Now that summer is in full swing, I thought the timing was right to offer five of my favorite home items for the season.
Outdoor Furniture: Dedon’s Summer Cloud Lounge Chair
Each year, Dedon launches a slew of new outdoor furnishings, and, each year, I’m impressed by how they find new ways to make durable outdoor furniture that looks like pieces of sculpture. Until now, Orbit—the iconic, round sofa lounger with a collapsible cloth canopy—had been my all-time favorite piece of outdoor furniture, but this year’s launch of Summer Cloud has won me over. The streamline lounge chair ($6,350) cleverly incorporates an attached sun shield that rotates 360 degrees around the top of the chair. It’s the perfect amount of shade to protect your face while still allowing your legs to get some sun, and I love that it takes only the touch of a finger to rotate the shield around you as the sun changes direction. (800.245.2687, www.dedon.de)
Beach Towel: Abyss and Habidecor Knokke Towel
For years I’ve been trying to find the perfect beach towel. My search is over. The Knokke towel ($232) from Abyss and Habidecor is bright and fun without looking gaudy or clashing with a patterned bathing suit. At 42x80 inches, it’s long enough so that my feet don’t end up in the sand; it’s rich and fluffy, yet somehow is compact enough to take up minimal room in my beach bag; and, most importantly, both sides feature terry cloth made from 100 percent Egyptian cotton instead of one side featuring terry cloth and one side featuring velour, which feels slimy against your skin after a dip in the ocean. (800.588.8565, www.habidecor.be)
Outdoor Lighting: CL Sterling & Son’s FS Collection
Aside from those Chinese-inspired paper lanterns, which tend to remind me of a college dorm room, I haven’t seen much in the way of fun, colorful outdoor lighting—until now. These solid brass hanging outdoor lamps from CL Sterling & Son (from $1,800) comprise a pendent shade coated in brushed nickel or dark bronze, the inside of which can be customized with any color available from Benjamin Moore. They’re durable enough to be left outside year round, and they’re versatile enough to look appropriate hanging from a trellis or a tree. (860.739.2720, www.clsterling.com)
Outdoor Shower: Lalique and Boffi
Most outdoor showers tend to be rustic and utilitarian, but leave it to Lalique to conceive one that is elegant. Their version (shown) features seven, 11.5-inch square crystal panels ($2,050 each) from their Aster collection, the pattern of which resembles a sea urchin. I suggest customizing it with Boffi’s Pipe shower and Liquid showerhead (combined price of $4,648), which feels like a tropical rain storm. (Lalique, 212.355.6550, www.lalique.com; Boffi, 310.458.9300, www.boffi.com)
Summer Cocktail: Hualalai Sunset
A few weeks ago, I stayed at the Four Seasons Hualalai on Hawaii’s Big Island to check out the new spa (which, by the way, is fantastic). For days after my return, I’d catch whiffs of the fresh coconut used in my treatments left over in my hair and on my clothing, the smell of which always reminds me of summer, not to mention makes me long for another trip. Because I can’t visit Hawaii as often as I’d like, I asked the hotel for something that would remind me of the resort: the recipe for one of their signature cocktails, the Hualalai Sunset. (808.325.8000, www.fourseasons.com/hualalai)
Hualalai Sunset
Makes one cocktail
Splash of grenadine
Crushed ice
1 ounce Bacardi Light Rum
2 ounces fresh pineapple juice
2 ounces fresh guava juice
2 ounces fresh passion fruit juice
1 ounce Myer’s Dark Rum
Pineapple slice
Cherry
Pour the grenadine in the bottom of the glass and add the crushed ice. Mix the light rum and fruit juices together and pour over the crushed ice. Top the beverage with the dark rum and garnish with a pineapple slice and cherry.
