Published
To warm an outdoor seating area on a winter night in Riyadh you usually need one outdoor heater for each seating group or for every one or two tables, and more if the space is exposed to the wind. Put the heaters between the guests rather than behind them, on level ground, away from fabric and walkways, and choose the side of the space most sheltered from the wind. Here are the details, step by step.
Start from the space, not the number of heaters
A walled courtyard holds warmth better than an open garden, and a terrace under a pergola is warmer than an exposed roof. Before counting heaters, put the seating on the side least exposed to the wind, and use walls, pergolas and tents to block it. A sheltered seating area with two heaters can be warmer than an exposed one with four.
How many heaters do you need?
No single number fits every space. A tower patio heater warms the people sitting around it in a limited circle, so the count follows seating groups and tables rather than the guest count alone. A rough rule to start from:
- Floor seating or a majlis for about ten people: one or two heaters at the sides of the seating.
- Round dinner tables: about one heater between every two tables.
- A long majlis or a U-shaped layout: heaters spread along its length, not grouped at one end.
- A space open to the wind, or a very cold night: add one or two.
Where to put a heater
- Between the seating or in its middle, not behind guests' backs or in a far corner.
- On level, stable ground, so it does not tip with the wind or with people moving.
- Away from curtains, tent walls, fabric shades and low branches.
- Out of walkways and the serving route, so nobody trips over it.
- Away from the children's play area.
- Where it does not block the photo backdrop or the kosha in photos.
Heaters and tents
A gas patio heater is made for open spaces and is not run inside a tent with closed sides or inside a room. Place it at the tent entrance or on its open side with enough ventilation and away from the fabric. If the tent will be closed all round, plan the heaters for the open seating around it and at its entrance.
Finish the warmth with seating and hospitality
A heater alone does not make a comfortable winter seating area. Rugs and floor seating with Sadu cushions keep out the cold from the ground, warm lighting makes the space feel warmer, and a Saudi coffee and tea corner close to the seating keeps guests around the heaters instead of walking about in the cold.
Checklist before the day
- Fix where the seating goes and which side the wind comes from.
- Have the size of the space, the guest count and a photo ready.
- Agree the number of heaters and their positions with the seating layout.
- Check that walkways and the children's area are clear of the heaters.
- Confirm the install time before guests arrive and the dismantling time after the occasion.
