How To Create The Right Ambience For The Ultimate Sundowner Party
Sundowner parties are the perfect way to host cocktail evenings when you want to take your summer, spring or autumnal parties into the outdoors. These parties are generally hosted post working hours, or post 5 pm, so your guests can start arriving after office on working days to take in the sunset. A sundowner party, as its name suggests, is designed in such a way that you can take in the brilliant colours of the setting sun while sipping on a stunning cocktail. These gatherings are relaxed, laidback and generally meant as spaces for winding down after a hard day at work – and the ambience should be apropos this vibe.
So, when you are next home hosting a sundowner, you could get more creative regarding how you want to craft a setting for the evening so you have the perfect seating, lighting and outdoor space to take in the glorious sunset. Along with interesting cocktails and food pairings, some decor alternatives would create a calming, relaxed vibe at your gathering. This mise en scène would play into the overall theme of the evening by immediately engulfing your guests with a very comforting feeling that is a welcome on a breezy, cool evening.
Read on below to know more about how you can craft this laidback ambience at the next sundowner party you host:
Outdoor Venue Options
That a sundowner party has to be outdoors is basic, yet where you host this evening works a lot towards creating a calming ambience for your party. While gardens and patios are quintessential spaces for evening gatherings, you could also get more inventive with your venue and try to host a party on a rooftop instead. Safety issues permitting, you can take guests up onto the roof to watch the sun set on your metropolis as they sip on stunning aperitifs. This is the perfect outdoor option especially when your house has a terrace or your apartment has a roof large enough to accommodate an intimate gathering.
Sunset Viewing Area
Since a sundowner party is about watching the brilliant sun set on the horizon, you can designate a particular area in the outdoors from where you can get the best view of the twilight falling on an autumn evening. You can gather all your guests to this sunset viewing area from where you can see the bright reds, yellows, oranges and slightly grey and purple hues of the evening, fall from the sky.
Comfy Seating
The first thing you look for when you come home from work is a comfortable chair to lounge upon. This goes for a sundowner party too, where guests would want to chill on recliners, lounge chairs and chaise longues after a day of sitting upright on their desks. Make sure you haul all comfy seating from your home or store room into the garden or up on the roof, wherever you decide to host your evening. And have in store lots of blankets, throws and small pillows just in case the night gets chilly.
Soft Lighting
When guests start arriving at a sundowner event, it will be nearing sunset meaning natural light would work for your party. But later on, you would want soft lighting that slowly illuminates the venue after the sun sets and it starts getting darker. Instead of switching on harsh lights all at once, have layered lighting and begin with fairy lights, then some floor lamps and lastly switch on warm yellow bulbs that cast a soft glow on those gathered.
Warm Hues
While planning decor ideas, stick to warm tones like reds and oranges that resonate with the shades of the setting sun to keep up with the overall mood of the party. This will ensure that you can create a relaxed vibe because the twilight spreading onto your evening will reflect similar calming colours. You can lay out purple pillows, warm brown and reddish rugs and deep, dark coloured chairs that reflect this cosy, warm atmosphere.
