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Sep 07 5 comments

Hotel Sezz | St Tropez.

Hotel Sezz in St. Tropez on the French Riviera has opened its doors for the European summer season on 19th July 2010.

Designed in collaboration by Shahe Kalaidjian and Christophe Pillet, the hotel consist of only 35 rooms and 2 villas, each with its its own private balcony that leads out to the central pool or into a private garden. Complete with a Dom Pérignon bar, a restaurant led by world-renowned chef Pierre Gagnaire, and a spa developed in partnership with Payot, I am feeling the need to go and stay there as a matter of priority.

Husband, my birthday is coming up soon and you asked me what I would like as a present… So… You know… You could take me here for a couple of weeks… No? Too extravagant? You think? Yeah, probably.

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Jul 19 3 comments

architecture, interior design, travel

STAY Serviced Apartments | Copenhagen, Denmark.

STAY is a very new, super stylish and incredibly spacious serviced apartment accommodation located on Islands Brygge, a harbour front area in central Copenhagen. There are 197 apartments with 15 different types to chose from, all with access to the biggest rooftop terrace in Scandinavia.

Previously knows as the A House, once a hub for Copenhagen’s creative elite, the concept for new STAY has been brought directly into this project – from the architectural planning, to the many collaborations with local artists who have left their mark on the apartments. The band WhoMadeWho have recorded their third album in one of STAY’s spacious loft apartments. The artist and chef, Bo Ramsø Lindegaard has actualised a series of attention-grabbing pop-up-restaurants in the lounge of the sixth floor.

So simple and so stylish. Why can’t Sydney have anything like this!? All you hotel developers out there – are you listening?

via daily icon

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Jun 07 4 comments

architecture, interior design, personal, travel

Runnymede | 19th Century Home in Hobart.

Entry threshold in top image and main hall on the left.

A slightly lame but informative collage of the Library. I love the “conversation seat”.

Dining Room collage – the wall colour in this room was absolutely divine.

The Nursery is full of gorgeous objects – I particularly loved the rocking horse, timber toys and many beautiful teacups.

Small Bedroom in bottom two images was in the process of being restored, and it was also impossible to photograph without a wide angle lens {especially “on the dodge”}. I absolutely adore the lamp in the right image.

The Museum was also in the process of being restored. Top images shows the wallpaper which has been uncovered under the layers of wallpaper & paint.

The kitchen was possibly one of my favourite rooms, even though it was quite humble in comparison to the rest. {How do you like my super dodgy collage in top image? I kind of like it.}

More details from the Kitchen – I love the giant map in top right image, and the willow pattern ceramics. It was interesting to see how they used to weld broken plates – notice the two little dark lines on the plate in right corner of the bottom image.

Dairy next to the kitchen was full of interesting ancient “cookware”. My favourite were the tin jars in the bottom image – brilliant patterns and colours.

Top two images are from the rear courtyard. Bottom two are taken in the space underneath the house which used to be a food store.

Beautiful bay window which belongs to the Drawing Room. Why don’t we build bay windows in contemporary architecture any more? They are completely amazing! Oh and a little proof that I actually was there.

Beautiful gardens and trees with amazing colours.

Front door to Runnymede and view of surrounding gardens.

I spent a glorious long weekend in Hobart last week visiting a dear friend and her gorgeous family. It was my first time in beautiful Tasmania, and it definitely won’t be my last.

So… a bit of a funny story… I knew that Hobart was a place where Husband’s grandfather grew up. And I also knew that the particular house in which he grew up was very beautiful, and that it had been sold by the family to the National Trust back in the 60s. What I didn’t know was what it was called – or rather, I completely forgot. When I arrived to Hobart, I told my friend and her family about the house, but I couldn’t tell them the name. They tried to look it up for me on the net by searching the surname without any luck. When I finally spoke to Husband, he told me that the house was called Runnymede. My friend and her mum almost couldn’t believe it.

Friend – “Runnymede?! Wow! That’s an amazing house and ONLY one of the most significant historical houses in Tasmania!”

Me – “Oh really? Doesn’t surprise me, cause that’s the way I roll.”

Actually, I never said that. But I wish I did. Instead, I felt a bit like a bad wife and daughter-in-law for not realising how significant this home actually was and for forgetting it’s name in the first place. So I did what all super awesome wives and daughter-in-laws do {*nudge nudge*}, and I went to visit. As luck would have it, the weekend I was there National Trust celebrated it’s 50th birthday, and they opened their doors to Runnymede free of charge. It was meant to be.

