Ok, the sun is out, so our thoughts turn to garden furniture, which doesn't get any classier than this Artek garden furniture by Alvar Aalto.
Designed by Aalto around 1938-39 for Villa Mairea (the house he designed for friends Harry and Maire Gullichsen), it has the designer's distinctive modernist spin across the range. A range that includes a garden chair, a lounger and two types of table.
The sun is out, the sky is blue and it looks like a warm weekend ahead. So the perfect time to invest in these large Tiki Mugs.
Yes, ideal for swigging exotic drinks round the barbecue, each of the four mugs in the set stand around 14cm high and in a different colour, holding a long drink and throwing out some hip 50s/60s vibes. If you can't think of anything to put in them, check out these Tiki drink recipe cards we featured last month.
You can pick up the set right now, priced at £20.
Summer is coming, the season of burning food in the great outdoors. If you don't fancy spending a month's wages on something huge and gas-powered, you could opt for something more basic, but plenty of retro style – like this Weber Smokey Joe barbecue.
It's exclusive to John Lewis (both instore and online), offering a compact unit that's good for picnics and flat dwellers (if you have a balcony), offering up a weatherproof porcelain enamelled bowl and lid, a lid lock for easy carrying, rust-proof air vent, triple chrome-plated grate and a measuring cup for your fuel.
All of which will cost you £59.95.
Ok, we'll admit it – we planned on featuring this as the perfect Easter accessory prior to the Easter weekend. Unfortunately the weather has turned a little, so you might want to wait a bit before using the Heals Blyton picnic hamper.
But when the sun does come out, this vintage-style kit will certainly turn heads in the open country. Designed for two people, it offers that red tin shell with a removable willow tray, along with a selection of suitable accessories – two ceramic mugs, two ceramic plates, two knife and fork sets, two embroidered cotton napkins, salt and pepper cruets, 1a mini insulated flask, a cotton plate bag and a cotton cutlery bag.
You can see that in more detail over the page and if you want one, Heals sells it online – £85 is the price.
Penfield is this year celebrating 35 years of business, so what better way of celebrating than by bringing back a classic – the Penfield Pac Jac 35th anniversary jacket.
It's a subtle twist on the original Pac-Jac (aka the lightweight trail jacket) from the 1980s, offering up that packable design, wind and water resistance, an adjustable Hood and waist cinch, vented back section, elasticated cuffs and that all-important 35th anniversary zip pull.
Certain to be limited, you can pick one up online for £80.
The vast majority of new-build houses in the 1960s and 1970s had one thing in common – Petal Leaf concrete wall blocks, which you can get at Stowell Concrete. Read more
