Housed in a heritage building dating back to the 1900s, Athletic Club & Social opened its doors late last year to instant Instagram acclaim. It is so wonderfully photogenic. Housed in a beautifully renovated three-storey building in central Cape Town, this ‘non-members member’s club’ (everyone is welcome) invites visitors to explore its bar and restaurant, which are situated across a unique maze of impeccably furnished rooms where every detail has been carefully considered. Read More
I’ve recently found myself with a fair bit of extra time (I’ll write more on that at some stage, perhaps), but for now I don’t think I’ve ever shifted into a slower pace and a period of relative unknown with as much ease, effortlessness, and joy.
Who is this person?!
My home needs work. I’ve been living in it for six years and it needs work. Houses and apartments take maintenance and at the moment I’m embarrassed by how run-down and sad it is. In light of this, I’ve imagined a lump-sum lotto win and an opportunity to renovate the parts of my home that yearn for a spruce up – i.e everything.
Inspired by this ‘ultimate renovation’, I’ve naturally turned to the Scands. Studio Joanna Laajisto, headed up by the eponymous lass herself, is a Helsinki-based boutique design agency with a focus on functionality, quality and infinitely beautiful aesthetic. Founded in 2010, and scoping commercial, retail, hospitality and office design, each project is a masterpiece.
I think I may be getting into fashion. I don’t know what it means to be ‘in’ or ‘out’ of fashion and I’ve never considered myself particularly stylish, but I’ve always loved clothes. And nothing makes me feel more confident than a new dress. Dusty pinks, florals and lots of lace – the more feminine the better.
London-based contemporary label Self-Portrait, founded by born and raised Malaysian designer Han Chong, creates beautiful feminine pieces with a rugged, urban-inspired edge – think leather and lace together in one gorgeous frock. Read More
Although well over 250 years old, Edinburgh’s New Town – a UNESCO Heritage Site – is a beautiful, if austere, collection of sturdy and uniform ranks of Georgian buildings. Rows of terraces and mansions clad in local grey sandstone are a physical embodiment of the Scottish Reformation.
Refurbished by NYC-based architecture firm Grzywinski+Pons, Eden Locke is a new 72-room hotel with a café and bar that’s received a complete renovation and comprehensive fit-out. Celebrating its heritage details, the 18th-century Georgian mansion and its 20th-century extension was whittled down to its respective bones – and the chic new hotel created from there. Read More
Working out of The Magic Factory, a 15 000-square-foot think tank in San Francisco, Ken Fulk specialises in interior design, special events, and architecture. His reputation is a fantastic one: He is a fantasy; an inventor and creator who pulls off simply the most imaginative sets. Whether he is creating staggering homes, throwing the opening party of a museum show, or planning large-scale events, Fulk’s work is always remarkable and stylish and over the top and I just love it.
At Hirst Bar in San Francisco, a space designed by Fulk, the drinks are free – you’ve just got to be invited. Read More
I’m a little in love with Sofia Coppola. Her films, her attention to detail, her soft yet assured style, her storytelling – but most of all her love for women, and the power of the female presence in a leading role.
Cartier, a Maison synonymous with style and femininity, gave Sofia carte blanche to direct the film for the relaunch of the Panthère de Cartier collection. Both icons of taste and elegance – Sofia, an artist whose work transcends trends, gives sensitive expression to what femininity is today – and together, the campaign’s outcome was perfection. Read More
The past six decades have been among the most dynamic and turbulent in US history, from JFK’s assassination, Apollo 11 and Vietnam to the AIDS crisis, racism and gender politics. Responding to the changing times, American artists have produced prints unprecedented in their scale and ambition.
Now showing at the British Museum until 18 June 2017, American Dream traces 60 years of art, design and history in one major exhibition. Read More
I love yellow. It’s my favourite – it’s happy, and it makes me happy. (And I’m blonde. Blondes look good in yellow.) American architect Richard Meier loves white. But in honour of the 100th anniversary of the De Stijl movement, his one and only building in the Netherlands has been painted in the style of Piet Mondrian.
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I published a story for House & Garden last week about RCR Arquitectes, the winner of this year’s Pritzker Prize. Considered architecture’s highest honour, for the first time since it began in 1979 it was awarded to three winners –Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigemand and Ramon Vilalta – for the trio’s intensely collaborative way of working together. Read More
