2 Sophisticated Summer Events to Host Under Your Patio Awning

Patio awnings are a simple, inexpensive way to add value to your home. You can create additional outdoor living space in a shady, relaxing environment away from the intense rays of the sun. Looking for new ways to celebrate with friends and family this summer under your new awning? Check out these two sophisticated summer events you need to host under your patio awning.

1. White on White Dinner

A white-on-white dinner party is a spin-off of the French diner en blanc in which guests meet at a pre-determined area to eat a picnic meal together. Everyone dresses in white in order to recognize fellow diners instantly.

Your all-white dinner can definitely stay put beneath your patio awning rather than at an outdoor public space. There, you can transform your new outdoor living space into an elegant haven of white. Bring your formal dining table outside and dress it with a white tablecloth, cloth napkins, ceramic dinnerware, and white flowers.  

Consider accents of crystal, silver, and platinum which are color neutral and naturally reflective. Avoid gold, wood, and black.

Make sure you specify in your dinner invitations that guests should dress all in white. They can dress casually or formally in a variety of styles as long as they keep to the white theme — no off-white and certainly no bright colors! Keep in mind that menu items, however, can include a rich array of colors.

If possible, hang trailing white flowers from your awning. Otherwise, place tubs of white-blooming shrubs and roses around the edges of the patio. Gardenia and jasmine give off a lovely scent. Add white twinkly lights around the perimeter of your awning for a pop of brightness as the sun goes down.

2. Stars and Stripes Celebration

Rather than a casual Fourth of July barbeque, why not host a more formal party that focuses on the trio of colors in our flag? Your stars and stripes celebration allows guests to commemorate our nation's birth in a stunning red, white, and blue theme.

You can celebrate under your awning with laid-back outdoor wooden or wicker chairs and tables. Simply add red, white, and blue seat cushions for added comfort and style. Then, fall back on a timeless patriotic item of décor used since the 1700s for your awning and other spaces. Bunting is lightweight, colorful, and lends an attractive period appearance to your occasion.

Food and drink are staples at any stars and stripes event. Rather than grill steaks and hotdogs, go gourmet and elegant with grilled seafood like lobster, Mahi, or salmon steaks. Fresh summer fruit like watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries are delicious as well as colorful. Use berries in salads, custom lemonades, and even frozen in ice for use in cocktails.

No patriotic meal is complete without fireworks. However, you can skip the fire hazard and annoying smoke of traditional fireworks and create a signature drink to sip as you enjoy an evening under the stars. Dip the rims of heavy glasses into red or blue pop rocks before adding a mixed drink and surprise guests with your own fireworks.

Awning Safety

Whatever themed event you choose to host under your patio awning, keep in mind a few helpful tips before guests arrive.

• Never hang any items from your awning unless it is designed to do so. Try to utilize temporary hardware to avoid damage to the awning, frame, and its uprights.
• Make sure sources of heat like barbeque grills and space heaters are well away from flammable materials beneath your awning.
• Keep the awning clean to help it last even longer — carefully sweep off leaves and debris right before your event.