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Design Scout: On the Patio

Get your backyard warm-weather ready with six fun accessories.

Cafe String Lights
We’re major fans of any outdoor lighting that makes our skinny townhouse backyard feel like an Italian sidewalk cafe. Hang these over your outdoor seating area for a truly al fresco dining experience. Each strand is nine feet long and comes with eight bulbs.
$39 at potterybarn.com

Badminton Set
We love the retro-preppy look of this portable, all-pieces-included game set. Why not invite friends over for mint juleps and a match or two? Adult or not, you know you still get a kick out of batting around the ol’ shuttlecock.
$79 at restorationhardware.com

Notebook Foldable Charcoal Grill
This take-it-anywhere cooking surface comes equipped with built-in handles and enough grilling space to fit six burgers at a time. If the closest thing you’ve got to a backyard is the neighborhood park, this is the perfect picnic accompaniment.
$29.95 at cobbq.com

Picnic Table Condiment Set
Borderline tacky, we know, but nieces, nephews, and never-left-childhood college friends will love dousing their hot dogs and corncobs with condiments from this quirky set.
$18 at uncommongoods.com

Platta Decking
Need a flat place to put your furniture? Build your own outdoor flooring with affordable acacia-wood pieces. These almost-one-square-foot tiles come in packs of nine and link together to stay in place.
$34 per nine-pack at Ikea (in store only); check to see if your store has them in stock by using the search box on the right here.

Twig Skewers
Remember playing caveman when you were a kid? Yeah, we don’t either. But if we had, there’s a good chance our imaginary meals would have been roasted on something pretty similar.
Set of four for $9.99 at amazon.com

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Sarah is the Editor-in-Chief of Washingtonian Bride & Groom, and writes about weddings, fashion, and shopping. Her work has also appeared in Refinery29, Bethesda Magazine, and Washington City Paper, among others. She is a Georgetown University graduate, lives in Columbia Heights, and you can find her on Instagram at @washbridegroom and @sarahzlot.