There is something undeniably beautiful about a room that was never designed to be beautiful. An old warehouse with enormous steel-framed windows. A former workshop where the brick still carries the marks of a century of use. Rough plaster walls, exposed pipes, worn timber floors and ceilings high enough to make even substantial furniture feel…
7 Timeless Window Ideas You Can Bring Home Some of our favourite memories of Europe weren’t framed by famous landmarks. They were framed by windows. Looking into tiny bakeries before breakfast. Watching evening light spill from an apartment overlooking a quiet village square. Seeing lace curtains move gently in an open window somewhere in Brittany,…
9 Timeless Entrance Ideas You Can Bring Home Some of our favourite memories of Europe happened before we ever stepped inside. Looking back through thousands of photographs from our travels, something unexpected stands out. Not the grand cathedrals. Not the famous castles. Not even the spectacular landscapes. It’s the doors. Again and again, we found…
Some rooms feed you. Others make you want to stay. Have you ever noticed that old European kitchens seem to feel warm before a single meal has even been cooked? It’s difficult to explain until you’ve stood in one. Perhaps it’s an old farmhouse in the French countryside where sunlight spills through tiny windows onto…
The world’s most beautiful courtyards aren’t necessarily the biggest. They simply know how to make you want to stay a little longer. There is a moment that seems to happen almost every time we travel through Europe. We’re walking through a narrow cobblestone street, admiring old doorways or peeking into shop windows, when an open…
By Cocktails & Cathedrals There is something about an old doorway that stops me every single time. My husband has become wonderfully patient with it. We’ll be wandering through a medieval village somewhere in France or Italy, and while everyone else is photographing cathedrals or sweeping city views, I’ll quietly drift towards a weathered wooden…
There are certain rooms that stay with you long after you’ve left them. Sometimes it’s a grand château in France. Sometimes it’s a centuries-old library hidden behind a cathedral square. Other times it’s a tiny hotel lounge where the wallpaper is faded, the fireplace has been burning for a hundred years, and every chair seems…
By Cocktails & Cathedrals Some Hotel Bars Understand Something Most Homes Forget We’ve always loved a good hotel bar. Not because of the cocktails. Although that certainly helps. It’s because the best hotel bars understand atmosphere. They know how to make you stay for one more drink. How to make a room feel intimate without…
By Cocktails & Cathedrals Some Design Ideas Never Go Out of Style Every few years, a new design trend arrives promising to change everything. The colours change. The furniture changes. The buzzwords change. And yet somehow, centuries-old French châteaux continue to feel effortlessly luxurious. Not because they’re fashionable. But because they were built around ideas…
By Cocktails & Cathedrals The Best Hotels Don’t Just Look Beautiful They make you feel something. Have you ever checked into a beautiful hotel and immediately felt yourself relax? Not because of the room size. Not because of the amenities. And certainly not because of the complimentary biscuits. But because the space itself somehow feels…