Hotel Fasano Boa Vista

'Boa Vista' indeed. Both inside and out!
Hotel Fasano Boa Vista is in the Brazilian countryside, just outside Sao Paolo amongst 13 natural lakes and with beautiful views ('boa vista') of the Ipanema mountain range. The hotel itself was designed by Brazilian architect, Isay Weinfeld and has a strong connection to the nature around it. Sustainability and the use of local materials were also key. The owner, Rogerio Fasano was heavily involved with the interior specification and makes a huge understatement when he says 'there is a slight Sixties and Seventies influence'.
Isn't it glorious?

Images from Fasano Boa Vista and Sleeper

Painted On Paris

The Guilded Suite, La Maison Champs Élysées, Paris. Designed by Martin Margiela. Nice, huh? (no, Paris...ha ha...hmmm...)

La Maison Champs Élysées

Rad Riad

I've been to Marrakesh. It's an incredible place. A veritable attack on the senses. Whether it be the intense aromas of spices in the souks; the sweet, refreshing peppermint tea; the sounds and smells of the main square at night; the beautiful vivid colours of the Berber rugs and coloured glass lanterns and hand painted tagines; it's all pretty intense.
It takes a lot of concentration and restraint when picking up key interior pieces for your home, whilst on holiday. A bright orange, handwoven rug, or beautifully painted geometric tile can make a room but it can also stand out like a sore thumb. If you're shopping abroad you have to stay grounded and keep relating back to home...Would the bold cobalt blue of the Majorelle gardens, really work with the flat, white light of a Scottish winter? It's very easy to get swept up in the romance of the situation when you see how well the colours and pieces work in context.
Check this out: The Morrocan geometric tiles, layered Berber rugs and juicy coloured walls mixed with a few contemporary twists, in this Marrakesh riad work a treat ...

What have you bought abroad that worked or didn't work when you got it home?

Thinking of Sunshine...

In a few weeks we're taking a trip. A trip to the other side of the world. A trip to a place where, right now, it's summer. We are, to say the least, excited. So here's a little summer balminess in the form of a spring/summer 2012 sneak peek from b.young. It's going to be a bright summer...oranges and pinks all over the place! Which is just as well because apparently 'Tangerine Tango' is Pantone's colour of the year!

We are not too excited, however, about travelling for 24 hours with an 8 month old baby who loves his routine and will be between nutritional stages...any tips will be gratefully received!

The Merchant Hotel Spa

I was lucky enough to join a brilliant design team that specialized in Spa design and consultancy when I finished college. The new spa at The Merchant Hotel in Belfast was one of the projects I was involved in for the initial design stages before I moved on. It's been completed for a couple of years now but it's great to see how the design developed and the compromises that were made along the way. I love the sexy graphics used on the shower doors in the treatment rooms and throughout! Very tempted to book a relaxing weekend in Belfast now...

Images from The Merchant Hotel

Paper Gifts

For our first wedding anniversary we got each other paper gifts.
As we were visiting Paris, my grand plan was to take my husband to the comic book artist, Moebius' shop where he could choose a limited edition print and hopefully have it signed. However, after an expensive taxi ride to the opposite side of the French capital, in a month when Parisiennes generally vacate the city...the shop was closed.
Fortunately, on our last day we took the Metro out to La Defense, home to La Grande Arche and many more futuristic, architectural phenomenons on the outskirts of the city where we happened upon an awesome art store called, Arteum. Needless to say we were there for quite some time exploring the shelves.
I eventually found my 36 year old husband in the 'Petits Artiste' section where he proclaimed, with much excitement, that he had found what he wanted, from me, for our anniversary....a large model cardboard robot by Calafant...
My husband got me 'Sundays Are For Lovers'; a lovely book curated by Maria Alexandra Vettese, by independant American publishers, Lines & Shapes, in which artists express what they like to get up to on a Sunday...I love it.
How do you spend your Sunday?

Book images courtesy of Lines & Shapes via Daily Candy
Robot available from here

Ovale

If there's one thing the Parisiennes can do well (apart from architecture, food, style, baking, etc etc) it's retail display. Whilst window shopping (much cheaper than real shopping) in St Germaine one evening (best time to see window displays) on our recent trip, we came across this baby shop full of sleeping polar bears...



photographs by me

I'll take...that one...

