20 Ways to Rock the Picnic Table
Across the country, an icon of summer finds its way into yards of all sizes and styles
Its functionality is unmatched. Its shape is unmistakable. The humble picnic table, despite being nearly unchanged in almost a century, continues to maintain a prominent place in many backyards, campsites and parks, among other outdoor spaces, across the country. It just keeps working.
They got their start in campgrounds, but picnic tables have also found a lasting place at home. In the spirit of summer, let’s look at 20 ways to bring the picnic table to the backyard, deck or any outdoor space where you’d like to capture the essence of dining in the great outdoors.
They got their start in campgrounds, but picnic tables have also found a lasting place at home. In the spirit of summer, let’s look at 20 ways to bring the picnic table to the backyard, deck or any outdoor space where you’d like to capture the essence of dining in the great outdoors.
2. Kids’ table. Many of us have childhood memories of eating at the picnic table — maybe one where our feet dangled off the floor and we had to stretch to reach our food on the table. On the back porch of this Craftsman home in Seattle, the kids get a table that’s just their size, nestled into a corner niche.
3. Modern sculpture. For this modernist patio in Tribeca, in New York City, the classic-style picnic table just wouldn’t do. Instead, landscape designer Jeffrey Erb took a different approach with a modern, sculptural folded white-and-wood interpretation.
4. Camp style. In the backyard of a modern farmhouse in Austin, the picnic table is the perfect vehicle for fresh watermelon slices and a bucket of ice-cold beer. The nearby fire pit beckons, with a path of concrete pavers guiding the way.
See similar picnic tables
See similar picnic tables
5. Dressed up. The picnic table is often a piece of furniture we squeeze onto together after we’ve grabbed our burgers or hot dogs off the grill, but here we can see how it can also be an elevated dining experience. On the deck of this home in New York, the picnic table is simply yet meticulously set for six.
6. With another classic icon. If ever there were the perfect classic outdoor furniture pairing, Adirondack chairs and the picnic table would be it. Both unchanged in design and harkening to outdoor living from decades ago, they offer up a feeling of familiarity and consistency when everything else continues to evolve.
7. At the edge of it all. On the deck overlooking Texas Hill Country, this picnic table gives the homeowners a view of the natural terrain. A wire cattle fence keeps the view mostly open and unobstructed.
9. With a trailer. For many families, summer vacations meant packing up the trailer or motorhome and heading to the campground for a week or so. For Bill and Cathy Johnson, who renovated this 1972 Avion camper, it’s how they live all summer. While the camper features an indoor dining table, the picnic table that came with this particular camping spot offers more room and a view. A cloth tablecloth adds more of the feeling of home.
See more of this trailer renovation
See more of this trailer renovation
10. With contemporary design. At home, one might think the picnic table has a place only next to a rustic cabin or far away from the house in a wilder part of the yard — and that is just not true. Plopped down right next to a contemporary glass-walled home in the California coastal woodland, this classic wood picnic table (topped with potted succulents) looks as at-home next to the heritage oak trees as it does next to the soaring floor-to-ceiling windows.
11. In a city garden. Picnic tables are often seen in parks, campgrounds and other more rustic settings, but this home in Surrey, England, incorporates one into a paved cottage-style garden. The table’s painted yellow frame and clean light-wood top tie in nicely with the garden’s style and also complement the tidy garden shed in the corner.
12. In a field of sunflowers. A mass of cheery wildflowers, including summer-blooming sunflowers, is a stunning scene to enjoy from this picnic table in Richland, Oregon — not to mention all the birds, bees and butterflies that the flowers will draw over the season.
See more of this Oregon farmhouse
See more of this Oregon farmhouse
13. As a color contrast. In San Francisco’s Sunset district, the faded wood of this picnic table pops against the bold black wood fence and light gray gravel floor. Colorful succulents and strappy foliage plants bring plenty of color to the garden, which the table doesn’t try to compete with.
Browse more outdoor dining furniture
Browse more outdoor dining furniture
14. On the water. Here’s another sculptural take on the picnic table, this one bent and folded into a softly rounded triangle. Instead of being surrounded by lawn or trees, this table features a landscape of water on three sides.
15. With the pets. Let’s not forget that part of the picnic table’s appeal is its resilience and ability to stand up to the natural elements (and sometimes wildlife) that also inhabit a park or campground. In the case of this table in Denver, it’s two household cats that have decided to use the top of the table as a sunning spot.
16. Luxe mountain style. The classic picnic table is economical and understated, which has likely contributed to its lasting popularity, but that doesn’t mean it always has to be. Let’s give it a chance to be grand and over-the-top. In this elegant mountain retreat, an oversize log-style picnic table is shaded by an equally grand wood pergola and framed by oversize hanging planter baskets.
17. In a pair. Larger outdoor spaces — especially ones where you want to host more than a few friends or family members — call for more seating. In the case of this yard in Portland, Oregon, instead of hauling in one large dining table, the homeowners and designers opted for two picnic tables lined up together.
18. Indoors. This might be a risky move in some homes, but this camp-style home in Maine shows how it’s possible to rock the picnic table inside. With knotty pine all around the kitchen, the light wood of the custom table fits right in.
19. Garden planter. This salvaged picnic table got new life as a garden feature — and a permanent centerpiece — when Patrick Hughes installed a succulent planter down its center.
10 Inspiring Setups for Outdoor Dining
10 Inspiring Setups for Outdoor Dining
20. Screened in. The screened porch offers another opportunity to enjoy all that comes with the picnic table: the fresh air, the woodland view and even the checkered tablecloth, without those pesky mosquitos or yellow jackets that also flock to outdoor meals.
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