Peacock Chair

The always romantic, classy peacock chair. Also, check this website out for the lovely contemporary peacock chair- the absolute sense of home. 

The Sublime

Not very long time ago, Char and I went to Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxford, UK for dinner. The food was divine there, but what interest me most are the stunning gardening and the most beautiful floriculture I have ever seen in my life. The Grand Chef Raymond Blanc grows almost 90 varieties of vegetables and over 70 aromatic herbs, which you are bound to find on your plate, in one way or another.  If you ever get a chance to go to England, please do not miss this place, it is a must to visit!

1. A glance at the beautiful manor house. 

2. Somewhere in the garden.

3. The hotel.

4. The whole view.

5. The restaurant.

6. The event.

7. The aperitif we had before the dinner.

8. The most beautiful floriculture I have every seen! 

Number Sixteen

If you have read my post before, you might remember that I mentioned Crosby Street Hotel in Manhattan. 

This Hotel Number Sixteen, together with Crosby Street Hotel, belongs to Firmdale Hotels Group and because of the great experience with Crosby last time in NYC, we chose to live in Hotel Number Sixteen in London.

It has the similar contemporary feeling to Crosby, yet it is much smaller. Each room has a different design and we did like the one we stayed in.

It has been an extremely busy month for me and I feel so happy that I finally can squeeze some time to take care of this blog. 

1. Hotel guest room

2. As above

3. As above

4. The room we stayed in

5. Public area

6. Public area (I do like the color of the painting but I didn't really appreciate the moths...)

7. Public area

Perfect Color Mixing

The hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich, Switzerland has a marvelous restaurant called Pavillon. I love it not because of its food- I didn't mean the food was not good, but it is not the reason I love it. 

Pavillon has a really special spacial shape (as you can see from the first and second picture) with grand windows all around that enables the best illumination. The interior design, especially the color and material mixing of the furnitures, the dishes and the plants are so perfect and unique. The violet and pistachio velvet chairs echo perfectly with the purple glasses and pistachio plate mats (cannot be seen in the pictures, I am sorry that I personally didn't take any pictures of this restaurant because I enjoyed it so much and forgot to take photos...) and the flowers on the table; the texture of velvet perfectly balances the sunlight, adding a just-right sense of luxury.  

I had my breakfast here, on a cold winter morning, watching the snowflakes falling and the crystal beautiful scenery outside... Can life be even better?

PS: I realized that, after an intense daily use of Italian, I began to forget how to speak English... lol 

Where is Dreamland

I accidentally found this photograph on the internet. I don't know where it originally comes from. This metal lantern/ candle holder is natural, vintage and classic. I just cannot move my eyes away from it. Imagine that on a snowy winter night, you take this lantern and walk into the endless forest to look for you beloved one. I know it is cheesy, but I mean, it is poetic, isn't it? (Maybe some people will think it is frightening...)

Below I found some lanterns/ candle holders of similar style, but the one above, for me, is no doubt the prettiest. 

1. Lantern for block candle from IKEA

2. Lucy lantern from Zara Home

3. A punched-metal lantern suspended from a tree branch via Lonny

4. Fake filigree and papel picado candle holders via TikkiDo

5. Black damask metal lanterns from ADORN Event Hire

Buy some or make some yourselves to decorate your homes!

Where time has stood still

I accidentally found the website of this lovely boutique hotel Wreta Gestgifveri (in Sweden) and I immediately fell in love with this place. Spending a weekend there would be the best rest and leisure for us. Hope I can have to chance to go there next year.