Have you noticed early signs of the fall season appearing in stores? From pumpkin decor displayed on the shelves of home decor shops to bunches of eucalyptus greenery found in the floral section of local grocery stores. As we transition from the summer temps to the early fall temps – it’s a perfect time to still enjoy the outdoors.
Let your guests feel fancy!
Since I absolutely love outdoor cafes, I was inspired to bring the charm of creating an at-home cafe. Today, I’m sharing how I created a stylish, yet cozy at-home cafe on our deck, alfresco style! Oh, how I relish in the daintiness of it all!
The table setting
The first thing I did was used our round table that seats four – creating an intimate, cozy environment. I wanted to setup a simple, yet classic look so I dressed the table with an all-white linen. I used these beautiful white with gold rim vintage snack/luncheon plate sets that include tea cups. Something you will find in my DBO Home shop!! It’s a perfect setting to serve the tastiest desserts, tea sandwiches and aromatic, gourmet herbal tea.
For this at-home cafe setting, you can go all out and have your guest immerse in layers of sandwiches, a layer of cakes, scones, pastries, biscuits, and/or petit fours. I decided to keep it simple that requires minimal effort. For dessert, I kept it easy and simple by picking up these cranberry, orange and almond tea scones from Trader Joe’s. I topped each scone with a homemade lemon whipped cream. Alternatively, you can serve jam, butter, or clotted cream. The scones were the perfect accompaniment to the delicious Orange and Bergamot flavored hot tea.
The vase-less floral arrangement
I picked up seeded eucalyptus. Included in this bunch was one sturdy branching stem and one sage green foliage. The seeds of the eucalyptus provide great texture and aromatic fragrance. The greens look classic and beautiful when paired with white roses. Since eucalyptus are wild cascading greens, to make this arrangement, I simply laid the seeded branch on the center of the table. I then tucked in my roses wherever I saw holes and gaps in the eucalyptus branch. For the roses, cut the stem low and insert floral tubes so that they can drink water while being outside for a long period of time. For the one extra eucalyptus stem, I snipped small pieces to place underneath each place setting, for that special touch. The remaining were used to extend the cascading look of the seeded branch. The eucalyptus survived without water but afterwards, I did place them in water. This vase-less arrangement is perfect to display on any fall-themed tablescape! You can create a dramatic version by making a larger table runner version.
An outdoor cozy cafe and patisseries are pretty much my ultimate happy place. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why I love Paris so much…teas, lattes, scones, croissants – YES! There’s no denying the appeal of how they enjoy the leisurely pace!
Cheers to the transition of late summer to early fall!
-Photos + Styling by Rose Angel Lopez
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