Outdoor Furniture for Throwing a Party Like a Pro

Throwing an epic party outside requires more than just some space and a cooler. If you really want to stage events to remember, then you’ll have to think beyond the menu. Furniture, lighting, and even hardscaping can take backyard entertaining from just okay to amazing. If the idea of updating your patio feels overwhelming, don’t give up! We asked five (over)qualified hospitality experts for tips on executing their ideal outdoor event—from a chic block party to a laid-back dinner—and we also recommend a few new products to set the scene, whether you’re game for a major renovation or just sprucing things up for the season.

A Backyard Chill

For Natasha Pickowicz, a New York pastry chef turned writer and recipe developer, the season for outdoor entertaining starts early. “A lot of people in the Northeast think that eating outside is a summer thing,” she says. “I love a March-April moment.… If it’s above fifty-two degrees, I’m having people over for brunch.” Thanks to her small Brooklyn home, Pickowicz has no choice but to move the party outdoors. “I treat my backyard as a sort of dining room, living room, and everything room—an extension of my apartment,” she says. “All the entertaining that I do happens outside.” 

Channeling the coziness of a café keeps things comfortable even when it’s chilly. “Even if I’m doing just a barbecue in my backyard, I kind of approach the setup as if I were building out a little pop-up restaurant,” she adds. Pickowicz tends toward the colorful and the mismatched for tableware and linens, in lively shades of red and pink, but her one essential is unexpected and practical: “I bought a Slim Jim—they’re tall, skinny trash cans you usually see at a bar,” she says. “It’s always good to have a place for trash outside.”

Shop the Look