After the obligatory morning at the very impressive, Eiffel Tower, we boarded the Bateaux Mouche one sunny afternoon and settled down for 1hr and 10 minutes of learning. Rather than looking starboard and port, when instructed, to see yet another monument France was gifted, I found myself snapping the Paris apartments I would most like to live in...check these out...
It seems, a view of Paris through large windows is a must on my fantasy property wishlist...fancy that?!

photography by me

Merci

One of the shops on my list for our trip was Merci, a favourite amongst bloggers and designers, so I couldn't have passed it up...
Merci is a charity shop with a difference; Designers donate peices to be sold and all proceeds go to help children, mainly in Madagascar. A concept put into practice by the founders, of childrens store, Bonpoint, Marie-France and Bernard Cohen.
It still puzzles me though. There were designers there assembling displays, staff, serving coffee and assisting shop and the property itself must have been extortionate!
Either way, what a place!
Jewellery, accessories (including a separate Mulberry bag 'zone') and a beautiful Annick Goutal, D-I-Y perfume bar greet you upon entering the bright, airy shop through the courtyard set back from the busy, Boulevard Beaumarchais. Then you make your way up a couple of steps to the stationery and baby merchandise, and through the huge furniture, clothing (designer & vintage) and homeware section. Then downstairs to lighting (see the Foscarini for Diesel pendants below) and kitchenware, complete with a restaurant and courtyard.
You end up with the irresistible option to exit through the 'used book café' where you can sit on an array of upcycled furniture, (all with price tags) and sip a café creme, whilst perusing the floor-to-ceiling book shelves...

all photography by me

We're back!

So we're back from Paris and are now off to a 2-day wedding in the Scottish borders so apologies for the lack of blog posts this week. I do have a couple of goodies lined up from the trip...if my photos are up to grade...
We had a lovely time; saw some sites, walked a fair bit, shopped a little and ate a lot!
We tried not to spend too much but Paris is expensive and the Euro is strong (against the pound) so I thought it best to leave this dress in the good hands of Givenchy, for now...it wouldn't have fit into our Ryanair, 10kg limit, hand luggage anyway...

oh...and ...if you've got a minute, you could vote for me here if you like...Thanks x

À Bientôt

We're off to speak pigeon french with Scottish et Australian accents to angry Parisiens, drink café au lait and hopefully not buy anything that won't fit in our hand luggage (Ryanair)...

Many thanks for the suggestions on my previous Paris blog post and on twitter...much appreciated. Thanks to you and some famille, we have a (very) loose itinerary and even looser dinner reservations, other than that we're just going to soak it all up and in the immortal words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, 'fly by the seat of our pants'.
No doubt I'll take beaucoup de photos, tweet a lot and then post a little something upon our return...

...but for now, au revoir mes amis x

photography by Irene Suchoki

Sun, Sea, Sangria

The Balearic Islands in the Mediteranean, have an unfortunate reputation for being saturated with British sun-seekers, keen on drinking as much beer as possible, eating full English breakfasts, sowing there seed, and generally disgracing the nation for 3 months over the summer. There is a reason, however, why this pocket of the world became so popular in the first place; the breathtaking mountainous scenery and the stunning turquoise sea (not to mention the food, people and, pretty much, guaranteed sunshine).

I haven't given up on these jewels of the Med and certainly wouldn't turn down a week or so at one of the very cool exclusive spa resorts like Son Gener, Mallorca.

For more information: Son Gener

Paris

I'm asking a little favour...

For our 1st anniversary my husband and I have booked a (very) short trip to Paris this summer. Time is tight and eating times and shopping slots are filling up quickly, as we plan our trip. I have been a couple of times before but it will be my husband's 1st visit (apart from the Paris Bar show) and we are also meeting my father-in-law, who will be visiting Europe from Australia.

We're already looking forward to Sunday brunch at Le Fumoir, bellini's at Harry's bar and checking out Jean Paul Gaultier's apartment design for Elle Decoration as well as the usual Eiffel Tower and Louvre visits etc...

Any suggestions for bars, markets, shops & galleries, off the beaten track would be massively appreciated. My husband is a massive comic book fan, so any cool french comic stores would earn me extra brownie points!

Please leave a comment or drop me an email...thank yoooou x

Image credit

Lute Suites, Amstel

Peter Lute is a chef...a very creative and inventive chef with an eye for design. He opened a restaurant in Ouderkerk, a village on the outskirts of Amsterdam, and quickly expanded to include boardrooms and then seven freestanding suites; three-level gabled cottages, each with kitchenette and living room, all facing the Amstel River.
He hired Marcel Wanders as the designer and the results show his commitment
to surprise, delight, and elicit strong emotional response...
...not to mention, Bisazza-tastic!

Lutesuites.nl
via designhotels.com