I wanted to share with your some of the photos I took of this truly magnificent home. The truth is, no photography is allowed inside the house, but I’ve never been much for obeying the rules. I snuck as many photos as I could, although I was not able to photograph the main bedroom and the drawing room as they were permanently attended by staff. Husband reckons I’m a complete bad-ass. Perhaps he’s right. I reckon I just love taking photos of beautiful things.

If you are ever in Hobart, I highly recommend a visit to Runnymede. The house is a fine example of colonial architecture, situtated in a lush garden that overlooks New Town Bay on the River Derwent, and stunning interiors which have been restored to their original condition.

61 Bay Road
New Town TAS 7008
Australia

P: 03 6278 1269

Monday – Friday 10 am – 4.30 pm
Saturday – Sunday 12 pm – 4.30 pm

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May 07 3 comments

interior design, milan 2010, travel

General Milan Fabulousness.

Ristorante Bistrot del Binari on via Tortona was incredible. It’s quite bizarre, but I ended up having breakfast, lunch and dinner there whilst in Milan {and for the record, I didn’t stay anywhere near the restaurant}. The food was brilliant, especially dinner which was super yummy. Not to mention the gorgeous interior – again, photos do not do it justice. I guess you’ll just have to go and see it for yourself…

This little fella was also on via Tortona, but I can’t really tell you what it was called as I literally accidentally walked into it mistaking it for a design installation. Such a striking interior – black and white is always a winner.

Here are just a few of my favourite bits of general Milanese fabulousness, primarily the restaurants and a little bit of retail.

Nobody does courtyards, gardens and al fresco dining like the Italians.

Extreme love.

By the way, this concludes my series of posts from Salone for now. The blog will be back to “normal” from next week. Woot woot! I hope you’ve enjoyed my “Milan 2010 report” – phew, it’s taken a bit of work I tell ya. And thank you for all your encouragement via comments, tweets and e-mails. Without them I probably would have stopped ages ago.

x dana

Lush entry courtyard at 10 Corso Como – a mini lifestyle emporium which includes stores, an art gallery, and a café.

10 Corso Como book store is mostly dedicated to art, fashion and design. Yes.

The most beautiful spiral stair leading up onto the roof garden.

The roof garden at 10 Corso Como.

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May 05 1 comments

milan 2010, random fun, travel

P.A.R.T.Y. | Milan 2010.

The very exclusive Wallpaper* Handmade party held at Brioni onVia Gesù… darling. Visitors were greeted by a dramatic installation in the courtyard of the Brioni house. Titled ’12,000 stitches’ and designed by London architects, Carmody Groarke, it paid homage to the craftsmanship it takes to create a single Brioni suit. 12,000 threads provided by Rowan were individually woven on to aluminium looms to create a sculptural celebration of the tailor’s art.

Established & Sons are known for putting on fantastic and super popular parties. This party was no exception – held at La Pelota in Brera area, the same night as the Wallpaper* party {along with about a million other parties really}. Not many photos here though – turns out that my trusty photographer was a little bit dunk. Happy days.

One of the most commonly asked questions that I’ve heard since coming back from Milan was – “How were the parties…? Do you have any photos…?” It seems people are more interested in how much I drank, rather then the installations that I saw. So I figured I better share party photos with you today.

These are from three VERY different events. Yeah, not shit – I hear you say. The great thing about Milan is that there is something for everyone there, including the parties. You can be the judge of where you would have rather been during the design week.

Party on Wayne.

Party on Garth.

Party on yellowtrace.

*All photos by Mark Leib, aka Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch – except for the yellow tinted set below by yours truly.

The good ol’ Zona Tortona street party was completely mental. What I can say – I think the photos speak for themselves. Hilarious.

And this is the result I got. True story. {Image credit - Dear Louis Vuitton by Jeff Hamda}

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Apr 30 3 comments

installations, interior design, milan 2010, travel

Salone del Mobile | Milan 2010.

Top image – Entry to the fairground and registration area. One word of advice – make sure to prepay your ticket to avoid crazy queues. I somehow managed to make this are look quite empty in my photos, but believe my that ain’t the case!

