Olga

The quintessential dream of summer is to while away an afternoon outside in a hammock: Light breezes, ideally; reading material, definitely; maybe a cold beverage on hand; some laze-around music emanating from a tiny speaker.

After a bit of wistful web surfing, my dream now involves a luxe free-standing hammock from Lujo Living.

The New Zealand-based company - which designs and manufactures top-of-the-line lounge furniture - describes its free-standing hammock as "a functional sculpture in your backyard" and "a visual masterpiece you can relax in".

That may be overstating it a bit, but it's true that the stand - made of gracefully bowed kwila hardwood - is as good-looking as it is sturdy. Unlike cheaper hammock stands made of softwoods such as larch, beech or cypress (which typically have a yellow or reddish hue), the chocolaty brown kwila wood is super durable and able to withstand rain, storms, spills and other ills.

The actual hammock, meanwhile, features marine-grade, UV-resistant Sunbrella fabric available in five colors, from sooty to black to silver blue. The bells and whistles you can purchase additionally are what really elevate the Lujo hammock to dreamy levels: e.g., attachable side pockets to store magazines, tablets, sunscreen or even drinks; and a portable Bluetooth speaker system that clips to the ropes.

Attachable side pockets solve the age-old problem of where to put all your necessities when relaxing in a hammock.

Designed to store magazines, tablets, phone, drinks (perfect for cold beers boys!), sunscreen and anything else you may need.

With a mesh backing you don’t have to worry about these filling up with water when it rains, it simply drains straight through.

Nothing beats relaxing in a hammock with your favourite chilled-out tunes playing in the background, right?

For those music lovers out there, they have developed a portable Bluetooth speaker system that attaches to the ropes on your Lujo hammock.

Made with Kwila hardwood to match stands, the speaker case clips to the ropes at either end of the hammock, and uses Bluetooth functionality to stream your favourite tunes direct to a mini-Jambox speaker, which fits snugly inside the Kwila case.

Once you’ve finished on the hammock, simply unclip the speaker and use it inside.

A single size free-standing hammock costs $2,895, including a five-year warranty and free international shipping.