Occupying a discrete history-rich building in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, halfway between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, the new Hotel Les Deux Gares is poised mischievously, ready to treat visitors to a wild and wonderful joyride. The once abandoned bourgeois edifice is now frocked up in the signature stylings of its art director, Luke Edward Hall, and offers a bar, restaurant, fitness room and sauna. Not to mention the 40 petite rooms where guests are warmly invited into the eccentric universe of the British tastemaker.

In a pre-pandemic universe, Australians were one of the top ten nationalities to frequently touchdown in Japan. So as murmurs grow louder about the potential of a travel bubble opening up between the two countries, it comes as no surprise that ‘the best places to stay in Japan?' is a regular question found in our Google search history results.

The workplace reinforces the identity of the company,” says Luke Skurrie, managing director of Ironside whose business digs have been bestowed with the warmth and eye for detail, quality and authenticity that’s on par with the boutique construction company’s portfolio.

Revolving brass arms held aloft by concrete columns mark the passage of time on the corner of James and Doggett Streets in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. A symbol of civic connection, clock towers like these are usually reserved for train stations and city halls. Here, this timepiece announces the civic intentions of recently completed The Calile Hotel. It also marks a cornerstone in the comprehensive body of work realised by its architects, Ingrid Richards and Adrian Spence of Brisbane practice Richards and Spence.

During a year like no other, the 18th edition of the London Design Festival is currently underway online and in-person. Among the line-up of launches and events across the nine days of the festival’s dynamic program, British designer Lee Broom has unveiled ‘Maestro’, a sculptural dining chair that is inspired by the designer’s fondness for classical music and its instruments.

Occupying a 120-square-metre space in Coastal City, the retail precinct of Nanshan’s CBD, the trippy concept store belonging to minimalist womenswear brand Geijeong dazzles with its layered use of reflective, translucent and transparent materials. The interior designers, Chinese firm Studio 10, say that the futuristic fit-out “explores the interactivity between materials, light transmission, refraction, reflection and fabric”.

Kvadrat’s ‘Knit!’ exhibition corrals 28 cross-discipline designers who, using Kvadrat’s Febrik textiles as their medium, have snipped and stitched their way toward a brilliant showcase of objects – from chairs and sofas to tableware and fashion items. The exhibition brief required the designers to harness the qualities of the knitted fabric collection and, by applying […]

Overshadowed by visions of cramped living quarters, squeaky bunk beds, shared amenities and a sprightly clientele with the predisposition to party hard, there's no denying that the humble hostel gets a rather bad rap. But the ongoing popularity of hostels around the world suggests, to a certain extent, that travellers are prepared to surrender some of life’s little luxuries in order to benefit from a hostel’s price point, prime location and community atmosphere.

Yoga classes as first light magnifies the copper hues of the Arava Valley and the Edom mountains. A day journeying through undulating ancient valleys on camelback. And late-night stargazing sessions after sundowners in the dunes. For many, right now, these are the activities of an unreachable desert-holiday dream. But as international airlines look to ramp-up flights at the end of this year and beyond, Israel’s soon-to-open Six Senses resort will no doubt capture the imagination of luxury-seeking adventurers around the globe.

The colonial shophouse buildings of Singapore, so-named due to the shared retail and residential functions, evolved from the early 19th century. With a restricted budget and only four months to complete the project, MOD opted to blanket Canvas House with an all-white veil, a brave move that Colin says, “blurs the distinction between new and […]