Live it up- way up
Leave it to Crate & Barrel’s CB2 to make summer drinking more stylish-and affordable. These 11-inch-tall, jewel-colored martini glasses ($3.95 each) take cocktails to new heights (3757 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-755-3900; 800 W. North Ave., 312-787-8329).
-Jan Parr
Millennium Park, closer to home
Enough already with the teak, the wicker, the tried and true. When it comes to patio furniture-as with band shells and bridges-architect Frank Gehry marches to a different drummer. A shinier drummer. His sculptural Outdoor Collection is made from weatherproof molded polymer with a gleaming silver resin finish; the hollow but strong pieces are amusingly rearrangeable. Shown here are the Left Twist and Right Twist cubes ($200 each), bench ($400), and sofa ($1,200), all at Design Within Reach (10 E. Ohio St., 312-280-4677).
-Joanne Trestrail
The heat of the moment
When is a grill not a grill-or more than a grill? When it’s a versatile stainless steel Barrel Grill by Eva Solo, that’s when. This sleekly minimalist Danish cooker, which won an international design award last year, can be used as a smoker or as a small fire pit, as well as for direct and indirect grilling. A removable coal bucket is easy to access when it’s time to empty the ashes. And a flat lid turns the grill, when not otherwise in use, into a serving table, or sits on its own collapsible legs (sold separately). A domed lid and well-designed barbecue utensils are also available. It’s $450 at Orange Skin (223 W. Erie St., 312-335-1033).
-Joanne Trestrail