Editor’s Letter: Fresh Ideas for Outdoor Living

It seemed obvious. We had to put a pool on the cover. Working on our annual outdoor design issue always gets me excited for summer, particularly because we send it to press when, where I live in New York, it’s still that chilly, rainy, no-longer-winter, not-quite-spring time of year. In addition to inspiring longing, this serene scene in the almost-always mostly sunny San Fernando Valley will, I hope, remind everyone in more seasonal climes that summer is around the corner.

To make sure you’re prepared, we’ve given the spotlight to some of the best new outdoor furniture, lighting, and accessories for your backyard in our Modern World section. How did we choose among the new releases? We based our selections on our favorite movies that evoke summer. Whether you’re dreaming of the coastal-grandma shores of Something’s Gotta Give or the salty, early-aughts rush of Blue Crush, we have a chair for you.

For our features, it isn’t quite an endless summer, but we traveled around the world to find homes that combine indoor and outdoor living spaces in ways that respond to their specific regions. The most daring is a townhouse in Singapore engulfed in a vertical garden. It bravely forgoes air-conditioning—and, for the most part, windows—in the tropical heat, relying on a blanket of greenery to temper the elements. That may be extreme, but as we all contend with our changing climate, it shows us what’s possible when using a minimal amount of energy.

If you’re looking for a more practical concept, we also offer up a historic home in Argentina’s cowboy country, which gets an update that highlights its central courtyard, and an addition that combines two humble houses in Nairobi by using big wooden sliders to connect to the surrounding flora.

Outdoor space can be as much about community as communing with nature. Elsewhere in the issue, we explore the shockingly large amount of land left dormant in American cities that can’t afford to leave that land barren. We spoke with three people who have reclaimed underutilized spaces to create amenities for their communities and asked them for tips about doing the same on your own block.

Whether you’re starting an urban farm or just hosting an asado, like the Argentine barbecue one of our writers attended for this issue, gatherings are the best part of warmer weather. So, break out the grill, unfold the new lounge chairs, and invite the neighbors. It’s summer somewhere, and you’ll be ready when it comes to your backyard.

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Head back to the May/June 2024 issue homepage