How does Carson Kressley live outside? With panache and no paper plates

ATLANTA — When Carson Kressley takes the stage during Casual Market Atlanta, the celebrity fashion stylist and designer will share helpful tips that he hopes will inspire audience members to create personalized outdoor spaces that reflect their own, and their customers, distinctive personalities. Part anecdote and part professional expertise, Kressley’s keynote will overview fashionable trends in outdoor living and underscore synergies between two consumer-centric industries — fashion and home.

“I just think they go hand in hand,” Kressley said. “I think it’s all about expressing personal style and I think that we do that with paint colors and with furnishings and accessories. We do it with the clothes in our closet, the makeup in our palettes and the accessories in our jewelry boxes. So to me, the process is very, very similar. It’s about accumulating or collecting or curating things that you love and then employing them to express yourself and also make your life feel authentic to you and your personal style.”

When asked about his favorite outdoor décor items, the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy alum listed several items that create an indoor vibe outside. Kressley noted that potted plants can “set the tone,” while pillows and throws lend a cozy ambiance to exterior spaces. Outdoor lighting takes center stage in his exterior spaces as well and includes outdoor lamps, exterior bistro lights and wicker materials.

For outdoor entertaining, Kressley enjoys organizing relaxed parties and poolside gatherings, and the Fourth of July and New England lobster bakes are among the favorite summertime themes. He’ll often serve up the usual hot weather dishes as well, but pay special attention to serveware and tablescapes.

“I do a lot of outdoor entertaining at my house and having a beautiful table, I think is really important,” Kressley said. “I’m one that kind of is ready to have an outdoor party at any moment and they’re easy to throw together and I like to make the summertime classics, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, but I don’t serve those things on paper plates or have paper napkins. I still keep it a little bit elevated and hopefully stylish.”

Kressley’s go-to accessories for outdoor include melamine plates in a bamboo pattern matched with metal bamboo flatware. He also uses acrylic wine and margarita glasses that are safe poolside, but mimic actual glassware with bubble imperfections. Vintage ice buckets are used to create bar stations in several areas, and the table is set much as it would be inside, said Kressley.

“I have either beautiful candles or some kind of low centerpiece, actual linens — I think it is really important to create the mood and elevate…Creating those tablescapes and making it fun and festive is what it’s all about.”

Event:

Carson Kressley Introduces Fashionable Trends in Outdoor Living
Wednesday, July 17
1 – 2 p.m.
Building 3, Floor 2 Atrium

Designer and fashion stylist Carson Kressley is known for his quick wit and fun presentation style, entertaining audiences around the world. Be sure to grab a front-row seat for his introduction to this year’s fashionable trends in outdoor living.