A love affair abroad

The best way for me to explain why we like to travel abroad is to simply state: it is an escape from the ordinary and a search for something extraordinary. Learning about different cultures has always been interesting for us. For it to have an impact on us personally though, it has to be done by physically being there amongst the people and the lifestyle. It doesn’t matter if we’re sitting at a cafe people-watching or at a restaurant with locals; I love taking it all in. Reading about different places can be interesting too but there is such a big sensory part of the experience that is missing. Living in a different culture brings us to an entire next level.

Pin It Now!

Single Images

It’s almost summertime and now we can venture into our gardens or terraces and enjoy the fresh air and sun. Dust off your garden furniture and invite your friends over. Every garden needs at least one spot where friends can linger, day or night… view image search

Pin It Now!

What lies beneath

Looking for a way to add space without going up or out? The Hornsbys’ home proves that underground rooms needn’t be dark or dismal Until the Eighties, the plot where David and Antonia Hornsby’s home now stands held no more than a bunch of lock-ups and sheds at the end of a row of Surrey gardens. The long, thin site was then sold to a developer, who created a split-level, one-bedroom bachelor pad. When the Hornsbys bought the place in 2009, Antonia was expecting their first child, and they were faced with the challenge of turning the limited space into a family home. A chance meeting with a friend on holiday led David Hornsby to contact interior design and architectural consultants Shed – appropriately enough, given the original use of the site. With architect Dave Dalziel, a scheme was developed to turn the part-subterranean house into a three-bedroom home with garage, and to increase the area from 175sq m to 200sq m without extending above or beyond the original footprint. View feature

Pin It Now!

Ina's Summer House Retreat

When the experienced interior architect Ina Janine Johnsen created her very own summer retreat on the east coast of Norway after many years of living abroad, she brought some rather foreign ideas back with her to the Norwegian seaside. The family kept coming back to their homeland for their summer holidays. Then, after having spent two weeks at eight different locations during one of their trips back home, Ina realised that the family desperately needed a place of their own. At the time, they were living in London, and while they had just had two little ones, they decided to take back the Norwegian summer.. Since then, they have all moved back to Oslo, and the cottage is now being used as a second home.  Today, the wooden buildings are painted in black, but the interiors look more like something out of a Cape Cod landscape, than a basic cabin from the fifties. Ina has also been inspired by American modernistic architecture while at the same time making use of the established Scandinavian tradition of building with wood. The active hostess, who is also a popular food blogger, has created a unique retreat which works on all levels for her family. And next to it, there is the little guest house of course. View feature

Pin It Now!

Between the sea and the green

In southern Corsica near Bonifacio, a wood framed house is a refuge by the sea, sailing with the wind towards the summer and holidays. Placed between the sea and the green, in front of the Lavezzi archipelago, a wooden architectural home would be the dream of any sailing vacation. In the south of France, where the cliffs of Bonifacio seem to tear into Sardinia, contemporary architecture is affirmed in a functional style. With its space saving features, perspectives and scenic views, simplicity in a limited choice of colors, the scenery of nature and the sea is sufficient and always gives the feeling that the inside of the house seamlessly extends outward when all the windows are open. An exceptional hideaway or wonderful holiday home near Sperone the décor, simplicity of solid teak furniture, fabrics, and modern accessories with custom designed furnishings are in perfect harmony with the architecture. View feature

Pin It Now!

Riant Chateau

Riant Château is a luxury residence located in a unique setting facing Lake Geneva and the Alps, built by the famous architects Polak and Piollenc in 1912-1913 on the eve of the First World War. During the Roaring Twenties this ultra-modern attracted personalities linked to the world of cinema and originally included several large apartments for wealthy families and a cosmopolitan clientele seeking discretion. A renovation turned this former 20th Century palace in Montreux-Territet into apartments that still attracts many foreign followers of anonymity. Former hosts include Charlie Chaplin, Alain Delon and Freddie Mercury. The mysterious and invisible entrepreneur who lives here with his in-laws, between sky and lake, turned to the talented decorators Lyon and Dominique Herve Giughese to add the finishing touches to his penthouse apartment. Throughout the day in this beautiful residence with its pure white décor, the changing light brings different contrasts to the pieces, giving an extra life to the choice of the simply furnished with tones of baroque. The light and shadows, sitting on a large roof terrace with the cry of gulls, the sound of the wind, the house offers a variety of environments outside of time. View feature

Pin It Now!

The High Priestess of Marrakech

Jacqueline Foissac, is the high priestess of the rehabilitation Marrakech architecture and as a pioneer, she was to bring her inimitable key of elegance to this rhyad. Because it’s impossible to circumvent the great lady when it comes to transformations of old residences into médinas or creations, there is not a European celebrity, actor, intellectual, artist, dressmaker, or politician who does not court her to see their house carrying Jacqueline’s stamp of design. At the beginning, this rhyad was a contemporary construction of the 1930’s Glaoui de Marrakech, beneffiting from a panoramic view on the Atlas and the médina. Jacqueline performed a magicial transformation of this half-ruined property; each one of her interventions adding grace where it was hidden or non-existent. Fabrics of the artist Claudio Bravo point out the origins of the owner. The result is a house which wants to be traditional, the whole creating an atmosphere of great quietude. View feature

Pin It Now!

Mission Impossible

In mountainous countries it is not uncommon to see wooden houses located in places considered impossible; but this has certain advantages: you escape the neighbours and awake each day to an exceptional view. Achieving this remoteness requires finding a builder who dares to accept a mission considered impossible. Just such a challenge was found on the site of a former nineteenth century vineyard, considered unbuildable with its 45 degree slope, some of it in rock; but with an exceptional view of the entire Lake Annecy and the surrounding alpine mountains. 
Robert Dunoyer, son and grand-son of carpenters in Annecy, now managing the family business, decided to accept this challenge. Inventively Dunnoyer also had the business idea to deliver high end homes, keys delivered in hand, fully furnished and decorated. Dunoyer’s company caries out all the woodworking and carpentry, and also personally looks for land to build, develops the plans with the architect as well as any follow-up with his team of designers - even going as far to fit the curtains and choose the spoons! “A distinction is made in fashion ready-to-wear and high fashion, we should do a bit the same in the construction of houses.” View feature

Pin It Now!

Travel images

Why don't you find some placing shots or travel images to go with your feature? View image search

Pin It Now!