This might might give you a better sense of scale – birds eye view of one of the halls, which really only shows a fraction of it. I wish I had a wide angle lens to capture the view a bit better. Yeah, so you see what I mean now – friggin’ massive!!

Vitra stand was one if my absolute favourites – it was more like a mini design museum then a furniture stand. Just look at that superb styling, the product, the colour… I ache for that shit! Speaking of colour, did you know that Hella Jongerius has been developing a new range of colors for Vitra for the past two years? She has done an incredible job, as the new palette is simply exquisite (and so much better in real life then in my photos – trust me on that one).

There’s only one words that sums up the Edra stand… Porn. I loved it – it was quite dramatic, theatrical and fun (and very difficult to photograph due to low level lighting).

I decided to attended the the Salone del Mobile at Rho during my first day in Milan. I wanted to get it out of the way and cross it off the list of things to do.

Having been there once before, I knew what I was dealing with – it can be quite difficult to imagine the size of the fair until you’ve experienced it for yourself. The sheer volume of people and “stuff” on show is beyond comprehension. It is enormous. Epic. Overwhelming.

The fair consists of 24 large halls and each one could easily take up half a day if you visited every stand and looked at every product on display, stopped to chat to suppliers, enjoyed the food and drink on offer etc. I knew that I had a very limited amount of time {not realising that the volcano was going to bless me with 3 extra days in Milan}, so I set out to cover 5 carefully chosen halls by 6pm. Madness. The photos I’m showing you were taken across 4 different halls, all of which housed major {mostly} Italian and other international brands. The fifth stand I visited on the day warrants a separate post, as it is dedicated to young up and coming designers. My favourite part.

Enjoy.

I also really loved the Poliform stand. It was super lux, plush, comfortable and beautifully styled. I loved all the rugs and super tall bookshelves. And those lights over the dining table… Sigh.

Lema stand was one of those that lured me in, even though it wasn’t really on my list. I just really, really, really loved the styling. So delicious! (Notice that I didn’t really take any photos of the product.)

Flexform was absolutely glorious with generously proportioned rooms and an elegant palette of white, cream, caramel, and black highlights. Stunning.

Moroso stand was packed full of people {yeah, like others were really empty}, but for some reason I found it really hard to take photos here. I didn’t really love their stand that much this year, but some of the new product they released is outstanding. I think I can feel a separate post coming on…

Gervasoni stand. Don’t really have that much to say about it… {I think it’s getting late and I need to go to bed!}

Casamilano with a new collection designed by Paola Navone. Still not that much to say. Must sleep.

Casamania stand was a bit trippy with the matching floor and walls {or maybe that was just me and my jet-lag}.

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Apr 29 11 comments

extreme love {some call it inspiration}, installations, milan 2010, travel

Spazio Rossana Orlandi | Milan 2010.

Needlepoint taxidermy by Frederique Morrel was seriously mind blowing.

Entry to the Spazio on the left, and the super cool Rossana hanging in the courtyard. I’m so glad that my friend and partner in crime who took this photo, Mark Leib, has no shame and he just went for it. Thanks Marky for the killer pic! Seriously, how awesome is Rossana. I love her style to bits.

Man, I have to be the slowest blogger ever to report on Milan Design Week! Sorry guys – my jet-lag is a complete shocker and I’m really struggling with beating my cold. But enough with excuses. I will do my best to make your wait worth while, so I decided to kick off my report by telling you about my favourite Milan moment(s).

Spazio Rossana Orlandi was on top of my list during this trip to Milan. I remember that it came on my radar just after I last visited the city in 2007, and I was annoyed that I hadn’t heard about it earlier and that I didn’t get to visit it back then. Since that time, many other people have recommended it and I’ve also seen it mentioned in a few design guides and books. I figured – all this fuss couldn’t be for nothing.

And let me tell you… I was absolutely blown away. Hard. This would have to be one of the best things I’ve ever seen and experienced in my life. It may be a massive call, but I stand by it. I was so impressed, that I went there not once, but twice. And that really says something considering how much there is to do and see in Milan during the design week.

The central courtyard at Spazio Rossana Orlandi with a revamped Volkswagen by Bokja Design, which was being auctioned for charity.

Various bits of fabulousness at the Spazio. I though that the wooden animals in top left image were hilarious. I know, I need to grow up! Top Right – lacquered timber by Piet Hein Eek.

