Nothing beats outdoor dining on a beautiful day….don’t you agree? Whether its brunch, lunch or dinner an outside ambiance is always more refreshing and charming than eating indoors.
At least in my book!
We have a small courtyard on the side of our house that I recently revamped to create a more “French Courtyard Cafe” look. Originally we had one table out here, but after doing some rearranging in the backyard I moved our bar height table here as well. It really lent itself to my “French Cafe” vibe and I’m so glad I decided to move it here.
After giving it some thought I decided to go with a black and while theme, because that’s what I have in my screened in porch and in the area around the pool. So once I decided to keep the colorway consistant I purchased my new umbrellas, pillows and cushions.
I had this Safavieh rug already and after a good powerwashing it looked almost as good as new. So remember that! Don’t just throw your outdoor rug out just because it looks dirtly! Give it a good power washing and odds are it’ll last you a few more years.
I love having rugs outside, because it adds such a cozy charm to the space that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Pairing the umbrellas with the rug here was the perfect mix and added just the vibe I was looking for.
I like a lot of decorative details in a setting like this and I felt like adding cushions and pillows would bring more charm to the space and give it a more “inviting” appearance. I found these striped cushions at At Home as well as a couple of these umbrellas. To my surprise the umbrellas were 50 % off…..love that! And, I’m absolutely in LOVE with these polkadot pillows from Miulee Home. They bring a touch of whimsy and fun that I absolutely love.
And guess where I got these fun chairs?? I betcha can’t!
I got them a couple of years ago at Kroger of all places. And, I absolutely love them!
Are you feeling the French Courtyard Cafe vibe here?
This is the table I moved over here from another area in my backyard. It’s a bar height table and bar stools which I like here. It compliments the other table nicely and offers an optional place for us or our guests to sit. It was originally oil rubbed bronze and I painted everything black to match the decor and the new black trim on our house. It gives it a more updated look and feel. Fortunately I had these red cushions and they work well with the black and white so I was able to save a little money there. I also have red cushions on the screened in porch and around the pool with the black and white stripe so it offers a consistant flow. I would eventually like to replace these with black and white cushions as well though.
As for the place settings I had fun setting the tables using all my black and white pieces here. The place mats and chargers I got at Hobby Lobby, the white plates I got at Dollar Tree, the napkins were from Michaels and these fun black bowls were from a flea market in Canton, Texas called First Monday Trade Days. Sort of a hodgepodge of mixed pieces, but they fit together perfectly and nothing cost much money at all. In fact, these napkins were actually handkerchiefs that were marked down for a dollar at Michael’s. And, of course these plates from the Dollar Tree were only a dollar as well. (This was before the Dollar Tree raised their prices to $1.25!)
One of my followers on Instagram said this looked like a “Parisian Cafe” which I love. A couple of others called it a French Sidewalk Cafe.
I’ll take it…..it’s just the vibe I was going for!
So my courtyard is all ready for entertaining guests…..now if this 105 degree heat (today with the heat index it was 110!) would just sail on by and a cold front would blow through….I could actually have a brunch or dinner party out here!
Can’t wait!
Happy Life By Design!