Dreaming of: backyard hangouts

I've been thinking about summertime and all the good things that come with it for a while now (ignore the sky-high temps, sticky humidity and frizzy hair, and instead think about outdoor concerts, beach trips and summer farmers' markets). Summer is now officially in full swing - hot hot hot during the day - but the nights have still been relatively cool and perfect for lounging outside, making me go from thinking about the coming summer to dreaming of a proper backyard to hang out in during starry summer evenings and mellow summer weekends.

Wouldn't any of these three backyard room be the perfect place to hang out?:

Designed by Mary McGee, spotted on SHELTER.

Love the idea of a having seagrass or sisal rug outdoors and underfoot, paired with crisp whites and awesome pillows (don't they look totally lounge-worthy?).

This next one is drool-inducing too:

Photo from Living Etc. magazine, spotted on Design Mom.

This is actually the backyard of Jenna Lyons (Creative Director at J. Crew) - and it's in New York - who has that kind of outdoor space in the city?? It's basically an urban oasis. I die for the staircase and the lovely cherry blossom tree.

And finally, some built-in entertainment:

Photo from Country Living magazine, of the backyard of West Elm Creative Director Alex Bates' Fire Island home.

I don't really play chess, but I might make an exception in this gorgeous setting.

Ah, someday... a girl can dream... (maybe they'll have invented mini outdoor AC units by then too...)