The First Malibu Chateau Edit: 12 Things I Would Buy Again

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This first Malibu Chateau edit is not meant to be a giant list of everything we own. It is a living, edited note on the family, home, garden, baby, beach, and hosting pieces I would actually buy again.

My standard is simple: did it earn its space? Does it make a real part of family life easier and prettier — just all-around life lovelier? Would I recommend it to another mother without needing to add seven disclaimers and a dramatic pause? Here are twelve pieces in the current edit, with what each is for, where it lives, and what I would change if I could.

1. COZYNANA Newborn Knotted Gown

This is for the soft newborn days when you want something gentle on the skin and eyes as well as simple to use. It lives folded — or unwrinkling in a pile — in a drawer alongside the other early baby pieces, the ones that make those first weeks feel a little lighter during exhausted late-night diaper changes. The fabric has give, is easy to clean, and lasts surprisingly well because you can adjust the knot as the baby grows through different shapes and stages. I would change how quickly babies outgrow this season, but apparently that is not a product feature anyone can fix.

2. 31-Piece Picnic Basket Set for Four with Insulated Liner

This is for proper picnics, back-garden lunches, beach-adjacent snacks, and the kind of hosting that feels casual but still wants a little charm. The neutral four-person picnic basket set actually lives on display in our kitchen because it blends so easily into the decor. Other times, it stays in the car, ready to be filled after a quick stop at the grocer before we pick up the kids for an afternoon adventure. I would change the fact that picnic sets take up an unforgiving amount of trunk space, but when the goal is to make family meals outside easier while giving the children a chance to burn off some energy, it more than earns the room.

3. LANE LINEN 100% Cotton Luxury Bathroom Towel Set

This is for the practical side of a pretty home: bathrooms, guest spaces, sandy children, and the constant family need for clean towels. It lives in the linen closet, tossed around, or hung on random pieces of available furniture. It handles heavy use while still looking and feeling fabulous wash after wash. This is not just a decorative towel everyone is afraid to touch. Worst case, there is always bleach. I often stick with white or off-white linen bases because they make seasonal changes easier with four children and work happening around them. I would change only that no towel folds itself after laundry, which remains a personal disappointment.

4. Sperry Women’s Angelfish Boat Shoe in Linen/Oat

The linen-and-oat women’s boat shoe is for Malibu errands, beach mornings, school runs, and days when sandals feel too bare but sneakers feel like too much. It lives by the door because that is where the shoes that actually get worn always end up, yet it somehow looks almost catalog-like even when strewn around there. I like the color because it mixes with nearly everything, and the permanent bow means no bending down to tie an extra lace when your hands are full. They also get more comfortable with wear, and the wearing makes them look a little more vintage rather than simply worn out. I would change nothing other than wishing they were more socially acceptable for date nights too.

5. Sperry Girls’ Songfish A/C Boat Shoe

The matching girls’ boat shoe is for a child who needs a real shoe that is comfortable, durable, functional, and still looks chic most anywhere she goes. It works with dresses, shorts, little beach-town outfits, and family days when children need to look put together but still move easily — and perhaps match Mommy and Daddy too. It lives on the shoe rack, in a basket, or left around with ours, which is less picturesque than I want it to be. Somehow the boat shoes still look attractive even scattered by the door. I would only change how quickly children outgrow shoes. The leather does give with wear, though, which buys them — and us — a little more time than many shoes do.

6. Godinger Bar Set — Cocktail Shaker and Stainless Ice Bucket

The Godinger bar set is for the grown-up side of hosting: the tray, the glassware, the evening drink, and the reassuring feeling that the adults still live here too. It lives with the entertaining pieces of the same style and turns a small bar moment in the primary suite into a tiny staycation. I would change the fact that glass can break, but I like that this one feels substantial. It brings a little old-school elegance into a family house while matching not only almost any future decor — clear crystal is wonderfully cooperative — but also the children’s and outdoor acrylic pieces mentioned elsewhere in the journal.

7. 3/4 Wine-Barrel Planter or Table Base

The wine-barrel planter and table base is for the garden, patio, or any outdoor corner that needs a touch of sustainable beauty and practicality. It has the weathered coastal-yet-European feeling I love, and it can act as a planter, coffee-table base, or strong visual anchor. It lives outside, where it looks best with overflowing sage greenery and dappled sun. Although heavy, it rolls on its side more easily than you might expect — but not so easily that a young child can lift it into trouble. I would change that the wine does not come with it.

8. EasyGo Tassel Backpack Beach Chair

The tassel backpack beach chair is for beach mornings when function still wants to look charming. The white trim, wooden arms, and tassel detail make it feel more inviting than a standard beach chair. The backpack design, dry pouch, cooler, phone holder, and cup holder help when everyone is carrying something and would like to sit down without beginning a second setup. Sometimes we each take one of these and an umbrella because it can hold nearly everything needed for the day while leaving one hand free for a child — or a quick photo. I would change the eternal truth that beach chairs collect sand, but c’est la vie when the chair provides so much else.

9. Coastal Blue Boho Decorative Throw Pillow Cover

This coastal-blue pillow cover is for bringing a little softness, relaxation, utility, texture, and coastal color into a neutral room without making the space feel themed. It lives on a chair, sofa, or bench depending on the season and the current pillow rotation. I would change that pillow covers need inserts, but I would rather do that than risk ruining an entire pillow — or the entire machine — in the wash.

10. Piper Classics Market Ticking Stripe Grain-Sack Curtain and Pillow Case

This is for the more classic side of the house: subtle stripes, cool hues, and that collected farmhouse-meets-coastal feeling. It lives wherever the room needs a quiet pattern, decent shading, and a unifying, timeless touch. It can be scrunched, tabbed, hooked, or ribbon-tied as we do it. While it is decently room-darkening, it leaves a little room for syncing with the sun, which may not be ideal for a truly random deep sleep, but it generally provides what is needed. The matching pillow cases help pull the room together. Children still view pillows as building materials, so nothing stays perfectly placed for long; fortunately, they look good from either side.

11. Dandelion Basic Pattern 100% Naturally Dyed Cotton Towel

This is for fitting into a beach bag, bathroom, kitchen, or any place where a useful towel can double as decor. It lives in the linen stack, basket, drawer, or hanging around depending on the week. I like towels that do more than one job because family storage is not infinite, but spills, warmth, and easy family-photo moments are. I would change that lighter textiles, even beautifully patterned ones, occasionally show stains. At least this fabric and pattern wear as though they came from Cinderella’s fairytale kitchen — and there is always the miracle of Shout, another product I should probably keep on staff.

12. mioeco Organic Cotton Turkish Hand Towel

I know this post is a bit towel-heavy, but if you are around little children, you understand why. Perhaps I am finally finding a moment to clean up my thoughts, so beginning with towels feels sensible. We also do not need — or want — a ridiculous amount of trash from too many paper towels. I save that problem for my husband with the Amazon boxes. Trash Tetris should definitely be a future topic of reflection. The organic-cotton Turkish hand towel works beautifully with the larger towels above but provides a little more heft where needed. It lives wherever I need something useful that still looks thoughtful. I like that Turkish-style towels feel light and pretty without being fussy. I would change that small towels disappear faster than seems mathematically possible.

The edit will keep changing. The Malibu Chateau edit will grow slowly, with a bigger linked list eventually. I would rather share fewer things with more honesty than build an instant list that feels loud, rushed, or purely shoppable.

For now, these are the pieces that feel most like the house: simple, helpful, coastal, practical, and a little romantic. They are not perfect. Nothing in a family home is. But they earn their place, and that is the standard I trust most.