Where Design and Interiors Meets Happiness and Wellbeing
A few days ago I had a rare treat – and a very special day trip. I went on my first ever visit to Dublin (together with my parents), to see the city where my mother spent much of her childhood.
It was still dark when we left London and as we flew towards the coast of Ireland morning was just breaking.
The tallest hotel in London is set to open on 6 May.
Shangri-La Hotel, At The Shard, London will occupy levels 34 to 52 of the glass-clad skyscraper. And will actually be the tallest hotel in Western Europe. Offering the most breath-taking views of the city, it will unfold in all directions to reveal iconic landmarks such as the River Thames, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral and Big Ben.
Now that autumn is here with colder weather and the nights drawing in earlier, doesn’t this room look like a snug place to hibernate for a while?
This cosy looking bedroom with its sloping wood-beamed roof is one of the five star rooms at the Lloyd Hotel Amsterdam.
It is an unusual hotel, with an even more surprising history, as I discovered.
It may look like a setting from a futuristic film set. But the image above was actually taken at Liege-Guillemins train station in Belgium. It was designed by one of my favourite architects: Santiago Calatrava.
Last week I travelled through the station en-route to IMM Cologne (the International Furniture Fair in Cologne). It was freezing – about minus 4 degrees celcius – and still dark outside because it was so early in the morning. But despite that, seeing this station for the first time with its amazing architecture, was mesmerising.
San Giorgio Hotel is not like a typical hotel. In fact, the interior doesn’t look much like a hotel at all. It’s more like staying in the holiday home of a cool friend. Or the kind of hideaway you wish you had as your own personal bolt-hole whenever you felt the need to escape away for a few days.
Southern Ocean Lodge is a fusion of modern design and nature. If you’ve ever wanted to get away from it all to somewhere completely different, a place of total relaxation and a retreat from the stresses of every day. Then I think I have found just the place for you.
This unique boutique hotel is situated on Kangaroo Island in Southern Australia. Known as Australia’s Galapagos, the island features spectacular natural attractions, native wildlife and views of the South Ocean stretching toward the Antarctic. With more than a third of Kangaroo Island declared as a conservation or national park, it is the perfect place to explore and get close to nature. The climate is Mediterranean like, with warm summers and temperate winters.