Rossana is a true innovator. She is famous for scooping up exclusive lines from small designers with big talent. It is so easy to see why her Spazio has become a must on the Milan design circuit. This former factory is so much more then just a showcase for everything from high-end sofas to plastic forks and coloured toilet paper.

It is also a laboratory for emerging designers.

A nucleus of genius!

Concentration of pure awesomeness!!

The central courtyard is a feast of foliage, found objects, iconic and vintage furniture and good food. This year there was an old Volkswagen near the entry which was transformed by the design studio Bokja with an international patchwork of brightly coloured fabrics. Courtyard’s entire back wall was covered with an installation of 3D old embroidery by the French artist Frederique Morrel, who made an effort to highlight the dying art of needlework. Not only is the courtyard simply stunning, it was also brilliant for people watching and spotting design celebrities, such a Patricia Urquiola. But despite being by far one of the coolest places to hang out in Milan, the overall atmosphere was quite relaxed, unpretentious and so natural. And this is precisely what I loved about the Spazio the most.

Super beautiful Bocci light installation.

Top image – beautiful installation by a German designer Alexa Lixfeld. Oversized knits by Christien Meinderstma in the bottom right image. Bottom left – I can’t remember. Oops!

Top - Restart 10 by Maurizio Navone gets a big yes from me. I especially love the gorgeous table lamp on the far left. Bottom Left – I loved Constance Guisset‘s Duplex birdcage/ fishbowl. Bottom Right – Vertigo pendant by Constance Guisset.

Top - Fabric vegetables by Scholten & Baijings. Aren’t they just incredible?! Bottom – Autarchy installation by Studio Formafantasma. This collection includes pots and lamps made of flour, agricultural waste and limestone. Amazing.

Even the corridors and the office space looked like an installation/ old movie set.

Above – Conversations installation by Bokja Design. Below - Piet Hein Eek’s installation and exhibition.

There is a maze of spaces which lead off the central courtyard that play host to installations by emerging and established designers. I gasped a lot and often. Around every corner there was yet another surprise in this visual wonderland. {I felt a little bit like Alice!}

I’m guessing by now you all realise how much I loved this place, right? And just as I thought it was over, I climbed up a narrow steel stair all the way to the top floor and there it was… *queue angelic “laaaah” sound*… {I really hope this doesn’t get lost in translation}… The most incredible, visually arresting retail space full to the brim with the most amazing things you could ever imagine.

It was a riot of texture and colour. Pure visual ecstasy! I died! And then I died again!!

Rossana – you are a dead-set legend. I want to be you when I grow up.

That’s all.

SPAZIO ROSSANA ORLANDI

Via Matteo Bandello 14/16

20123 Milan, Italy

Retail space above – it’s seriously awesome! This riot of color and texture seems to perfectly embody Rossana’s unprecious more-is-more philosophy. Extreme love!

The cafe was closed both times I visited so you’ll have to excuse the reflections in the photos as I took them through a glass door.

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Apr 27 8 comments

design awesomeness, milan 2010, travel

European Volcation Ashventure | Milan 2010.

Images above from the epic Salone Internazionale del Mobile. The fair is bigger than Ben Hur x 100,000! No kidding.

Images above from Salone Satellite, dedicated to young, up and coming designers.

Hello pumpkins. I’m back! Seriously, for a couple of days there I thought I was going to be stuck in Europe forever! Those damn volcanos.

If you’ve been following my tweets, you probably already know that my volcation included a “slight detour” and I never made it to London as originally planned. I was really sad that I wasn’t going to be able catch up with some good mates {and also leave a trail of destruction at Selfridges, Liberty, Anthrolpologie and good ol’ Top Shop}. Having said that, I wouldn’t change my trip for one second, as a little group of us got to experience an amazing drive from Milan to Hildesheim in northern Germany, via the Swiss alps. Wow. What an amazing road trip, even if six of us had to jam ourselves into a people-mover with all our luggage {I had the back shelf stuck to my cheek for about 8 hours – nice}. That drive has definitely made me want to do a proper road trip through the Alps with husband {but in a fully sick sports car!}

As for Milan, the fair, and all the design events… Well… What can I say… Gee… Let me think… Oh yeah, it was friggin’ AWESOME!! Seriously, I had such a brilliant, brilliant time. There was so much inspiration and talent around, my head was exploding from all the cleverness, awesomeness and attractiveness. Oh yes, Milan is one spunky city people. The locals definitely know how to dress. For real.

