Designtripper

When I went to Vietnam a few years back with my oldest and dearest childhood friend, we stumbled upon a back alley market, just outside the city center of Hanoi, where I found an old lady selling teapots spread out on a blanket. She had at least 50 teapots. But only one like this: seafoam green with hand painted goldfish and white lily pads. I bought it on the spot for my koi-loving husband, and she tied it up in a plastic bag like Chinese takeout. I remember how surprised she seemed that I didn’t want to haggle over price. It was already less than $10, and with very little room for loot in my travel bag, I knew it would be my only purchase. I carried it around with kid gloves for weeks, while we biked the Mekong Delta, kayaked through the floating villages of Halong Bay, and ate our way through Hoi An. A couple days before leaving, a careless packing job and a wild puddlejumper flight to Ho Chi Minh City left seven of the eight miniscule cups smashed to bits. I have one left, and somehow the teapot survived.

If you have a Keepsake you’d like to share, please send photos and your story. We’d love to hear from you!

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Bars, restaurants and hotels are all getting in on the books-as-décor trend and my immediate reaction is: A wall of Kindles would never look this good.

[Photos: from top, Michael Berger Hotel (photo via Design Crisis); Viceroy Hotel, Santa Monica (photo via La Dolce Vita by Grey Crawford); Cafe Copenhagen (photo via stylefiles); D’espresso, NY (photo via  The Cool Hunter).

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While researching an arty little b&b above a corner cafe in Ghent, Kelly stumbled upon what appears to be a lodging phenomenon: super-chic little b&bs everywhere. Everywhere. There are 190 b&b rooms across this mid-sized, medieval city, known for its Flemish influences, cobblestone streets and rows of ornate, Gothic guild houses. Leave your preconceived notions about b&bs at the door. These incredibly well-appointed, tucked-away spots top restaurants, galleries, coffee houses, boutiques, bakeries, you name it–and most of them serve up homemade breakfast for their guests in dining rooms that look like the latest old-fashioned, farm-to-table restaurant in Brooklyn. But not on purpose, of course. Prices? Most under $150 a night.

[Photos:La Maison de Claudine, Engelen ann de Waterkant, Callas B&B, Alphabed, Simon Says by F3focus/Andy Dedecker, Atlas B&B, Chambres d'amis]

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Designtripper is thrilled to offer a weekend getaway to the ultimate countrified escape: the Winvian. Located in the Litchfield area of Connecticut, these playfully luxe cabins are spread across 113 beautiful, wooded acres–and sit directly beside 4,000 more, all accessible for hiking, biking, horseback riding, fly-fishing. Each of the completely unique 18 freestanding cabins is decorated to reflect its loose, kind of quirky theme–like the Beaver Lodge, which features a giant, actual beaver lodge-cum-art-installation hanging above the bed, the Artist Cottage or the Stable. The super-lucky winner will have a six-month window to pick their weekend, so you can cozy up in the Log Cabin this winter or wait until spring and stay in the Treehouse, which is perched between a group of maples. There’s also a spa, restaurant and garden on-site.

We’re leaving the contest open all week. To enter (one entry per person, please), leave a comment below. We’ll close comments this Friday, February 18 at 5pm EST and announce the winner in this space Monday morning. Winners picked at random.

More nitty-gritty: The window of certificate validity ends six months from the date of winning. Black-out dates will apply (holiday weekends, etc.). Valid for two adults only.  The stay will be two nights in a tier 1 or tier 2 cottage with a possible upgrade to a tier 3 cottage based on availability upon arrival. Breakfast daily and one dinner for two also included (excluding wine).

Thanks and good luck!

