I visited the cork oak forest in Portugal to see the cork harvesting and got to experience a factory tour to see how cork is processed and what it can be used for.
Hotels
Calile : A Tropical Hotel in Brisbane
Calile is a tropical hotel in Brisbane designed by architecture studio Richards and Spence who took their inspiration from the Brisbane’s balmy climate.
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Interior Accessories
Bert & Buoy Dartmouth Shop Opening
Two weeks ago I was invited to attend the opening of the new Bert & Buoy shop in Dartmouth. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that Bert has decided to open a shop in my home town. Dartmouth is an absolutely beautiful town with some wonderful little independent shops and I
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Hotels
Gara Rock : Design Hotel in Devon
I feel like recently I’m making a bit of a shift with my blog content as I seem to be writing about Devon a whole lot more. In the early days of my blog I would never have thought that I could have written so much about local places and companies, but Devon just seems
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Hotels
Myconian Kyma : Design Hotel in Mykonos
I haven’t been away on holiday since April 2017 so I am well overdue a break. Luckily we have now booked a trip for the end of August so I’m counting down the days until our family can get away for a much needed holiday. In the meantime, I thought it was time to share
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Places
THIS Workspace : Coworking Space in Bournemouth
I first became aware of coworking when I was living in Bristol in 2010, when I first started freelancing. I quickly realised that working from home was a very solitary pursuit and I soon began to miss the camaraderie and the interaction that came from working with colleagues in a shared office. After a little
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Places
My Obsession with the Housing Market
So today I thought I’d share with you a bit of a personal post about my guilty secret, namely my obsession with the housing market and visiting property portals like Rightmove, Zoopla and Purple Bricks. Browsing these websites has been something that I’ve done on a very regular basis (probably weekly) for as long as
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Interior Accessories
Where to Shop : Oliver Bonas
It’s Friday and you may have noticed that things are looking a little different around here. I am so pleased to share my redesigned blog and branding with you. I hope you like the changes that I’ve made and that you can still find your way around. I’m still making tweaks here and there so
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Hotels
Hôtel Parister : A Wellness Hotel in Paris
Today’s post features a seriously swoonworthy Parisian hotel that I have added to my design-led travel hotspots list. In the words of Audrey Hepburn “Paris is always a good idea” and when a hotel looks this good, who can disagree? Situated in rue Saulnier in the 9th arondissement of Paris is Hôtel Parister, a five star
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Hotels
The Vipp Hotel : A Design Destination
You may remember a few weeks ago I posted about the stunning Vipp kitchens. Well, today I want to share with you an unusual concept for a hotel from the same Danish company. The Vipp Hotel is unusual in the fact that once you check in, it is fully booked. You see, instead of having
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Hotels
Design Hostel : Long Story Short
Sometimes, just sometimes, I really wish I was a travel blogger. I would go off to explore the world one design hotel at a time. If I was footloose and fancy free and didn’t have responsibilities like a family, children, a job and a mortgage, I would seriously consider packing up my laptop and heading
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Hotels
KIP : London’s Affordable Design Hotel
In this post I want to share another exciting design find that I discovered thanks to Curate & Display on Twitter. This time it’s an affordable design hotel in London. What? I hear you ask. Affordable and London in the same sentence? But yes, it’s really true. I have found a great looking design hotel
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Places
Designer Student Accommodation in Newcastle
Earlier this year I received a message from one of my best friends that I met at University. He pointed out that we’ve known each other for 16 years now. 16? What the what now? I went to uni 16 years ago? It feels like yesterday, I’m a little in shock! Then I received an
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Hotels
Hôtel du Ministère Apartment in Paris
I have been meaning to start writing more about design hotels on the blog for so long now, mostly just as a way to document places I’d like to stay so I don’t forget about them. Of course, given the option when travelling I’d rather stay in a design hotel that speaks to the aesthete
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Bedroom
Naturalmat Organic Mattresses and Bedding
As you all know by now, I live in Devon and I really enjoy showcasing companies that are local to me. Back in July, I was invited to Topsham, just outside Exeter, to visit a company called Naturalmat that manufactures organic mattresses and bedding. It wasn’t the first time that I had heard about the
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Interior Accessories
Visit : Nkuku Lifestyle Store and Café
I hadn’t heard of Nkuku until a friend of mine started working there. I was then invited to a special sale night where I was able to get a proper feel for the kind of products that Nkuku sells. I was really surprised to find that such an amazing company is based right here in
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Hotels
Nhow Berlin : The Music & Lifestyle Hotel
I first discovered this insane hotel last summer on a trip to Berlin with my husband. We were on a boat trip down the Spree on a beautiful sunny day when I spotted this gravity defying building on the water’s edge. I quickly grabbed a snap of it so that I could research it when
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Interviews
Interview: Home Renovations with Kate Watson-Smyth
I don’t normally tend to feature many house projects on the blog these days and the main reason for that is the photography. You may have noticed that I am not the world’s best photographer, which can be a little frustrating for me at times as I need to rely on others to provide the
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Places
The Buchstabenmuseum in Berlin
Whilst researching cool, design-y type places to visit during my summer break in Berlin I somehow stumbled across one of the coolest places on the planet (well if you are a typography geek like myself that is). I had no idea that such an amazing place existed but luckily you can find everything on the net.
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Bathroom
Axor Starck Organic World Premier in Berlin
A few weeks ago I received an invite from the very kind folks at Axor, the luxury arm of the German bathroom company Hansgrohe, asking me if I would like to attend the world premier of their new bathroom collection. Now as many of you know, I have had a particular interest in bathrooms and
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Places
Babanbe Franco-Vietnamese Deli in Berlin
Today, as you read this post I am once again in Berlin, this time on a very exciting press trip, which I will share with you when I get back. But for now I wanted to tell you about a great place I visited on my last trip. As you know, when I was in
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Places
Kauf Dich Glücklich Café in Berlin
When I was planning to go to Berlin, I just knew that I wouldn’t be able to resist the opportunity to hunt out some really cool places that appeal to the design geek in me. I knew there would be some really fantastic things to see and experience and it was just a matter of
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Places
Summer Break in Berlin
As many of you know, I have just returned from a week in Berlin and what a wonderful week it was. This was not my first trip to the German capital mind, I spent a month there back in 2003 as part of my year abroad whilst at University. However, my husband had never been
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Furniture
Home Barn: A Veritable Wonder Emporium of the Vintage Variety
Not so long ago I was introduced to a place so wonderful that I just couldn’t wait to share it with you. For those of you who love hunting out unique vintage finds from yesteryear, I can tell you this is somewhere that will be right up your street. Home Barn is a veritable wonder