journal

Historical homes are like treasure troves, revealing not only fascinating stories but also curious design objects. Case in point: the wall at La Bodega in Tenerife. This open-plan, loft-like space is part of Hacienda Cuatro Ventanas, an estate built in the 17th century during the island’s plantation boom, its stone walls and timbered beams withstanding […]

When you first see Villa Baroni Iblei in Sicily, you can’t fail to notice its tiles. Luminous squares, rectangles and hexagons that line its walls, both inside and out, they bring the contemporary farmhouse to life in splashes of vivid color. The eye-catching aqua, teal and gold tiles of the terrace are echoed on the […]

Talk about a scenic soak… this outdoor bathtub at the Landscape Lodge in southeastern France takes self indulgence to a whole new level. Set on the wooden deck of this traditional chalet, it looks out across rolling green fields, pine trees and mountain peaks, combining all the perks of the perfect bathroom with fresh air […]

Perhaps the most iconic art piece created by the 20-years-plus conceptual artist duo Sofie Lachaert and Luc Dhanis, is one of two intertwining chairs. At times, the bench-of-sorts can be found inside the Flanders Art Suite, in Tielrode, Belgium. Other times, it’s traveling (recently it visited Gallery Fumi in Mayfair, Galerie Zink in Waldkirchen, Germany.) […]

Sally Smith is a sustainably-minded fashion designer specializing in Japanese textiles. She is also the owner of Rainforest Mountain House, one of our BoutiqueHomes in Queensland, Australia, which contains a beautiful array of watercolor paintings that recently caught our eye. We reached out to her to find out more, and were elated by her poetic […]

“I walked in and I never wanted to leave, to be honest,” Suska Karjalainen tells us of the first time she stepped into an unassuming Moroccan tile shop in a French medieval village. It was 2015, and she and her partner Nico had just purchased The Happy Hamlet, then, a ruin in the Southwestern French […]

Island House was created as a place to showcase design in a remarkable island setting. The setting in question, Lord Howe Island, a crescent-shaped volcanic outcrop in the Tasman Sea, is certainly remarkable. And it’s just about as remote as you can imagine. About 375 miles off the coast of Australia, and just over 6 […]

Imagine yourself on vacation, having found yourself inside a painting, looking out onto a lush garden and medicinal herbs. This Alice-in-Wonderland kind of moment is one that guests of Sacramora 12 can say they’ve had. The old barn at this design farmhouse near Faenza, Italy, houses a loft with a large patio at the back. […]

With so many ancient farmhouses in Puglia being converted into homes, it’s not all that surprising to find traditional farm tools decorating walls. But the Country House in Maruggio takes it to another level, with a huge variety of intriguingly-shaped implements lining shelves and hanging from every wall. It makes for an entertaining choice of […]

We recently added a new A-frame home to the BoutiqueHomes collection, the 75 A Frame in Sausalito, near San Francisco. It’s a great space — a little Craftsman, a little mid-century — and flooded with natural light. There’s a dramatic oil painting that sits prominently in the living room. Curious to know more about it, […]

We recently heard from the owners of Estudio Do Oc in Evora, Portugal, that they had started a new business – or, rather, resurrected an ancient business. The Reguengos de Monsaraz region of Portugal is known for its beautiful woven blankets (once used by local shepherds to protect themselves from the cold), and when Renato […]

When we first saw the kitchen at N’orma, a beautifully restored baglio in Sicily, we were really intrigued. With its mezzanine floor, ancient underfloor piping and the curious tools decorating its walls, this was clearly no ordinary room. So we asked owner and interior designer Andreina Iebole to walk us through its history and transformation. […]

When restaurateur and sommelier Vincenzo Madaro was redesigning Casina Trovanza, his former family home near the National Parco delle Gravine in Puglia, he wanted to retain as much of the original masseria as possible. The goal was to bring ancient designs and materials back to life but give them a modern twist. One of the […]

Villa CP in Catalonia was recently restored by Barcelona-based Zest Architecture, taking a secluded farmhouse and updating it into a dramatic but sustainable modern family home. It’s the details that really caught our attention, including the rusted corten steel doors opening into the garden that complement the textures and shades of the local slate exterior. […]

It’s easy to fall for Andrew Trotter’s designs. In his architectural work throughout Italy, he breathes new life into ancient properties while also preserving their historical integrity, striking a great balance between tradition and innovation. The latest of his homes to join our collection is the bright and dynamic Villa Cardo in Carovigno, and that’s […]

Casa Luum lies at the end of an old dirt road in a nature reserve in Faro, Portugal, the milky whites of its walls blending smoothly into the progressive blue of the sky. The large plot that the villa sits on once housed a ruin that was left to nature. Hundreds of olive trees and […]

We love the stories that houses tell when you dig a little beneath the surface. Take La Maison des Arenes, a converted 17th-century townhouse in Arles, France. When we asked owner Gaetan Le Penhuel about the row of photographs behind the master bed, he told us that they are the work of his partner, Italian […]

Can Miret in northern Mallorca is an inviting space full of delightful finds. Among the vintage Eames chairs and one-of-a-kind contemporary art works, we spotted these elegant handmade bowls adorning the walls of the kitchen. We asked owner Annedore Streyl where she found them, and she told us they are the work of German ceramicist […]

A kitchen is a special kind of sanctuary. It’s not only a space for inspiring creativity, but it’s also a room for gathering and sharing. So it makes sense that it should be a thing of beauty. That’s why we’ve fallen for the kitchen at Valletta Vintage DOMA in Malta. An elegant, open-plan room designed […]

The Circus Apartments are a collection of newly-built, state-of-the-art urban pads in the heart of Berlin, with different styles and accommodation options. A home away from home with a touch of the unexpected, and details that make every room unique. Our favorite? The wallpaper! Sourced from different artists and shops like ARTE and TapetenAgentur, designer […]

Some art stops you in your tracks. That was the case with these murals by Sonia Cucculelli, which we discovered on the walls of Dai Nonni, the apartment she inherited from her grandparents in Lecce, Italy. Sonia is a professional illustrator, a graduate of the Accademia dell’Illustrazione e Comunicazione Visiva, and loves animated drawings, the […]

There’s an old rule of design everyone must follow: if you have an opportunity for a trapdoor, you take it! Take Giovanni Settesoldi of Umamma in Tuscany for example. When designing this unique escape in the Italian hills, he couldn’t help but incorporate a hidden gem into the house, and a trapdoor leading to the […]

The Chambourcin Cottage is a bright, contemporary one-bedroom cottage set among vineyards on the North Island of New Zealand. The cottage was built in 1975 by architect Steve McGavock for his parents, but was recently renovated by interior design team Bibby+Brady. The print in the living room caught our eye, and we knew we had to find […]

In the hills of sun-soaked Puglia, within vast stretches of orchards, olive groves, and gardens, you’ll find the lovely Tenuta dell’Alto. This lavishly expansive villa was restored from 19th-century ruins and brought back to life with a tender eye for preserving its historical integrity by owners Patrizio Fradini and Mark Steinberg. Though keen on preserving […]