Dinner is served — al fresco, obviously — but no one’s sitting down. You could convince yourself they’re just deep in conversation, but if we're being honest, the setup looks temporary. The chairs are cold. The table feels like it was borrowed from a rental house that hasn’t been updated since the aughts. And everything seems vaguely afraid of the next storm. Not exactly built for long, wine-soaked meals.
We want more from our outdoor dining spaces now — the same things we expect indoors: atmosphere, permanence, possibly a little theater, which is why oversized silhouettes, sculptural shapes, and pieces that tell stories are defining how we design and decorate our al fresco havens this year.
