Home visit: relaxed outdoor dining for summer

Dining outdoors encourages you to go with the flow of nature. Instead of formal place settings, take a more organic approach – stack serveware in the centre of the table, so everyone can help themselves. Soften with textiles such as a table runner and napkins, and add flowers for the centrepiece. Toni and Karlton hang string lights from their motorhome awning, to set the mood when the sun goes down.

You’ll probably want to focus on relaxing instead of making trips back and forth to the kitchen to keep everyone hydrated. So how about setting up a drinks station? Serving water from a dispenser instead of straight from the tap makes it feel more special, and you can add chopped fruit and cucumber to infuse some flavour. Just throw in some ice cubes to keep the water cool and keep some glasses nearby.