General Milan fabulousness.

I took just over 2,500 photos during my 4 days… oh hang on… make that 7 days in Milan thanks to the Icelandic eruption. My experience during this time included more design than you can poke a stick at, zero sleep, running around, talking to designers, taking notes and photos, phone calls to family and travel agents trying to sort out flights, new friendships, lots of laughs, amazing food, excellent wine and a few too many drinks. I’ve been left with no time to go through any of my photos or do any writing, so please be patient as I sort through all the information I’ve gathered across Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Salone Satellite, Zona Tortona, Spazio Rossana Orlandi {I die!} and various other installations and design events around Milan.

As a picture says a thousand words, I’ll leave you with a 40,000 word essay of my European ashventure to whet your appetite for what is yet to come in my future posts. Please excuse the lack of notes and captions – I will be including those in my posts over the coming few days, so stay tuned.

And one more thing – thank you for all your comments, tweets and e-mails whilst I’ve been away. I am sorry that I’m not able to reply to each and every one of you all the time, but please know that I read all your comments, tweets and e-mails with great care and they truly mean so much to me. Thank you again.

x dana

Swarovski Crystal Palace on Via Savona at Zona Tortona.

Images from Superstudio and other areas of Zona Tortona. Bottom image from the fabulous Spazio Rossana Orlandi.

P.A.R.T.Y. on Wayne! 5 Beers for 5 Euros at Zona Tortona street party = Trouble.

The seriously fabulous Spazio Rossana Orlandi gave me mini heart attacks every 5 minutes. Amazing! One trip simply wasn’t enough… so I went there twice. Bottom left image from Zona Tortona.

Milan’s Brera area was full of great little finds including Nendo’s mind blowing installation in top image. Can’t wait to share the rest of my photos! Bottom images from 10 Corso Como.

Road trip! The Alps are just incredible, and absolutely magical during Spring. How come I’ve never been there before?

Hildesheim in Northern Germany is a beautiful little town with incredible history. The city was heavily damaged in World War II after it was bombed in 1945. Most of the homes were destroyed and the centre of town was almost entirely levelled. The city was completely rebuilt in the 1980s to reflect it’s original medieval character. Middle images from the beautiful nearby Marienburg Castle. And one of the best {and the biggest} hot chocolate drinks I’ve ever had. Yum!

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Apr 12 2 comments

personal, travel

Later Alligators.

Image via Black Eiffel. Classic.

I’m just a teeny tiny little bit excited bout flying out to Milan tonight. So much to do, so many rocking parties to attend {how funny is the image above}, so little time…

I’m taking my laptop with me at an off chance that I have some time to bring you an odd live blog post. But I gotta tell ya, I have my doubts. I plan to go to as many events and parties as I possibly can, which means that days and nights are going to be busy, and mornings may not be as productive as one would hope for, if you catch my drift.

So…

In order to keep you entertained while I’m way, I’ve scheduled a few blog posts for your viewing pleasure until I return. So you probably won’t even get the chance to miss me very much. I will also be tweeting hard, so that’s probably going to be the best way to stay up to speed with my movements. That’s if you really care.

Wish me luck and see you in two weeks. Woohoo!

x dana

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Mar 31 6 comments

travel

yellowtrace is going to Milan!

It’s official – yellowtrace will be in Milan (April 13-17) during Salone Internazionale del Mobile, followed by a five day stint in London.

If you know of anything design related that you think I should see, please leave a comment below or send me an email via the contacts page.

I look forward to sharing my discoveries with you all when I return. You can also follow my tweets for live updates.

Pumped!

via the sartorialist

Now, would you please take a look at what people are wearing in Milan at the moment. Holy smokes – I think I need some new clothes. yellowtrace at least needs a new yellow jacket. Pronto!

x dana

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Category Archives: travel

Hotel Sezz | St Tropez.

STAY Serviced Apartments | Copenhagen, Denmark.

Runnymede | 19th Century Home in Hobart.

General Milan Fabulousness.

P.A.R.T.Y. | Milan 2010.

Salone del Mobile | Milan 2010.

Spazio Rossana Orlandi | Milan 2010.

European Volcation Ashventure | Milan 2010.

Later Alligators.

yellowtrace is going to Milan!

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Category Archives: travel

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Get in touch

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yellowtrace elsewhere

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