What life looks like when “summer” is a verb

There’s the season of summer, and then there’s summering. The former we’re all familiar with. The latter is done with a touch more panache. It takes a certain attitude to summer in all its glamour and flourish, where somehow even a basic meal in the garden feels like a special occasion. From handpainted ceramics and 70s-style beach umbrellas to crisp nautical stripes, those who summer always find a way to dress up the most ordinary of moments.

All of the colours in every material and finish. From tasselled pillows to gold-lacquered plateware, to acrylic cutlery bearing a pearlescent finish, this summer more is definitely more. That electic, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink blend of textures, colours, and prints comes together seamlessly in a scene of beautiful chaos.

Forget that practical voice in your head. You know, the one that asks whether you’ll have any use for it or whether you’ll have space for it. The one that asks whether you really need a decorative paddle, a school of wooden fish, or a tiny seagull wearing rainboots. The answer is yes. The rest will work itself out.

Set up a scalloped beach umbrella and languish upon a sunlounger that could double as a sofa. Take your drinks out of a cooler that looks like a bar cart. Sit back. Relax. You’re part of the scenery now.

Every summer aesthetic is incomplete without some wicker. Whether it’s a full patio set or a simple picnic basket, the mere presence of this cottasgecore staple means you’re doing something right.