Drawing attention to an area will stimulate the senses. When you are outdoors in your very own backyard, it is important to create small vignettes that appeal to our sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. This is a simple and fun task.

To design a vignette appealing to our sense of sight and smell, place a few decoratively arranged potted flowers on a side table along with a complementary few stone or glass objects of art. The pots encasing the flowering plants should be different sizes, colors, textures and materials. The objects of art can be selected based on having the same color or completely different shades.

This may take a few tries to get just right. Add objects, move them around, and change them out until you find what appeals to you most. Start by walking through your house collecting things to try out in your arrangements, and have a ball.

The sense of taste can be targeted with food items. If you are entertaining, create a cluster of various vegetables, cheeses or fruit, and display them on a unique serving piece in a pleasing pattern. You will find that people love to congregate around food. Whenever I have guests, I display food on various different tables to encourage movement.

Then, of course, make sure you have music playing to nurture a specific mood. For example, you can play Jimmy Buffet songs to evoke a playful beachy feeling, or you can play sounds of the ocean for a serene and tranquil feeling.

The one thing that I know for certain is that appealing to our senses will have your friends and family wanting to stay longer and enjoy the time.

Great vignettes, designs, music, and food encourages good times and happy feelings, so be creative and see what you can produce.