Coastal Living Fall 2022

Plenty of seacraft may match their ports—lobster boats in Maine, Hobie Cats in Southern California—but now there’s a little pink (or mint green) boat that literally matches. Meet Palm Yachts, a newly launched collection of cunningly restored and refreshed 17-foot center console Boston Whalers with gaily striped and fringed Bimini tops, based in Palm Beach (the home of pink, green, and the good life on the water). This inspired marriage of style and seamanship comes from Palm Beach natives Beth Aschenbach and Danielle Norcross, sisters and founders of lifestyle brand Palm Beach Lately. Having collaborated with venues like The Colony hotel and brands like Vineyard Vines to “bring the sunshine and family-oriented, playful aspect of Palm Beach,” Norcross says, they turned their eyes to boats. With some sourcing help from…

The 17th-century Dutch businessman Pieter de la Court was on to something when he said this about the pineapple: “One can never be tire’d with looking at it.” Indeed. Once seen (much less tasted), Ananas comosus is unforgettable, and the bromeliad native to South America has been a part of European exploration, colonization, and enslavement since the 16th century. In colonial America, the fruit (brought back fresh on ships) signified great status. By the 18th century, the pineapple had evolved into a symbol of hospitality, “its prickly, tufted shape incorporated in gateposts, door entryways and finials and in silverware and ceramics,” notes former Smithsonian librarian Julia Blakely in “The Prickly Meanings of the Pineapple.” And there the fruit remained symbolically until a tropical fervor swept up midcentury American culture. With…

Catalina Gonzalez Jorba is a firm believer in the power of a family road trip, especially if the destination is a sandy one. Every year the designer and her husband, Santiago, pile their four boys (plus all the floaties and beach toys they can fit) into the car for the 12-hour trek from their home in Dallas to Florida’s 30A. The draw of the water is strong for Jorba, who grew up on the Colombian coast in Cartagena. “When I’m around nature is when I feel the most inspired and creative,” she says. Her family beach vacations become an integral part of her future collections, informing everything from the textures she chooses to the color palettes and patterns. But while it certainly has its professional benefits, the real draw is…

SEARED HALLOUMI WITH CUCUMBERS, APRICOTS, AND HONEY SERVES 8 ACTIVE 15 min. TOTAL 25 min. ½ cup packed fresh mint leaves, chopped1 English cucumber (about 11 oz.), seeded and thinly sliced on an angle8 apricots, seeded and quartered¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil3 Tbsp. Champagne vinegar2 tsp. honey1 tsp. lime zest plus 3 Tbsp. fresh juice (from 2 limes)½ tsp. kosher salt¼ tsp. black pepper2 (8.8-oz.) pkg. halloumi cheese4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided 1. Combine mint, cucumber, and apricots in a medium bowl; set aside. 2. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, lime zest, and lime juice in a small bowl. Whisk in salt and pepper; set aside. 3. Cut halloumi into 4 (½-inch-thick) slabs. Cut each slab diagonally into 2 triangles. 4. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add half of the…

MEXICO PLAYA VIVA JULUCHUCA, MEXICO THE VIBE: It can’t be as magical in real life as it looks online (or in the pages of a magazine, say). But here on 200 secluded, verdant beachfront acres 35 minutes south of Zihuatanejo, you’ll find not only that Playa Viva is more beautiful than you’d imagined, but also that a unique, deep magic reveals itself as the days unspool. Yes, you’ll be gobsmacked at its thrillingly inventive architecture, particularly in a colony of six new bamboo tree houses suspended by palms, with sweeping rooflines and trapezoidal forms inspired by migrating manta rays. Yes, you’ll spend hours of discovery in your own tree house, noting the columnar palms keeping you company and the bamboo latticework on all sides that redefines what an open-air room can be. Yes, you’ll…

Suzanne Kasler knows an incomparable view when she sees one. When the interior designer first laid eyes on the home her clients had purchased in the Bahamas, she was transfixed by the water views that hemmed the home. It had nice bones, she says, “but was in desperate need of new charm and inspiration.” Her creative wheels began turning almost immediately. “The house was in need of a major renovation, but I saw so much potential, primarily because of its position right on the ocean,” says Kasler. “The most exciting thing about a project like this is starting over and completely reimagining it, while also trying to create something that feels like it could have been here all along. We didn’t want the house to lose its island charm. It needed…