St. Mawes

Back to Cornwall again!

I'll be seeing you soon

Providence

The Dean Hotel.

from Yatzer

Panama City

The American Trade Hotel, from the Ace Hotel people.

from Yatzer. More at the link

Vacay

Heading to Milan this week. Expect blogging hiatus.

London

New Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. I want a giant black and white photo of crashing waves now.

from Monocle, via Remodelista

Villa Extramuros

Want to stay here?

from Vanessa Jackman. Lots more at the link!

Money money money

More of Ilse Crawford's Ett Hem, previously featured here. Super cool wall lamps by Michael Anastassiades.

from Vogue Living Australia

Stockholm

Ilse Crawford cooks up a luxury hotel: Ett Hem.

from Yatzer

Green

The Watermill Center.

from The Selby. More at the link

Guest House in Amsterdam

Very chic Maison Rika.

via The Marion House Book

Back from Lisbon!

I'll get back into the blogging groove eventually.

Mysteries of Lisbon

Boom. I'm going to Lisbon in September. Anyone have any suggestions?

Lisbon dream, part 2

Baixa House, via Remodelista

Lisbon dream

This recent article in the Times propelled Lisbon to the top of my "places I want to visit" list. These interiors fuel the fire. Maybe this fall...

from Design*Sponge. More at the link

My trip to Asia

I thought I'd throw up a quick post about my trip, for anyone curious. I went to Asia to visit Papua, Indonesia, because I know people living there. I got a (brief) glimpse into a completely different culture and way of life and I'm so glad I went (I'd been a bit scared). That said, it's not really a place I can recommend other people visit, just because it's pretty much impossible to get around if you don't have a local to guide you.

So let's move on to my other two destinations (that I had to fly through to get to Papua). Two MAJOR destinations, and they felt major. First off, Hong Kong.

I am definitely a city girl and I was super excited about visiting Hong Kong. The weather was not very accommodating, but I still managed to hit most of the major sites I wanted to in the three days I was there, including the Star Ferry (pictured), the Peak and tea at the Peninsula. The bad weather (and being a little run down at the end of my trip) kept me from doing all the exploring I would have liked to. But that gives me lots of reasons to go back!

The one off-the-beaten path place I managed to visit was the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas (where this photo comes from), which was heaven for a statue nut like me. Loved it.

Hotels in Hong Kong are expensive! I stayed here, which was certainly expensive by my standards but was thankfully quite fabulous. Here was the foggy but amazing view from my room.

I also went to Bali, which I had mixed feelings about. You should take into account that I don't like extreme heat, or places that are completely dominated by tourism. Also, I'm much more of a let's-walk-around-and-see-stuff traveler, than a lie-on-a-lounge-chair traveler. But this early morning view of Sanur, where I stayed here (recommended), should offer some sense of why people love this island so much.

I wasn't in Bali that long, and I pretty much avoided the fashionable places. I spent most of the time in Ubud, the cultural heart of Bali.

There was an impressive amount of culture, but it was a bit overwhelmed by a dispiriting amount of shopping.

I stayed at an inexpensive hotel with a lovely courtyard and pool, plus my own private terrace where they brought me tea every afternoon. Very civilized. I also had a spa treatment at the kick-ass amazing Maya Ubud Resort Spa. If you're visiting Ubud and like spas — go. I had a package that included lunch, which was also wonderful.

I wound up feeling very sad to leave Bali and wishing I had more time there. I suspect it's best experienced if you can hire a driver to take you away from the tourist centers. The island is a very beautiful place, especially in the very early morning. So that's my last piece of advice for anyone traveling to the equator. Wake up very early, as the locals do, and at midday ... sleep.

We now return to our regularly scheduled interiors blogging.

Cornwall rental

Designed by a photographer who likes grey. I adore Cornwall, and am obligated to reblog this.

Hope Loft in Mousehole, via Remodelista

Back from Asia!

Despite treacherous bathrooms, I made it home from Hong Kong, Bali and Papua last week. But then, as so often happens after vacation, work swallowed me whole. Hopefully, I'll be back to blogging soon.

photo taken here. A good replacement for this.

Vacation

Off on the most ambitious vacation of my life. Wish me luck!

Hong Kong. Bali.

My hotels are picked, but I welcome any other suggestions (yes, I realize it's a long shot).

photo from the Times

Back from the UK

Made it back from England. I had a great vacation, except that I got very sick on my last day and didn't get to do everything I'd planned. But Cornwall was its usual charming, spectacular self and I covered some new ground in London, including a terrific (if expensive) meal at the stylish Dock Kitchen (pictured), designed by Tom Dixon. I also got to see PJ Harvey at Royal Albert Hall, which might have been the highlight of the whole trip!