Sun Chaises for your Coastal Home

A chaise ramps up the style and comfort quotient of soaking up the sun. By Chris Caswell

If there is one piece of furniture absolutely essential to the full enjoyment of a coastal home, it’s the sun chaise. On the patio, around the pool, or even on a balcony—it will complete your world. Laze here and enjoy a trashy novel, work on your tan, or just watch the clouds drift past. But chaises have come a long ways since those uncomfortable redwood-and-rope affairs that we knew as kids. Today, chaises make a décor statement about your lifestyle, and there is one that’s just right for you.

Perhaps the most conservative option—and one that will never go out of style—is the Teak Chaise Chair from Land’s End (about $800), which, like the teak on yachts, requires no maintenance. Leave it outdoors and it acquires a silvery patina. You might want to add a cushion or thick towel, though: you’ll have stripes from the slats if you linger while lounging.

A sleekly updated version is the Cove Sun Bed from Francesco Rota for Paola Lenti (from $6,700) with a gas-assisted no-effort backrest. Want some companionship? The appropriately named Yin Yang from DEDON (about $12,500 for the nesting pair) lets you lie back and face each other.  

If space is limited or if you want to carry your chaise down to the beach, the woven and organic-looking Leaf from DEDON ($3,700) is just the ticket. A more traditional way to while away an afternoon in the sun is the Oxygen Air Lounge ($2,125) from Tuuci, a stylish and supremely comfy hammock slung from a sculptural metal base.  Of course, if you really want to feel like the Grand Poobah in your own kingdom, the Crescent Lounge ($14,200 and up) from Tuuci takes the best of the Arabian Nights and puts it into a sunpad with a built-in parasol, curtains to blow delightfully in the wind, and hassocks to complete the effect.

Now, kick back and break out that tube of Sea & Ski lotion.

Ocean Master Max Cantilevered Parasol

The shade you get on your patio is more important than ever with increasing concern over the effects of the sun’s rays on skin. We all want that alfresco lifestyle, but we don’t want to take any chances, and the Ocean Master Max cantilevered parasol from Tuuci not only provides protection but it looks great, too. Inspired by the masts of sailboats, it telescopes automatically and can be opened and closed with a high-performance, low-effort crank system. You can even close the shade over chairs and tables to protect them from the elements when not in use. About $5,300 from Tuuci, tuuci.com, 305-634-5116.