It’s our first spring and summer in our new home and I’ve partnered with my friends at Birch Lane to create a beautiful dining experience for our outdoor meals as a family! We have barely started on our landscaping but we’ve planted a bunch of flowers and plants while we commence the landscaping design. However, here in the Pacific Northwest we have the most beautiful spring and summers and we are so looking forward to eating dinners out on our back porch instead of indoors. Our outdoor dining was the first to-do on our backyard list. I’m so excited to share it with you today! Also joining to share their outdoor spaces are some fabulous bloggers. Welcome to all who are here today and come with me as I invite you to my French-inspired back patio dining!

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As we were moving here to the West Coast from Texas last summer and designing this semi-custom home with our builder, I knew I wanted the overall feel and style of this house to be “French Coastal Glam“. I wanted all 3 styles blended into my own style and the back patio was no exception. My friends at Birch Lane asked to help me create this back patio dining space and I loved looking through all of their gorgeous outdoor furniture to see if they had the pieces that I had envisioned for this patio. Oh, yes they did!

I love that french bistro chairs are so on trend right now and was even more excited when I found these Lucia Bistro Stacking Chairs in gray and white, to coordinate with my home. I also chose the Mahler dining table because I wanted that coastal look, something expandable with a hole in the center for an umbrella, and something white so that it stood out against our gray siding on the home.

Putting the chairs and table together was perfect and exactly what I had in mind! I’m so glad Birch Lane had these items!

Also…

I chose this gorgeous 3-tiered Lauren Bar Cart to add some glam outside and then bring it back inside at the end of summer. That cute Twist Rope Tray is part of a set that I also chose and I absolutely love them, indoors and outdoors, to serve food or even just hold candles or vases.

Here is the other larger tray from that set. It was perfect for serving an array of whole fruit for this luncheon. But before we move on to what I served, please take notice of that lovely planter in the background!

The Lexington Tall Planter had that coastal style that I wanted and matches the {shorter version} planters by my front door that I purchased months ago and compliment our Cape Cod house exterior design perfectly. I’ll share those another day.

I planted some white Icecap Roses and some blue Amsonia around the bottom. It’s only been a week and they are all blossoming and growing so quickly. I love the way this planter looks on the outer corner of our patio. I think it really completes the look and helps to keep the patio looking summery all year round. I also try to keep the patio as clean as I possibly can, and companies like Renew Crew of Northwest Wisconsin and many more are useful when it comes to having a perfectly clean patio.

Ok, let’s get to the place settings and food!

I love the new AERIN Collection at Williams-Sonoma! I bought them when they came out and couldn’t wait to put them on this outdoor dining table!

I chose the Scalloped Rim Dinner Plates in blue, the Sea Blue Floral Salad Plates, and the Fairfield Napkins. I purchased the jute braided chargers HERE, the gold flatware HERE (similar here), and found these stunning gold-rimmed blue goblets HERE.

I wanted our first official meal as a family out here to be French-inspired too. I’ve lived in Europe (Portugal) so I know that, although I haven’t been to France yet, they all have a similar way of life when it comes to food. You often see cheese and wine, fresh bread being sold on many corners, pastries and biscuits, meats and salads and lot of fruits. Oh, and sparkling water.

I purchased the cake stand last year at HomeGoods and also the blue floral melamine salad bowl there too. Salad tongs can be found HERE and you can find the bread board HERE.

Don’t you just LOVE peony season?! I found these pink peonies at Trader Joe’s and they all bloomed in like 2 days. So fun! I put them in one of my favorite vases and brought them out for our lunch.

Our family loves this French Lemonade and it’s perfect for this occasion. Ice bucket can be found HERE.

Ice Tongs can be found HERE and agate bottle opener can be found HERE.

THE BACKYARD PLAN:

So we’ve planted hydrangeas and peonies, roses, pansies, snapdragons, clamentis, snowballs, azaleas, lilies, daffodils and more. Trees are next and adding more grass. We have deep side yards. I promised the kids a fairy garden, a new trampoline and play area for them and all the cousins, a fire pit, sitting benches, and a covered seating/lounge area. We’ll also add a storage shed that we’ll be ordering soon (matches our home) and a garden and a bunch of fruit trees on that side as well.

Oh! And notice how the patio is only partially covered! There is reason for that. I want a gray and white striped retractable awning to extend over the patio. I’ve always wanted one. So that’s coming soon.

Fun, right?! I can see it all in my mind but the joy comes from working together as a family and creating this little backyard dream step by step. And it will take time for all of my plants to grow and crawl over the fence. My own little Secret Garden!

I found the cutest apron to wear (I love aprons and have a fun collection) that coordinated with my tablescape and wore it while setting the table and serving my family. Lemon-herb chicken was in the oven and served over rice.

Apron / Shoes / Jeans / Top / Earrings / Ring / Lipstick

Kitchen sources can be found in THIS POST.

I’ve had this garden chandelier for a few years and I thought it would be perfect here. I just need to find some battery-operated tapered candles for it and I think I’ll add more chain and lower it.

I love being able to see our neighbors’ barn from my backyard. When I’m upstairs, I get to watch their horses during the day. It’s the prettiest view!

CONFESSION:

This “family luncheon” I’d been planning for actually turned into a family dinner. Josh and the kids and I were working in the yard, had a soccer game, did some other chores, and then decided to wait and stick the chicken in the oven closer to dinner.

It was perfect because we got to shower and relax and enjoy the sunset!

We have the prettiest view of the Wetlands behind us, which is why we chose this lot, and the sun sets right behind those trees.

So we lit a couple of citronella candles (found at HomeGoods), turned on some music, and enjoyed the perfect temperatures, food, and sunset.

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Rhonda | Hallstrom Home

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Thank you so much for stopping by today and a huge THANK YOU to my friends at Birch Lane for sponsoring this post and helping us create a beautiful French-inspired back patio dining space! Please make sure to stop by their website and browse their outdoor furniture selection to help you create that perfect dining space of your own to enjoy this season!

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xoxo,

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