer Buffet

When redoing our patio for The Home Depot Patio Style Challenge, I knew I wanted a buffet area.  We love outdoor entertaining and plan to really use our space this summer.

The buffet is made out of an old factory table that we found at Cline’s Antiques in Charlotte.  It was dirty mint green and had no top, so we added a lovely live edge top (from the same tree as our live edge island).  Then, it was screaming for some summer styling.

My plan for the buffet styling was to keep it functional, but also pretty and colorful.

Keeping it Functional:

Keeping it functional meant that I wasn’t going to pile tons of accessories on the buffet.  Other than the one green plant, I only included things that we would actually use in our summer soirees! 

That meant silverware, plates, napkins, cups, and drinks.

Since I wasn’t adding a ton of accessories, I really focused on the functional items being pretty and fitting my theme.

Monochromatic Color Scheme:

Nothing says summer to me like color, but for this project, I tried to stay with a pretty monochromatic scheme.  I am all for mixing pattern and mixing color, but I thought that using different shades of the same color would provide a beautiful, colorful, but complete picture instead of having a lot of different color moments happening all over the buffet.  With a monochromatic scheme, your eye can rest and take in the whole picture rather than zeroing in on different bright moments.

I used the peacock blue buffet itself as my inspiration. 

I started with the vintage green and blue glasses and the vintage green dinner plates.

For some dimension, I decided to bring in the mint green tray.

And because I believe every project is better with some metallic, I brought in gold.

I found this gold mirror at a thrift store and love how it really makes the patio feel like a “room.”

Then, playing off the gold, I brought in my gold silverware, the gold cake stand to hold the napkins, and some vintage gold and crystal glasses.

Create an Eclectic Mix:

For me, nothing says style and sophistication like mis-matched place settings.  I know, mis-matched and sophistication don’t seem to fit.  But a well-done eclectic mix of materials makes for a pretty table in my book.

I pictured mis-matched vintage glasses in varying colors.

By corralling them in the tray, they make a bigger statement and are “anchored” on the buffet.  To me, it would look cluttered to have all of these mis-matched small items scattered on the buffet.  But placing them all in a tray feels purposeful and makes a bigger statement.

For the place setting, we have teal blue dinner plates, gold-toned salad bowls, gold silverware, and blue herringbone cloth napkins with fringe.  Gotta have some fringe!

It is monochromatic and functional, but I think it’s packed with style!

 Now, I’ve got to start planning out Kick Off to Summer Bash!

Sources:

Buffet Paint Color: Behr Abyss

All glasses: Vintage

Mint Tray: Home Goods

Brass Cake Stand: Vintage

Brass Silverware: West Elm

Glass Dishes: Vintage

Cloth Napkins: World Market