Archive for the ‘design + style’ Category
The baking heat of the desert greeted me when I stepped off the plane in Morocco. Welcome to Marrakech, a city of pink buildings drowning in a sea of satellite dishes. Imagine narrow winding streets filled with drivers texting and honking as they fly past on mopeds. Snake charmers. French-style pâtisseries. Open air butcher shops. Tea shops, full to the brim even in the sweltering heat of the day. Donkey traffic. Veil culture ranging from no veils to fully-veiled, showing off slits of almond eyes. The never-ending song of aggressive hawkers echoing from every souk.
Scientists have discovered a diamond planet in our own Milky Way galaxy! It’s largely made of carbon, measures five times the size of Earth, and years on the planet last only two hours.
“The evolutionary history and amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon—i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an orbit so tight it would fit inside our own Sun.” —Matthew Bailes, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.
Read more about this discovery here.
Kelly O’Neal paints fabulously stylish shoes. Glittery stilettos, leopard-print high heels, and shoes with pouffy accents, feathers, flowers, and ribbons.
Attention unicorn lovers! This chic hotel restaurant at the Faena Hotel in Buenos Aires is outfitted with white unicorn busts with ruby eyes. I love how this abundantly white room is accented with glass chandeliers and red accents, giving off a clean, modern vibe.
I’ve never set foot in a more beautiful hotel. Words to describe it? Timeless. Graceful. Opulent. Stylish. Unique. Palatial. Every last detail of this hotel is pure perfection. Consisting of 5 riads (traditional Moroccan residences centered around a courtyard or garden) with 28 individually themed rooms total, La Sultana is a shrine to Moroccan design and craftsmanship. From the minute you step into this hotel, filled with glimmering gold accents, you can feel the outside world of endless streets, honking mopeds, open-air butcher shops, donkey traffic, aggressive hawkers, and snake charmers melt away to nothing but a distant whisper.
Handmade cloud mobiles designed by The Butter Flying, a Montreal-based design studio.
Wow Factor: The Moroccan Riad
Instead of staying in a traditional hotel, experience a slice of Moroccan culture by staying in a riad, or small hotel converted from a traditional Moroccan home or palace centered around a courtyard or garden. Marrakech is bursting with stylish luxury riads, many of them European-owned. For a taste of something more authentic, check out Riad Kniza. This is one of the city’s most luxurious riads, which also happens to be Moroccan-owned. Dating from the 18th century and restored with traditional artisan-crafted materials, this 11-room gem is owned by a renowned Marrakech antiques dealer, who also doubles as a tour guide whose client roster includes former American presidents and celebs like Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman.
Caught the latest Google Doodle? It’s an interactive mobile by Alexander Calder. Turns out we share a birthday!!!
Wow Factor: Antique Meets Modern Chic
This hotel is simply beautiful. Small artisan details abound at each turn, such as wood carvings, paneled ceilings, alcoves containing Roman busts, and stained glass doors. The interior design fuses traditional and contemporary design elements perfectly, creating a stylish interior space inside a former 18th century church vestry. The fashionable interiors combine the best of classic Andalusian design, including decorative painted tilework and rooms surrounding a multi-story courtyard accented by a Moorish fountain. One of a kind antique furniture, restored with modern fabrics and bold accents, can be found throughout. The staff is friendly and helpful, and with only 25 rooms, the hotel has a cozy, boutique feel.
Verdict: Fabulous!
When it comes to guitars, sometimes looks are everything. That may be blasphemous to the experienced, gig weary Rock God whose guitar has been beaten, burned, and abused before being duct-taped together again by a dedicated roadie. But, for the fledgling guitarist dreaming of licks, riffs, solos, and leads, looks are what matters, or more specifically it’s the mental image of what they will look like playing that counts. That image is what sustains them through the long road from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to the distant horizon of Crazy Train and Stairway to Heaven. The road is bumpy and sometimes brutal, but it is the image of standing in front of a mirror looking awesome with their new guitar riding at their side that will, at times, be all that keeps them playing.
