Poetics

An email pinged in announcing a new menu at a foodie hotspot on the fringes of Amsterdam  –  and suddenly, I was hooked. I mean, how exactly does a chef conjure this kind of alchemy? It also reminded me of my closing chapter, 'Spaghetti Curry', in our latest magazine, Design Natives  –  if you haven’t read it yet, nab a copy before they disappear.

Now imagine if interiors were written in the same lyrical cadence. Think: Tangerine Marc Newson Nimrod Chair drizzled in Farrow & Ball greys, or Honeyed Thonet served Art Nouveau sunny side up. Maybe even canary yellow marshmallow walls glazed in oxide reds? It’s a heady recipe of visuals, mood and colour.

As I lift off from Türkiye, my mind’s already racing ahead  –  interior storytelling, food, hotels and design destinations all merging into one airborne stream of inspiration. I’m already plotting my next visits before we’ve even hit cruising altitude: why you should head to Barcelona this September, a sublime villa spa retreat near Merano, and yes  –  where to get your lips around a caramelised celeriac pie with Szechuan pepper and vanilla ice cream. Also: the Golden Goose founders’ hideaway in a 13th-century Byzantine palazzo and read about the flavour-rich shores of Chios, Greece.

I am in flight mode...

Clouding poetics...

Whenever I board a train, ferry or plane, I’ve got a stash of printed reading with me. Technically, my hand luggage is an overstuffed affair  –  cunningly disguised in my rucksack so those hungry ground staff hunters don't suspect I have too much luggage with me. Inside: my holy trinity of magazines, a good book, and usually a copy of the weekend papers that I didn’t quite get round to finishing.

Travel time is sacred  –  a space for fresh thinking. Print is my go-to companion: packed with stories, perspectives, provocations, artist interviews, chef spotlights and creative musings. (I usually skip the politics section  –  I know, I should stay current, but it just doesn’t do it for me mid-air or anytime).

I also take this rare offline time to wade through the backlog of downloaded documents and emails that flood my inbox between take-offs. With my iPhone full of notes and a pile of ripped-out pages to show for it, I catch up on everything from designer press drops to interesting collabs and new hotel whispers.

Architecture, culture, interior and design-related mags never leave my side, nor does my appetite for culinary creativity. But it was that Amsterdam menu email that sparked a thought: why don’t interior designers take a cue from chefs when describing their fusions, layers and sensory storytelling? Wouldn’t that make design narratives so much more delicious?

So this week’s Sunday Edit was born  –  from a menu, from the inbox and from a stray thought in the sky. Expect the usual medley: from Merano to Barcelona, Portugal to a lakeside icon of modernism in Italy and that Venetian palazzo now reimagined as a design haunt on the Grand Canal.

About to land now  –  shame really. Some of these pages might make it onto the return trip or, if luck has it, onto a beach lounger for a cheeky hour in Türkiye. 

First up, it's the gorgeous VILLAVERDE - an amazing coordinate for lovers of elegance, style and replenishment.

Hugs,
Iain & Co.

Fancy a dip?

Try the natural swimming pond - clear and green and edged by purifying reeds and darting dragon flies.

A Hot Date in Barcelona

A think tank for the bold, the curious, the creators of tomorrow. Where minds collide, conversations spark and urban life gets redefined. If you shape the future, you belong here.

Sorbet Nimrods

With a handful of rooms, suites and studios to opt for, it is tough to know which one to fall in love with - they each have a distinct identity and are all infectiously gorgeous. The lovely patinas of age, curated design and meaningful art are the core comfort components of your sleeping quarters at the villa Casa Fortunato. Bright sorbet tones illuminate the chalked white interiors, and daylight dances across the wooden floors and rugs bathed in Portuguese sunlight. Whether you opt to sleep alongside a Foscarini Filo table lamp, rock in a Marc Newson Nimrod chair or snuggle up with a Patricia Urquiola-designed sofa - your sleepscape is simply beautiful.

Szechuan Pepper + Vanilla Ice-Cream

Simplicity and intensity of flavour are undoubtedly the taste hallmarks of Restaurant De Mark. Not only the buzzing dining destination at the heart of boutique hotel De Durgerdam, but it is also the culinary hotspot and social hub by Head Chef Koen Marees and collaborators, Amsterdam’s gourmet heroes, Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot of Michelin-star restaurants 212 and De Juwelier. 

A must-do for any foodies out there - also a convenient spot for a lakeside sleepover when close to Amsterdam.

The Goose in Venice

Husband and wife team Francesca Rinaldo and Alessandro Gallo, owners of the hotel, founders of clothing and footwear brand Golden Goose and homegrown residents of Venice, wanted the Venice Venice to be an homage to their city, and of course, to the building itself. Its history speaks of a crossroads of discovery from when the palazzo was a trading hub and knowledge-exchange, further compounded in the 17th-century Grand Tour when it became a hotel that housed the European wanderers, dreamers, artists and aristocrats who flocked to Venice in search of enlightenment.

In the Groove

A groovy icon from the seventies, Seehotel Ambach, presides over the shores of Lake Caldaro in Italy’s South Tyrol with its perfectly formed, curvaceous marshmallowy walls of laid-back glamour and a canvas of tangerine, vert and oxide red, which drape mid-century furniture pieces.

Once a Manor House + Pizzeria

Unloved and listing, 1280 Krone’s colourful history was in danger of going to ruin, along with the crumbling walls that witnessed the old inn as a bijou manor house, a residential building, a farmer's store and even a pizzeria. Stripped back, then infinitesimally built upon with a delicate purity of form and respect for materials, Hotel Krone in Germany comprises four neighbouring houses, including a barn, presenting a jigsaw puzzle of heritage charm.

Spaghetti Curry

In the new print magazine of Design Natives, the Last Word chapter rambles on about Spaghetti Curry?  Here's an excerpt.

"Are they compatible? Absolutely. The most intriguing pairings are often unscripted. A tangle of pasta meets an unexpected kick of spice – much like our philosophy of travel, where seemingly disparate elements converge into something extraordinary. Contrast is a defining principle, as seen in our Scandi-Scot Highland retreat, where Nordic restraint meets the textured warmth of Scottish tradition. Or in the seamless fusion of ancient craftsmanship and modernist geometry. This appreciation for contrast informs an unspoken design language – a practice that resists predictability yet feels entirely intuitive. It is what defines these places and the minds behind them."

Whitewashed Beauty

Tucked between Tavira and Cacela Velha – where old sea towns fade into orange groves and the Formosa delta melts into deserted beaches – Pensão Agrícola is your countryside retreat with a backstory. Once a working farm gifted in 1920 as a wedding present, this whitewashed hideaway is now a beautifully restored quinta, reimagined by Atelier RUA with nostalgia, restraint, and a hint of rural mischief.

Made in Chios

In a sea of fads and food noise, there’s something quietly, stubbornly special about CITRUS – a Greek brand rooted in the fragrant groves of Chios, where the scent of mandarins mingles with salt air and memory. This isn’t just a company crafting sweets – it’s a slow-food manifesto dressed in marmalade and loukoumi, a family-run venture where heritage meets honesty, and where tradition isn’t a buzzword, it’s the base note of every bite.