That adage about the thing people tend to remember most about college – the parties – is certainly true of summer living in Colorado.
Sure, some folks elevate socializing to high art. But part of Colorado’s charm is its jeans-and-T-shirt lifestyle, and that casual culture extends to home entertaining. Today Room dishes up the party décor, menu and soundtrack tips that can help strike the right tone to take the summer fun outdoors.
Bold, exotic color
Organizers of National Outdoor Living Week have an easy formula for beautiful patio party settings:
House & Garden style director Carolyn Sollis is seeing bold color and exotic accents on her summer party circuit.
“People are less nervous and frenetic during the summer,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if a mistake is made, because people are in a relaxed mind set.”
Impromptu garden parties happen once or twice a week at Kim and Thierry Inghilterra’s Denver home.
“In our garden, entertaining is extremely low maintenance,” Kim Inghilterra says. She and her husband run Ella Bleu at Lowry Towne Center. For them, the perfect outdoor party includes plenty of candles and fresh flowers, ranging from the girly, studied arrangements at their shabby-chic boutique, to wispy foliage snipped from the bushes around her yard.
“Anything personal is good,” Inghilterra says. “I want people to walk in and know that I thought about them, that they’re important to me.”
Two of her tips: Create a mobile, outdoor garden umbrella by securing the base inside a large flowerpot with concrete and then planting colorful annuals in the dirt filling the rest of it. Also, shop for South African wines, because they tend to be underrated and less expensive, according to the Inghilterras.
The party mavens at InStyle magazine, on the other hand, streamline their backyard barbecue table flowers with sunflowers clipped at the base where the bloom and stem meet. These are scattered around a white tablecloth splattered with yellow paint, Jackson Pollack-style. “A palette of lime-green, yellow and cream sets a fresh, energetic tone,” they write in “InStyle Parties” ($28, Time Inc.).
Fresh, easy ingredients
“For laid-back, no-fuss entertaining, it’s hard to beat the backyard barbecue,” the InStyle writers say. The magazine breaks its summer party themes into two classic trends: the luau, where menus consist of grilled shrimp and pineapple skewers, spicy chicken skewers, potstickers and crab salad, or the basic barbette, where the standard burger gets an upgrade with lamp meat or whatever the host may select.
Back at House & Garden, editors are hearing more about low-maintenance, single-dish meals like paella or fried chicken.
“High style with low maintenance is what we all love,” Carolyn Sollis says. “The exhausting factor (of hosting a party) is eliminated if you just plan one big dish. Then all you really need is a great bread, salad and dessert and you’re done.”
Perfect party music
The key to creating a summer socializing soundtrack is recognizing how crucial music is to striking the right tone.
“You can either gear (music choices) toward a general summer theme or theme it to go with your particular party,” says Sollis, who tends to survey iTunes and Sirius Satellite Radio playlists posted online for party music ideas.
InStyle suggests music that conjures warm-weather imagery. That might include anything by Bob Marley, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto or any number of songs about sunshine and summertime: Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer,” or Yo La Tengo’s “The Summer.”
Room also suggests classics like George Benson’s “Breezin,” Seals and Crofts’ “Summer Breeze,” and just about anything Diana Krall,Tracy Chapman, Frank Sinatra and Sade.
Motown-lovers should check out “Blue,” the recent release of jazz standards recorded by Diana Ross in the early 1970s, and ’80s devotees should keep an eye peeled for a two-disc deluxe edition of three old albums by The Cure, which are being released in early August. Also noteworthy this summer is the forthcoming sophomore album from Nouvelle Vague, the bossa nova punk group from France that two summers ago struck a chord with loungy covers of songs by the likes of XTC, Joy Division and the Dead Kennedys. Because, as Sollis with House & Garden says, “If you’ve got the right music, the whole atmosphere is set.”
Staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson can be reached at 303-820-1957 or ejefferson@denverpost.com.
Dressing up the deck for a party
This easy weekend project takes about two hours. If
you don’t yet have a pressure sprayer, think about getting
one. With a sprayer you can quickly handle all sorts
of exterior maintenance chores, from brightening and
sealing a deck to cleaning siding, screens, driveways,
and patios.
Mix a deck-brightening solution as directed by the
manufacturer. Apply the solution with a pressure sprayer.
Let the solution set for 10 minutes.
Scrub the deck thoroughly with a stiff brush. Wear
rubber gloves and eye protection.
Rinse the deck with clear water. If necessary, apply a
second coat of brightener to extremely dirty or stained
areas. Rinse and let the deck dry, then apply a fresh
coat of sealer or stain.
Source: homedepot.com
