For most of us who live on the Mid North Coast, the real living happens outside. Forster’s long, warm afternoons, salt-scented evening breezes, and that enviable proximity to both ocean and lake mean that a well-designed outdoor entertaining space isn’t a luxury — it’s the heart of the house. And yet plenty of Forster homes have a concrete slab with a plastic setting on it, an uncovered deck that’s too hot to use by 11 am, or a brilliant view choked by an overgrown fence line. This guide walks through how to plan an outdoor entertaining area that genuinely gets used, built around three core elements: deck or paving, overhead cover, and the way plants frame the space.
Start with the sun, not the view
The most common mistake we see in Forster entertaining areas is orienting them around the view instead of the sun. A north-west-facing deck with no shade catches the full brunt of the afternoon sun in summer — you’ll sit there once, burn your hand on the barbecue, and never use it again. Spend a weekend noticing where the shade naturally falls at 10 am, 2 pm and 5 pm. In most Forster yards, the sweet spot for summer entertaining is a south-east or east-facing area that picks up morning light and stays shaded through the hottest part of the day. In winter, you can supplement with a patio heater or fire pit for those cooler lake-breeze evenings.
Deck or paving? Choosing the right surface
Timber decks feel warm underfoot, handle sloping coastal blocks beautifully, and age with character — but they require re-oiling every couple of years, and lower decks near soil lines can attract termites without proper flashing. Composite decking removes the maintenance headache and copes well with Forster’s UV and salt exposure but costs more upfront. Paving (natural stone, porcelain pavers or exposed aggregate concrete) is the most durable option and has no termite risk, though it’s heavier and needs a properly compacted subbase to avoid movement on sandy coastal soils. As a rule of thumb: if your entertaining area is elevated or stepping down a slope, decks win; if it’s at ground level or close to a pool, pavers or concrete are usually the smarter choice. For sloping blocks, pair your deck with well-designed retaining walls to create usable level terraces.
Overhead cover: pergola, louvre roof or sail?
Overhead cover is what separates a space you use occasionally from one you live in. The three main options each have their place. A timber pergola with deciduous climbing plants (ornamental grape, wisteria, star jasmine) gives summer shade and winter sun, plus beautiful dappled light — but flowers and leaves will drop on your table. A louvre roof (opening aluminium slats) gives precise control over sun, rain and ventilation, and the premium versions are engineered for coastal salt exposure. A shade sail is the most affordable option, fast to install, and cools an area dramatically, but needs to come down before major storms and doesn’t keep rain off your guests. Think about how you want to use the space year-round before committing.
Defining the edges of the space
An outdoor entertaining area that isn’t visually enclosed always feels uncomfortable — like sitting in the middle of a park. Good entertaining zones have edges. Those edges can be built (a low garden bed wall, a planter box, a change in paving texture) or planted (a hedge, a cluster of feature palms, a rendered wall with climbing greenery). In Forster, tough evergreen screens like Lilly Pilly ‘Resilience’, Coastal Rosemary, or Dwarf Mat Rush work beautifully because they handle salt, wind and the occasional heatwave. A planted edge softens hardscape, absorbs noise, and makes the space feel like a room rather than a patch of paving.
Outdoor kitchens and the barbecue zone
Even a simple outdoor kitchen transforms how often you use an entertaining area. The essentials are a weatherproof bench, a dedicated barbecue position (away from seating, ideally downwind), and a small bar fridge or drinks tub. More ambitious builds add a sink, a pizza oven, or a built-in drinks cabinet. The single most overlooked detail is lighting at the cooking station — you can’t grill to medium-rare in the dark. Plan task lighting over the barbecue and ambient lighting over the dining area. Warm-white LED strip tucked under pergola beams gives a beautiful glow without the harsh floodlight effect.
Softening with plants that suit the coast
Plants around an entertaining zone shouldn’t just look good — they should earn their place by scenting the air, attracting beneficial insects, and tolerating the conditions without constant watering. Lemon-scented tea tree, native frangipani, coastal banksia and prostrate grevilleas are standouts. For pots on a deck or alfresco, clumping bamboo, dwarf cycads and sculptural agaves bring architecture without demanding constant attention. For more on species that thrive on the Mid North Coast, see our guide to hardy native plants for Forster.
Lighting: the detail that changes everything
Entertaining areas without good lighting are summer-only spaces. A layered scheme — uplights in the garden, string lights overhead, low-level path lights, and a single dimmable feature over the table — stretches use of the space into autumn and winter evenings. All outdoor lighting should be IP-rated for coastal salt exposure; cheap clip-on fittings will corrode within a season at Forster.
Keeping it low-maintenance
The last thing anyone wants is an entertaining area that demands a weekend of upkeep for every weekend of use. Choose materials that forgive neglect, plants that tolerate the coast, and a design that self-manages where possible — drip irrigation on plant beds, a pea-gravel finish in awkward corners, mulched beds rather than lawn strips. For more ideas on keeping the whole garden manageable, read our low-maintenance Forster garden guide.
Pulling it together
A great outdoor entertaining area in Forster works with the climate, not against it. Get the orientation right, choose overhead cover based on how you’ll actually use the space, define the edges, plan the lighting, and plant generously with species that belong here. Done well, it becomes the room you spend the most time in — and the reason friends keep showing up.