Men's Journal

When the weather warms, the living room gives way to the patio. Here’s how to feel at home outside.

By Michael Slenske

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Loll Designs Cabrio Lounge Chair
Loll Designs co-founder Greg Benson made his name designing skate parks, then moved into furniture — which explains why the company’s first Adirondack chair was built by repurposing the side panels of ramps. Loll’s new Cabrio lounger shows the same green spirit — it’s made from 320 recycled milk jugs — but its low-slung style brings to mind a sports car’s seats. An ironic comparison, since just looking at the Cabrio makes us want to slow down and relax. [$319; lolldesigns.com]
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Vessel Luau Lamp
The 36 high-intensity LED bulbs in each battery-powered Luau softly illuminate any space for up to 10 hours. Lift the 15-inch lantern from its charging stand, and it turns on automatically; rotate it in the stand or with its bottom against the palm of your hand, and the Luau dims. As an added bonus, the egg-ish stainless-steel-and-polycarbonate
styling looks just as good indoors as out. Tiki torches, not so much. [$199; vessel.com]
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Mosquito Magnet Independence
Bug zappers don’t kill many mosquitoes — the pests aren’t drawn to the UV light — and citronella candles work only if you’re wearing one as a hat. Your best bet is the propane-powered Independence, which can keep an acre of land largely skeeterless. It attracts mosquitoes by mimicking a human’s scent, then sucks them into an easily emptied bag of death. [$579; mosquitomagnet.com]
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Grace Aqua Sounder Speaker
Tunes are a summer essential, but we still sweat seeing our iPod near H20. The Aqua Sounder allays our fears, keeping an MP3 player safe in a stand that wirelessly beams music to a volleyball-sized speaker up to 150 feet away. You can toss the floating, waterproof orb into the pool and let its LEDs put on a light show, as well as add up to nine more wireless speakers (sold separately). [$149; gracedigitalaudio.com]
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Sail La Vie Shade Umbrella
Boat-sail repairers Sail La Vie transform unsalvageable wind-catchers from scows on Minnesota’s White Bear Lake into custom-sewn patio umbrellas. The nine-foot-wide shadow- makers have a UV-resistant coating for extra protection. [$399; saillavieusa.com]
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DWR Cast Iron Fire Bowl
Like moths, humans prefer to congregate around an open flame when possible, but we’ll be damned if we’re torching our carefully cultivated Kentucky bluegrass just so we can down sangria by a bonfire. The pragmatically named Cast Iron Fire Bowl provides a less destructive focal point and makes cleanup easier, too, since its conical design shepherds ashes into a pot below. Just keep it off a wooden deck, unless you’re looking to cash in on your homeowner’s insurance. [$375; dwr.com]
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This article originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.