5 gorgeous outdoor games for whiling away a summer afternoon
With these sleek and colourful toys, you can evoke that carefree, cottage feeling in your own backyard
Dicey business: Snake Eyes’ yard dice look like retro board game rollers. But the hand-branded, white pine cubes are bigger than a tennis ball so they won’t get lost in the lawn. Games of Pig, Bunco and Greedy can be either family-friendly or ride on wagers. Six dice per set. $53. Through yarddice.com.
Full service: L.A.-based designer James DeWulf – whose clients include Oprah and Andre Agassi – designed this outdoor dining table for versatility. Its sleek top is cast concrete to withstand all-weather extremes (including midsummer highs and midwinter lows) and it comes with an easy clip-on net for casual or competitive games of backyard Ping-Pong. $7,370. Through jamesdewulf.com.JAMES HICKEY
Strike out: Beer league bowling has a new, and likely more enjoyable, meaning when played on a sprawling cottage lawn with Pottery Barn’s quirky, vintage-style bowling set. The pins are hand-painted and hand-carved from durable mango wood. $171. Through potterybarn.com.
Decorative bowl: Bocce, the age-old Italian cousin of French pétanque and English bowls, is the quintessential outdoor activity of elderly Roman men with a penchant for high-waisted pants. Brooklyn-based designers Jolie Mae Signorile and Gabriel Fredericks Cohen give the game a youth look with their brightly coloured, hand-painted balls. $337. Through fredericksandmae.myshopify.com.
What a racquet: California-based ArteMare makes the type of chic, luxurious beach equipment that is almost too pretty to play with. Their paddle ball racquets are particularly opulent: handmade from sustainably sourced purpleheart, mahogany, American walnut and teak. The handle is wrapped in a soft-to-grip leather so it’s easy on manicured paws. $122. Through shop.artemare.co.Tania Savayan