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When the Hotel Praktik Rambla started following designtripper on Twitter, I clicked to check it out. Wow. The beautiful, ornate facades and decadent modern interiors by Lázaro Rosa-Violán are so old and romantic, and I spent a lot longer than I’d like to admit pouring over the kind of architectural detail nobody is skilled enough to create anymore. With wrap-around iron balconies overlooking Rambla de Cataluna, one of Barcelona’s most picturesque boulevards, the Praktik is a former residence designed by Catalan modernist  architect Francesc de P. Villar i Carmona. Inside, with encaustic patterned tile floors, emerald hues behind old heavy carved doors, soaring ceilings and mirrored partition walls, it’s no wonder they have complimentary Lomo cameras for their guests to use. And another pleasant surprise: Reasonable prices starting at $108 a night.

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Talented stylist, photographer and author Pia Jane Bijkerk recently stayed in these arrestingly beautiful thatched-roof Malay huts–”a resort with heart”–and her photographs really capture that magical feeling of discovering inspiration, authenticity and sense of place. Rich, gorgeous textiles and intricate, hand-carved wooden interiors don’t hurt either. And when Pia gushes about finding a spot that “ticked all my island-fantasy boxes,” well, it’s like a research gold mine–trusty, pretty words to book a trip by.

“It’s one of those best-kept secrets–a place that’s not fancy, not well known in trend circles which means it manages to retain its authenticity,” says Pia. “I love the villas at Bon Ton because each is unique and antique…  Each villa is made completely from wood. There are no glass windows, no metal structures. Even the bathrooms are all wood.”

And to top it off: The resort was started as a way to raise money for an on-site animal shelter and sanctuary called LASSie.

[All photographs by Pia. You can read more about her trip and see more photos at her blog.]

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Work or home-related project inspired by a travel experience? Travel provides endless inspiration, and we photograph almost every dish we dine on when traveling and upon our return we usually catch-up with friends cooking dishes that are inspired from the flavors of the country we just visited. Sometimes we even include experiences like presenting guests with pre-dinner rosewater steamed towel [Morocco]. There are many little vignettes in our house that remind us of our travels with collections of framed photos, vases, bedding, and even a gold gilded garden gnome flipping us off [cracks us up - Berlin].

Favorite (design-related) travel purchase? Karen brought back bright orange vintage Kartel nesting tables from Dalesford, Australia while working there. We have framed several street-art pieces that we photographed by a picasso-esque artist named Diego in Naples. We purchased our favorite blanket after snuggling in one at a hotel in New Zealand. It’s part possum fur, part sheep wool–sounds bizarre, but unbelievably lush and warm, and it wears better than cashmere. We found ourselves fighting over it, so we called the hotel to buy another one. We have become good at resisting ‘trinkets’ that are charming in the context of their country but at home, often appear out of context and end up at the Salvation Army. We photograph these kind of items in their natural habitat and find that the photo captures the moment and memory better. Thank goodness for Apple TV and Blurb books.

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Ben Lambers and Tatjana Quax from this week’s Meet interview turned me onto the Boulevard Leopold–a 19th-century house-gone-b&b they stay in when they go to Antwerp. The house is old and well-loved, and even though the furnishings lean toward the contemporary, it’s full of a dated richness and personality rarely found these days. Every morning, they serve breakfast–homemade bread, jams, cheese and yogurt–and even if you’re not a guest in one of three rooms/two apartments, you can still come to eat and take in the eclectic splendor.

[Photography: produced by Tatjana Quax, taken by Ben Lambers]

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Here’s a case of reuse gone right. When restaurant owner David Reiss took over a defunct IHOP location in Culver City, California, he decided to go with the architecture instead of fighting it. He enlisted Venice Beach-based Sean Knibb of Knibb Design to make its high-pitched roof a major selling point, and Reiss even named the small-plates eatery A-Frame. Knibb sand-blasted the original Douglas fir roof and then clad the walls in knotty pine to give the space a sense of retro-rustic, under-polished warmth. Add to that strong-lined furnishings, big pops of color in small places and some way out-there details (the exterior lights are made out of retrofitted hoop skirts!) and it creates a laid-back lodge vibe in the middle of L.A. Chef Roy Choi (of the city’s cult-followed Kogi trucks) has crafted a menu that he dubs “modern picnic” fare that includes a global mix of small plates: Peruvian-style crispy beer can chicken, Korean-style BBQ lamp chops, carne asada tortas. And for those who are jonesing for an IHOP-style glucose overdose, A-Frame’s fried apple pie a la mode is one of the tastiest sugar rushes in town.

