Vintage Home Designs -

It’s tablescape day for my dinner club and this month’s theme is all about backyard cookouts. Join us and let me share how to decorate a red white and blue table for a BBQ party.

I kept the table decor fairly simple for this outdoor theme.

With lots of patriotic holidays coming up, I decided on a red, white and blue color scheme to create a festive table.

cookie sheet for placemat white with black trim enamelware salad and dinner plate stacked with mini cast iron skillet on top white napkin with blue floral print beside plate

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dinner club inspiration

If you are new here, let me explain about my virtual dinner club.

About three years ago, 5 of my blogger friends and I started a virtual dinner club.

Every other month we have a theme and we each create a table scape to go along with our theme.

We share our table ideas and inspiration on the last Thursday of the month.

We also create a menu to go along with our theme and we take turns with different courses of the dinner.

There is typically an appetizer, cocktail, main course, side dish, and a dessert and we share the recipes on the last Saturday of the month.

I have such a great time getting creative with our themes and seeing all of the ideas everyone comes up with.

Themed tablescapes is one of my favorite things to create, and I look forward to sharing these with you every month.

If you have missed our past tablescapes, you can see a few of my favorites by clicking on the photo.

garden inspired tablescape — A Garden Inspired Tablescape

Peach theme Tablescape large white bowl filled with peaches for centerpiece white plates at 4 settings with peach pattern salad plate and orange napkins on top peach leaves down center of table for runner — A Garden Inspired Tablescape

Now, let’s get started on this backyard BBQ table decor with patriotic colors.

red, white and blue table decor inspiration

I like to start any design project with an inspiration piece. That includes any table setting I am creating.

Once I have my inspiration, the ideas begin to flow and keep me on track with my design and theme.

Since the Fourth of July is right around the corner and Labor Day not too far behind, I thought red, white and blue decorations would be fun for the BBQ party table settings.

I recently purchased a cute blue and white buffalo plaid tablecloth that I have been wanting to use.

And I also found a set of cute white linen napkins with a blue floral print at a thrift store for $6.00.

I thought the combination of the tablecloth and napkins would be perfect for my color scheme and an outdoor party, so this became my inspiration.

From there, I just started thinking about how to add a pop of red to my patriotic theme table.

I also started planning what other elements to use for a BBQ themed gathering.

blue and white check tablecloth and blue floral napkins

place settings for a backyard cookout party

blue and white check tablecloth cookie sheets at 4 place settings with layered white with black trim enamelware salad and dinner plate mini cast iron skillet on top of plates white napkin with blue floral print beside plate mason jar drinking glasses white chippy board down center of table as table runner 6 glass coke bottles with small white daisies tin can luminarias tea lights in small mason jars down center of table

For each place setting for my BBQ table scape, I used cookie sheet pans in place of placemats or plate chargers.

They aren’t all exactly the same, but they were close enough in color and size so it didn’t bother me that they didn’t all match.

Next, I layered a white enamelware dinner plate and salad plate on top of the baking sheet.

On top of the white plates, I added a small 5″ cast iron skillet at each place setting.

I ordered these on-line recently because there have been several occasions when I wanted to use a small skillet.

I found a set of 6 that was a very reasonable price so I decided to make the investment.

For this particular dinner party, I used the tiny skillets to make individual servings of spinach artichoke dip on the grill.

spinach artichoke dip in mini cast iron skillet on white plate with tortilla chips

The set of napkins with a blue floral pattern that I found at a thrift store was the perfect addition to my red, white and blue themed table.

I tied a knot in one end of the napkin and placed it to the side of my plate stack.

Lastly, a mason jar was used for a drinking glass.

The mason jar glasses added another casual element to my outdoor table decor.

mason jar with ice water and strawberry garnish on side of glass

centerpiece decor for a BBQ party

I used a blue and white check tablecloth on my back patio dining table for this outdoor patriotic party.

It gave the feel of a casual table setting and I think blue and white just screams summer.

A white chippy board became a table runner for my centerpiece and definitely added to the casual vibe of this outdoor party.

Glass coca-cola bottles added the pop of red I was looking for and became a fun element to this tablescape.

white chippy board down center of table on blue and white check tablecloth 6 glass coke bottles with small white daisies tin can luminarias on top of board for table centerpiece

I filled the coke bottles with inexpensive grocery store flowers that look like small daisies.

If you wanted an added element of patriotic decor, you could add small American flags to the coke bottle arrangements.

In between the coke bottle flower arrangements, I added tin can luminarias.

The luminarias are easy to make and don’t cost a thing, if you save up empty cans from fruits, soups, vegetables, etc.

tea light candle in small mason jar on blue and white check tablecloth

Lastly, I used small mason jars as candle holders and sprinkled them between the flower arrangements and luminarias.

The large tea light candles fit perfectly inside the small mason jars.

This centerpiece was super easy to create and gives a very casual and summer feel for an outdoor cookout party.

tin can luminaria DIY for an outdoor party

I think candlelight for a dinner party is a must! Even for a casual gathering.

It’s a great way to add a cozy element and provide an inviting atmosphere which makes your guests feel relaxed and welcome.

These luminarias are a fun way to add candlelight to a casual gathering and are so easy to make.

I have made these tin can luminarias before and thought this was the perfect occasion to use some.

Any size metal can will work for the luminarias.

Just save a few as you open them for cooking and recipes. Soup cans, canned fruits or vegetables will work great.

If you don’t typically use canned goods, you could probably ask a friend or neighbor to save some for you.

tin can with ice pick poking holes into it

To make the luminarias, I just randomly poked holes using an ice pick. I found that it is much easier to start the hole with an ice pick instead of a drill.

Once I had the holes started, I used a drill to make the hole larger.

I used a larger drill bit in some areas and a smaller drill bit in others, just to create a little interest by varying the sizes of the holes.

However, that part isn’t really necessary if you don’t want to go to that much trouble.

You will still get the same affect if all of the holes are the same size.

These make the most delightful candlelight and fun element for your table with the light flickering through the holes of the luminaria as it begins to get darker in the evening.

3 tin can luminarias on white chippy board for table centerpiece

other fun elements for my BBQ party table setting

I like to have bottles of water on the table for any dinner party.

It makes it easy for guests to refill their water glass instead of having to leave the table.

But I want to do this in a creative way, so for this BBQ party table, I filled an old metal bucket with ice and added decorative glass jars filled with water.

This will keep the water cold and readily available for your dinner guests.

You could use any type of ice bucket or large vessel for this. Even a woven basket with a plastic liner is cute and works great.

The bottles I used for water were wine bottles that have a flip top closure, so they were perfect for holding water.

You can use any type of large glass bottle for this. An empty wine or liquor bottle works great and you can add a cork or wine stopper to the top.

You an even purchase empty bottles like I used for very little cost.

metal bucket filled with ice and 2 glass bottles filled with water

metal bucket filled with ice and 2 glass bottles of water on blue and white check tablecloth

The summer season is the perfect time to host an outdoor gathering with friends and family.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these ideas for how to decorate a red, white and blue table for a BBQ party and found inspiration for hosting your own get together.