Baby, it's hot outside!

At my mother Jojo's house in Birmingham—with 6,000 square feet to cool—even a Hartsfield-Jackson-sized air conditioning unit can't quell her Scandinavian desire for 64 degrees at all times. So, we have fans and window units in every room to beat the heat. But if the days are really scorching, we head to cousin Fran's pool around lunchtime and submerge ourselves until the 9 o'clock showing of So You Think You Can Dance. Here's how local tastemakers beat the Georgia heat—in style.

SARA STEINFELD
“With an ice bucket of Champagne nearby, I love to sit on my loggia under my outdoor ceiling fan with a good book and sip, read and watch my family play on the lawn.” —Steinfeld's interior design firm, Sara Steinfeld Ltd., was most recently featured in our June issue

RAY GOINS
“Being a South Carolina boy, summer always means sand and sandals. I was born in the middle of August, and the summer heat provides a cleansing for my soul. You can't beat the setting sun at 4 or 5 in the afternoon while sitting in an herb garden sipping a Sauvignon blanc or, better yet, my own twist on a Southern fave: a gin and tonic with a splash of cranberry and mint leaves. Summer means the smeEmill of crops, the sound of June bugs and the sweet fruit of a fig tree! How sweet it is.” —Goins is the artist and entrepreneur behind R. L. Goins, an Atlanta-based atelier that creates custom, handmade furniture. RLGoins.com

EMILY AMY
“There is no better place to escape the heat of an Atlanta summer than in the shade of my relaxing screened-in porch—with the fan on high, of course!” —Amy's eponymous contemporary art gallery is located in Atlanta's burgeoning West Side design district. EmilyAmyGallery.com

WALTER MAZZANTI
“I get a bunch of seasonal fruit, make an ice-cold smoothie, stick my feet in the pool and remember all that I am grateful for!” —Mazzanti's interior design firm is Abitato Inc.