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Feel-good yellow headlines as we potter through a collage of all things yellow. Named as sibling colour of the year 2021 by those tonal gurus Pantone, 13-0647 to be precise, together with amigo grey:17-5104.
Ever since viewing Olafur Eliasson and Frederik Ottesen's, 'Little Sun' back in 2012 at the Tate Modern in London (remember those days of visiting a gallery), the installation of solar power made me smile.
The face of the iconic "Smiley", Post-its, NYC cabs, Selfridges of London, the rubber duck, Dorothy followed it, and the Sherbert dip, yellow is instantly uplifting. A brush of sunshine that makes us feel good, can even perk up the weather and ignite a smile.
Sleep with Miss Lemon from Raf Simons in Vienna, get your hound rainproofed, strutting gents in yellow to why the cover of Dracula was originally in yellow (and blood red of course), and see what a perfumer in London created turning her crafts to making the humble olive oil sing with the notes of citrus.
Travel through our pineapple candy, and amigos, let the smile begin.
Hugs from the desk on the Thames,
Iain + Crew
PS: Dear Grey, sorry fellow, but we are not so in love, maybe later in the year.
When is a hotel more than a hotel? Meet the Venice Venice. A poetic fusion of heritage, culture and creativity sweeps this palacio-hotel to the forefront of where to stay when in Venice. Step inside to an eclectic and energetic take on art curation and interior design, showcasing the owners’ mettle with multifaceted mediums and the fusion of old and new, featuring tapestries, paintings, photography, and sculpture set against the tactile patina of age.
Bringing sunshine into the home. The Torii Love console, designed by Studiopepe, lets the traditional Japanese portals, the torii, shine in a new light. With a harmonious fusion of distant visions and emotions, an impressive physicality is created. The sturdy tabletop acts as an architrave, supported by two legs reminiscent of supporting columns. A fascinating design that combines elegance and functionality.
Designed by Elio Martinelli in 1976, the eye-catching 685 Elmetto Table Lamp from Martinelli Luce, referred to a "reliable friend, a companion of the evening", sits right at home at the 70s glampot, Seehotel Ambach.
Hawking back to the glam Martini bars of the mid-50s, this little number in gold by Galleria del Vento (Interior design studio COLCIAGO | C&A) resides at the bird's eye mountain retreat: Miramonti Hotel. Perfectly pitched to try their Gin made with foraged ingredients from the forests, which, if you cannot wait to go (soon), then check out their online shop.
Parisa started Maxbone with one premise: to disrupt the dog industry through modern designs and address the need for beautifully designed yet functional pet products. Walking in the rain never felt so good. The iconic Talon Raincoat offers the perfect blend of functionality, breathability, and comfort.
Fabulous farmhouse luxury decks this Italian hotel in the hilltops of Versilia close to Tuscany's coastline hot picks Forte dei Marmi and Viareggio. Owner and native Tuscano, Riccardo Barsottelli has channelled his love for Tuscany, the arts, fashion, vintage finds and worldly travel into Locanda al Colle, creating a bohemian retreat of elegant, sophisticated design, an extension of his own creative imaginario and lifestyle.
Condé Nast Traveller puts this lakeside retreat into the Best New Hotels in the World Hotlist 2024, and here's why. As if plucked from the Dutch Golden Age, this waterside hideaway is just 20 minutes from Amsterdam, a sanctum of restored heritage designed by studio Belén. A tactile approach to raw materiality can be seen throughout from reed grass rugs, tulipwood veneer headboards and textured walls made of shredded boating ropes that play on the hotel’s nautical heritage.
Set against the dramatic canvas of the forested Carpathian Mountains and the high Beskydy (Beskids) range of Czechia, Mezi Plutky is a tiny boutique hotel that sits on the county ‘fence’ of Wallachia and Lachia, where one folk architecture connects to the other. Inside gorgeous old sandstone floorings, limed whites, honeyed gabled beams, planking and lots of putty-coloured linens and throws evoke modern rurality with design accents by the likes of Karl Andersson Soner, Hay, Ronan Bouroullec, Patricia Urquiola and the bemusing rocking-sheep by Povl Kjer.
In this favourite suite, a vintage desk Ozoo by Marc Berthier, France 1967, headlines at the insatiably gorgeous private-hire casa in Portugal, which comes with six additional suites, a pool garden, lounges, conversation-worthy artwork and plenty of design DNA.
An old sea captain’s house in the off-radar Croatian town of Lovran in Istria has recently been re-energised with a new vision of eclectic whimsy and design credentials – a coastal menagerie of style, polished antiques, curios, Murano lighting, textile 'hand' installations by Wiener Time, an 80s Tom Dixon classic in cowhide, and Eileen Gray's E 1027 table set the eclectic tone of this seaside residence.
Wittmann, Austrian handcraft since 1896 - was the perfect partner for the legendary hotel Blaue Gans in the heartlands of oldtown Salzburg. Antique baroque doors, marble-floored entrance halls and ornamented ceilings transport guests to the grandeur of centuries past. Wittmann furniture in cool blue, yellow and orange, and the Wings beds with hand-made Wittmann mattresses promise the highest levels of comfort. An interior that will truly give you goosebumps.
Fornasetti Clouds sleep with Raf Simons in Vienna. Vienna Design Week curator Lilli Hollein and her husband, designer Markus Eiblmayr, create a master suite at the Hotel Altstadt Vienna. Adolf Loos’ classic mirror trick to expand the room creates a sense of drama.
Reworked timbers, laden cloths, traditional carpentry, engineering and architectural imagination often escort these contemporary hotels of modern alpine design and creativity. Less is sometimes more in the Alps.
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Bold, creative and inspired by the dramatics of their mountain locations - these alpine architecture pitstops are for the design enthusiast.
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Design rebels, hospitality mavericks, and fearless creators—Rebel Femmes is a roll call of women shaping travel, style, and architecture with attitude. Iconic hotels, bold visions, and cultural game-changers.
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Ten architectural hideaways, from forest pods in Norway to vineyard villas in Alentejo. Alpine modernism, island calm, Lisbon rhythm and one breezy Turkish beauty. Small hotels with big design thinking.
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Zaha Hadid Architect's coastal Salerno Maritime Terminal in Cilento, Italy carries her hallmark curves inspired by oysters and the waves, a coastal landmark.
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Zaha Hadid's architectural masterpiece atop Kronplatz in South Tyrol, the Messner Mountain Museum, is a concrete designer ode to the history of mountaineering.
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Behind some of Scotland's landmark conservation and restoration projects including the award-winning Kyle House, Hotel Lundies and Killiehuntly Farmhouse in the Highlands.
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Even though it’s not always easy to spot, the architectural designs of Milan based Peter Pichler Architecture can be considered traditional in many ways. Their sleek, pointed and stark lines may not look it, but they are deeply inspired by nature and by the surrounding vernacular architecture.
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Brothers Tarla and Antoin MacGabhann are the creative talents behind some of Ireland's more modernist eco builds including the little design hotel Breac.House in Donegal.
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As the property neared finishing, Fabio took the decision to keep the garden wild and naturally indigenous – where the boundaries between garden and rural countryside were blurred.
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The master of reductive design, Belgium architect and interior designer Vincent Van Duysen is a behemoth legend of pared-back aesthetic and minimalist style over a spectrum of design disciplines, including furniture, textiles, and lighting.
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Made of over 850 glass panels and steel rods, the Nordpark Cable Railway created the world’s largest structures using double-curved glass in construction.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.