The Coastal Picnic
Editor's selection
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Every piece in the photograph, with the editor's note on why it's there.
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6 pieces
Nantucket Style Rattan Picnic Basket with Two Swing Handles
The anchor of the whole picnic — bread, flowers, and the tea towel that keeps it all tidy.
Sunflora Insulated Picnic Backpack for 4 — Navy
Flatware, plates, four glasses and a cooler section, all on your back for the walk down.
Beeveer Blue Picnic Cushion, Runner & Blanket Set
Cushions, runner and throw in one box — the reason everyone stays sitting past sunset.
OSALADI White Ceramic Fish-Shaped Serving Platter
Long enough for a row of croissant sandwiches, and pretty enough to leave in the middle.
Blue Hydrangea Paper Plates (Party Set, Service for 8)
Sturdy, disposable, and printed edge to edge with blue mopheads — no dishes on the bluff.
Hand-Woven Wicker Storage Basket with Wood Handles
For the throws, the extra napkins and the wine on the way out — and the towels on the way home.
A Nantucket picnic is really just a table set on the ground. We carry it out to the bluff in two trips — the swing-handle basket with the bread and the flowers, the navy backpack with the glasses and the corkscrew — and everything else is spread on a blanket over the grass with the water flat and blue below. The trick is treating it exactly like a dinner party: real stems, a proper platter, cloth napkins tied in a knot, hydrangeas cut that morning and stuffed in the top of the basket. Tufted cushions go down first so no one is sitting on a rock, then the checked blanket, then the food — croissant sandwiches on a long white fish platter, a cheese board, berries in a little bowl, grapes. Paper plates are allowed, as long as they have hydrangeas printed on them. Nothing here is fussy and nothing needs to be carried home clean. Pack it at four, walk down at five, and stay until the light goes gold over the water.
Nantucket Style Rattan Picnic Basket with Two Swing Handles
The anchor of the whole picnic — bread, flowers, and the tea towel that keeps it all tidy.
If you only bring home one piece from this room, begin here — it sets the palette, the scale, and the mood of everything that follows.
View This Piece →The Nantucket Formula
Every layer that makes this room work — and why.
- 01Two Baskets, Two Jobs
One handsome rattan basket for the bread and flowers, one insulated backpack for anything that has to stay cold.
- 02Sit On Something Soft
Tufted floor cushions in cornflower blue turn a patch of lawn into actual seating.
- 03One Long Platter
A white ceramic fish platter carries the sandwiches and makes the whole spread look composed.
- 04Pretty Paper
Hydrangea-printed plates mean no dishes and no compromise on the photograph.
- 05Real Glass
Wine tastes better out of a stem, even on the grass. The backpack keeps four of them safe.
- 06Cut Flowers, Always
Blue and white hydrangeas tucked into the basket lid — the detail that says this was planned.
- 07Blue and White Underneath
A checked blanket and knotted blue napkins tie the ground to the water.
Timeless rooms invite people to stay.
Complete the Look in Stages
The best rooms are never finished in a weekend. If you're building this room slowly, here is the order we'd bring things home.
- 01Foundation
Begin with the anchor — the sofa, the rug, or the bed. It sets the scale and the palette for everything else.
- 02Lighting
Layer the light next. A pair of lamps and one small warm bulb do more for the room than any wall color.
- 03Textiles
Add the softness — pillows, throws, a runner. This is where the room begins to feel like yours.
- 04Accessories
Bring in the ginger jars, the trays, the framed watercolors. Style in vignettes of three.
- 05Finishing Touches
Candles, greenery, the small found thing. The details that make the room feel collected, not decorated.
Editor's Notes
Pack in Layers
Cushions and blanket go in the bottom of the car, food on top. On the ground it comes out in reverse — soft things first, then the cloth, then the platters.
Cut the Hydrangeas Early
Snip them in the morning, sear the stems in an inch of hot water, and they'll hold all afternoon out of water in the basket lid.
One Warm Thing
A fringed ivory throw over the blue keeps the whole spread from reading like a kids' party — and you'll want it when the wind turns.
Best For
- Bluff and beach picnics
- Lawn dinners
- Fourth of July
- Engagement and shower parties
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The Coastal Cottage Styling Guide
A 12-page Nantucket-inspired playbook — hydrangea-blue rooms, weathered cedar curb appeal, and the pieces I'd buy again tomorrow. Plus the weekly Sunday finds. Free, no spam.
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