Shout It from the Rooftop: 4 DIY Tips for Summer Entertaining (on a Rooftop)

One of the things that I love most about our home right now is sadly something that has been underutilized up to this point. And as we near the halfway point of summer, I couldn’t bear to let it go unused any longer.

So what is this space that I’m talking about? Our rooftop patio.

It’s on the top level, right next to my office, and is sort of perfect for entertaining. So why the heck haven’t we used it yet? I have absolutely no idea. Other than the crazy weather (it’s been either excessively cold or insanely hot since we’ve been in ATL). Which now that I think about, I can and will blame for this one. Because otherwise, I have no excuse.

So to remedy this little issue, I partnered with Lulu & Georgia to share my top tips for entertaining this summer, along with how I brightened up our rooftop patio for dinner parties and beyond. To make things super simple, I put together a shop this look section toward the bottom of this post too. So you can recreate this vibe on your own! Ready?

Here are my top 4 tips for easy summer entertaining…

1. Have a signature drink. This one is especially important for hot summer days. I like to make a big batch of cherry limeade because it’s so easy. And kinda screams summer drink. Don’t you think?

To make your own cherry limeade, mix one part 100% cherry juice with two parts limeade. Squeeze in some fresh lime and add ice. ***To make this drink boozy, just add a large shot of vodka or white rum to an individual glass, over ice. Then pour the cherry limeade on top. Stir and you’re good to go.

2. Add varying colors! Our patio space is great and all, but was a whole lot of grey going on. Especially when you factor in the table. And I’m guessing your patio may look similar with a monochromatic situation that could use some tending to.

So, to break up the grey, I added some bold pops of color with textiles, furniture, and accessories. Hello red arm chairs!

On the table, I set up some white, sculptural items (like the Octave storage containers), and added hand-cut DIY placemats from watercolor wrapping paper. So easy!

3. Play up textures. This kind of goes along with the color tip, but bringing in various textures is a great way to add coziness to a space too. For the most part, this means plants, which I added to one of the corners to soften that end of the patio and another area to define seating a little bit more. But you can also include colorful throws and rugs in this section too.

And if you don’t have an outdoor rug that works for the space, no worries. Grab a few thick blankets or a hearty indoor rug or two and bring them out, just for the day. As long as there’s no rain in sight and you’ve given the ground a good sweeping beforehand, there’s no reason why you can’t try this. The only stipulation? You probably don’t want to bring an insanely pricey rug outdoors. So, grab the moderately priced high-traffic withstanding rug instead of the fancy Persian. K?

Patterns also help to create visual texture, like the printed Streamlet napkins I used at each place setting, if you’re looking for a smaller way to incorporate texture.

4. Musical chairs. Seating is an obvious must for a dinner party, right? But aside from just having basic seating for guests, think about creating multiple seating options to keep the conversation going after everyone leaves the dinner table.

This Thistle knit pouf is a good example of that. Just pull up an extra chair or two and you have another seating area that takes the focus away from food. Not that you necessarily want to draw attention away from food….I mean there’s a coconut key lime cake! C’mon!