Bahamian Dreaming: What We're Reading and Sipping This Fall
The Bahamas is calling. What better place to get away for true rest and relaxation? The average annual temperature in the paradisiacal archipelago is about 75 degrees. The sand is often pink…the shade of a glass of rosé, especially transfixing along lapping turquoise water. And the only things on our to-do list are to sail, swim, indulge and enjoy….so yes, we’re bringing a book (or seven!). In honor of our new Scout Folding Yacht Collection, we put together some of our favorite reads for sun-swept destinations. These books will give you a sand-in-the-toes feeling, no SPF necessary. (Scroll on to see the recipe for an authentic Bahamian tipple—the forever classic Goombay Smash.)
On island time: What We're reading
India Hicks: Island Style
A barefoot romp through India Hicks’ riveting family backstory (a bridesmaid for Lady Diana, Hicks’ lineage extends to Queen Victoria; her Godfather, King Charles III, wrote the foreword). She’s also the daughter of the iconic decorator David Hicks, and it shows throughout the book in her peerless boho-meets-beach style and her deep ties to Harbour Island, where she and her partner own several homes.
Island Follies: Romantic Homes of the Bahamas
Charting the course of Henry Melich, an architect who effectively kick-started Neoclassicism in the Caribbean…as cinematically captured by Slim Aarons. It’s a treasure trove of Instagrammable living—tented rooms, colonnades—all made long before the app even existed.
Island Hopping: Amanda Lindroth
We want to live in Amanda’s world: where hand-painted trompe l’oeil details, chinoiserie, and crisply tailored rattan bring notes of classicism to seafront living.
Rattan: A World of Elegance and Charm
Style icons ranging from Babe Paley to Axel Vervoordt have long embraced rattans for their textural, earthy feel. Written by the owner of Soane Britain, this book turns the humble-seeming material—furniture and accessories woven from palm stems—into the star it is, with anecdotes and deep-dives into how these pieces can be painstakingly crafted for decades of use.
Sublime Hideaways
Modernist architectural retreats are the focus of this transporting tome, which includes mirror-like structures deep in the forest and breezy oceanfront idylls alike. Spare in design, every page feels like a breath of salty, open air.
A House by the Sea: Bunny Williams
This compendium of seaside style homes on Bunny Williams’ own home in Punta Cana, La Colina, with insights from the aesthetic wizards who helped her bring it to such resplendent life—including architect Gil Schafer and gardener Page Dickey. Warning: you may find you have real estate FOMO from reading it.
The Ocean Club
Bond, James Bond, was here. Filming for not one but two Bond films is just one inimitable part of the storied history of this legendary hotel (now a Four Seasons Resort), where Versailles-inspired gardens and a 12th century Franciscan monastery are only a whiff of the coastal grandeur.
Cheers: Our Bahamian Insider’s Recipe for a Goombay Smash
Generations of Bahamian locals and sun-hungry visitors alike have fallen for the Goombay Smash cocktail. Our recipe blends four heady rums and freshly pressed juices for the ultimate frothy fun…even if you’re sipping by the fire as the Autumn leaves whirl.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 oz dark Caribbean style aged rum
1 oz premium coconut rum
1/2 oz silver Caribbean style rum
1/4 oz premium spiced rum
2 1/2 oz freshly pressed pineapple juice
1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
juice of 1/2 lime
DIRECTIONS
Hero image by ©Francesco Lagnese/OTTO (designed by Marshall Watson and Kate Reid)
