With summer in full swing, comes the joy of outdoor dining at our London restaurants. We love garden parties just as much as dining on the terrace, so this week we’d like to bring you five steps to help you throw a garden party – Kit Kemp style!

Decorate your table with an abundance of colour…

As you may already know, we love colour and anything bright! This continues when decorating tables for garden parties. We have recently designed the Calypso collection for Spode. Coming soon to Shop Kit Kemp, this is our go-to crockery choice for when hosting a summer garden party. With both contrasting and coordinating colours, this collection will bring extra joy to any celebration.

We love exploring ways to be creative and here, we’ve used bedspreads from our Annie Selke collection as colourful table cloths. Don’t be afraid to have fun with different textiles when it comes to decorating the table!

Create a ‘wow’ factor with flowers and plants…

Small flower arrangements in jam jars or small vases are best as you can arrange these around other items on the table. Using bright seasonal flowers always creates a ‘wow’ factor. When decorating a display table, playing with height can also make an impact.

Include a colourful parasol…

Whether it’s rain or shine, a parasol is the perfect addition to any garden party. They look aesthetically pleasing, whilst also providing shade from the sun and those typically timed, bursts of summer rain!

Create a theme…

Here at our Design Studio we love a themed party! A few years ago we threw an enchanting ‘Mythical Land’ tea party. We made cakes garnished with radishes and carrots to look like miniature sprouting vegetable patches. Using antique and organic driftwood furniture helped to create a space which felt as though it had been there for years, overgrown with moss and vines.

Get creative and make your own bunting…

We celebrated last year’s Jubilee weekend by crafting our very own bunting. Made with scraps and offcuts of fabric, we believe handmade designs create a special and authentic appeal for your guests to enjoy. Revisit our blog post for bunting tips here.

We hope we’ve inspired you to get creative when hosting garden parties this summer! In the garden at Number Sixteen, we’re hosting a series of masterclasses on alfresco cooking. Join Firmdale Hotels’ Executive Chef, Joe Fox and discover Cooking with Edible Herbs, Cooking with Garden Herbs and how to Cook with a Conscience. For dates and details, click here.