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When I was in Amsterdam two years ago, I had the chance to visit Tatjana Quax and Ben Lambers at their home and studio. Not only is their collective creative genius pretty much mind-blowing (please reference styling for the uninhibited Moooi product magazines and their art/design museum installations), but they are also very nice folks. They live in IJburg with their two boys, turning out collaborative and individual brand, styling and design projects that constantly challenge conventional notions of commercial culture and creative ideas. They also do quite a bit of travel–documenting and rhapsodizing about it in the same way they work: with great thought and stunning beauty.

Most meaningful travel experience? Jamaica. Maxim was four months old when we decided to take the epic journey from Amsterdam to Samsara beach resort. Even the most stressed out businessman can’t help to relax on the Island where Bob Marley is considered to be the son of God. We watched the stars on the seashore in the early morning, Maxim and me. Stars bright as stadium lights above a horizon with jumping dolphins…

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After stumbling across the kitschy-meets-surreal Wanderlust hotel while picking up lentils and spices in Little India–a neighborhood better known for backpacker-friendly hostels and cheap, delicious food than hip boutique hotels–the blogger behind Notabilia (“an artsy crafty New Yorker living in Singapore”) sent me a full design report.

Here’s what she had to say:

I peeked into the lobby and was captivated by the wall découpaged with vintage labels from products once sold in the neighborhood. Then, a tour.

There’s a funky lobby with a mish-mash of furniture: Barbershop chairs, a foosball table, a Frank Gehry sofa, a floor vase with pussy willows and red decorations as a nod to the forthcoming Chinese New Year. From there, four uniquely designed floors, each more over-the-top than the last. Each level was conceived and executed by a different local design firm. I loved the tiny, single-color rooms on the second floor (“Eccentricity”) designed by graphic design studio, :phunk, and the dichromatic origami- and pop-up-art-inspired rooms on the third floor (“Is it Just Black and White?”) by DP Architects.

Vestiges of the original building, which once housed the Hong Wen School (one of Singapore’s oldest Chinese schools) are still visible. A feature of a Singapore’s shophouse is the atrium around a central courtyard. It serves as an air well for ventilating the often long and narrow building. At Wanderlust, this space was turned into an airy, minimalist hanging garden, visible from the hotel’s glass elevator.

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After traveling to Trancoso on vacation, the creative director of Diesel, Wilbert Das, fell completely in love with the small fishing village. A few return trips later, he decided to buy a place–an old house facing the town’s Quadrado (historic square overlooking the sea), which had been restored to an Indian-style pousada with a beautiful but overgrown garden hidden behind the house.

Wilbert was in the middle of remodeling it as a second home/design studio when he had the idea of restoring some of the nearby houses as a community like “a hotel that’s not a hotel.”  Enter Uxua: nine individual, seriously stunning homes, all built or restored by local artisans, plus a social lounge, bar and library. Luxurious, yes, but in a rustic, traditional way.

Fallen tree trunks are carved out to form sinks, baths and showers; roof tiles are restored from old farmhouses; and local ceramics cover floors and act as décor. When Wilbert was renovating the spaces, he wanted to honor the color, exuberance and spirit of the centuries-old village. He used local craftsman, recycled and repurposed materials, and even designed many of the pieces himself (including the beautiful chandeliers made from dried indigenous berries).

“Some of our decorative elements were made by Pataxó Indians who live on a reservation just up the coast from Trancoso. One of these Indians loved the old trees and variety of plants in the garden of the property and described the place to me with the Pataxó word for ‘marvelous,’ which I borrowed and translated as UXUA, giving the hotel its name,” says Wilbert. “I’m a very rational Dutch guy but for me the Quadrado has some magic power that I have only encountered here, it completely relaxes me and takes away all the stress the minute I step foot on it.”

[All photos by Fernando Lombardi unless noted otherwise.]

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Welcome to designtripper’s new weekly interview series. Every Monday, we’ll hear from a designer, artist, architect or creator about how travel influences their work. I’m thrilled to start the series with Ty Best, one of the most brilliant artist and designers making things in America. If that seems dramatic, take a look.

Previously a Barneys window display guru (working under Malcolm Hill and Simon Doonan), the wildly prolific designer works in near isolation in his rural studio in Montana. And not only is he completely self-taught, but he only started designing furniture less than five years ago.

Ty and his business partner Brad Rowley recently closed their amazing little Chicago gallery, where Ty designed entire floor-to-ceiling installations (including a wooden Christmas shed inspired by unibomber Ted Kaczynski’s cabin and sinister wax-covered dreamscapes with plaster marionettes and carved wooden skulls), to expand their company.  A line of Caste furniture was recently picked up by Holly Hunt, but they’ve got more exciting news/work on the way (including case goods, lighting and interior design services—can you imagine?). Ty is so consumed by his work lately that most of his travel relates to Caste. “I love what I do and when I am not designing or conceptualizing, I am wondering why I am not.”

Last travel experience: Chicago. Was there recently to iron out details of new company and to finalize agreements. But on a more exciting arm, I was there to show many people sketches of new designs I had been working on in the past few months in Montana.

How does travel influence my creativity or work: It recharges my creativity. Montana lets me concentrate and hone in on decisive pieces, while traveling gives me spark to conceptualize and get gutsy with design. Being so isolated here in Montana I love to see what is going on elsewhere and to see who is doing what and why.

What do I look for in a trip: A Barneys! Kidding. Really I look to squeeze as much out of it as I can. In Montana, I have an unlimited well of inspiration from the natural landscape, so when I travel, I like to head to a city for a different kind of inspiration–and to study parallels and contrasts between the layers of landscape in Montana and those of an urban environment.

Most inspiring place I have ever stayed: Easy. A very close friend and mentor, artist Malcolm Hill, lives in an old church in small town Montana. Whenever I was assisting him on various projects–window displays for Barney’s, sculptures for residential installation or his own body of work–I would stay with him. The first floor of the old brick church is living quarters that as such an amazing sensibility, while the second floor (processional) is the studio space we worked in. It just seems so peaceful and ironic for us to be creating in such a space.

Favorite travel purchase: A tan suede pair of Johnny boots from YSL in San Francisco. My very first pair, and since has created a sort of monster out of me.

[IMAGES: First four slideshow images by Michelle Litvin.]

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Extraordinarily well-designed museums have a history of turning otherwise virtually unknown cities into design junkie paradises (see Bilbao, Spain, thank you Frank Gehry). And I have to admit: It’s not a terrible idea for encouraging tourism. In fact, Groningen was just bumped from obscurity into candidate for my Small European Towns I Would Someday Like to Visit Tour, because it’s the home of that crazy, candy-colored, post-modern, strangely medieval contemporary art and design museum that recently reopened after serious ($10 mil-plus) renovation by a gang of Euro uber-designers. The museum’s collection sounds interesting enough–De Ploeg paintings, silver collection, post-modern Italian furniture by Memphis, contemporary art from the Netherlands, UK, US and China–but the building and its interior spaces are the real draw here: an entrance hall and lounge by Studio Job, a futuristic-looking info center by Spanish artist/designer Jaime Hayon (tricked out with his BD Showtime chairs and Copa Cabana lights), the Mendini restaurant by Dutch designer Martin Baas (made famous by his clay series), and an over-the-top, pastel patchwork tile exterior of the building by Italian designer Alessandro Mendini. There are two other architectural portions designed by Philippe Starck and Coop Himmelb(l)au.

[Photos courtesy of the Groniger Museum, first spotted on Designboom]

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