Market Street Candles 9/12/2010

There is a wonderful little company called Market Street Candles and they produce some really beautiful candles.  Heck, even if they didn't smell so good, I'd still spring for the amazing "vessels" that they come in!  

According to the creator, Haley Forge, she started these candles by making them by herself as centerpieces for her dinner table.  Isn't it awesome how the greatest ideas come when you least expect them?

Photos courtesy of Market Street Candles.

Crazy Knick Knacks From The Spoon Sisters 9/12/2010

I seriously love Daily Candy and how much stuff they send me.  Okay, there was a bit of sarcasm in that... but Daily Candy sends buttloads of emails every week!  The good thing about the massive wave of mail is that every once in awhile, I'll find some little nugget of gold that will make me smile : )

Today's nugget of gold is: THE SPOON SISTERS!

What initially drew my attention was the Dress for Dinner Napkins.  Apparently, these are paper napkins that insta-fancy any occasion!  These would be a hoot if I were ever able to host my own dinner parties : )

The next item that caught my attention was this incredibly life-like peanut butter and jelly sandwich WALLET!  Crazy, isn't it?  I wish I could get my hands on these puppies, but they're all sold out! It's so cheap too, only 10 buckaroos!

Photos courtesy of Spoon Sisters.

Papier d'Armenie 9/12/2010

Came across this from a Daily Candy email and thought it was pretty neat!  As an alternative to incense, this teeeeeeeeny tiiiiiiiiiiiny piece of paper will fill your entire room with a lovely smell.  I think it would definitely be worth a try!  You can find it at Beauty Habit.

Photo courtesy of Beauty Habit.

Mud Australia 9/12/2010

So simple! So clean!

I found Mud Australia via Gretel, another home accessories website. 

I'm not a huge contemporary fan, but Mud Australia doesn't seem as stark as contemporary design usually looks.

Photos courtesy of Mud Australia.

Book City Jackets 9/11/2010

I don't know about you, but I love the feeling of a book in my hands.  What I love even more is this book cover that provides a cheeky response to all those techies out there!

Book City Jackets makes the cutest book covers and the books look really awesome too! The 3 covers below show Moby Dick, War & Peace, and Ulysses. 

Photos courtesy of Book City Jackets.

Another Spa Like No Other! 9/11/2010

Maybe spas with a twist are my thing.  Maybe I'm not a zen, breathe-in-breathe-out kinda gal.  Maybe.... I like my spas to have a little character... I'm thinkin' that this is more than a maybe because I am LOVING these wacky spas that make you feel something other than the typical empty-your-soul-of-all-emotions spas!

This here is the lobby of a lovely little spa called PSYC over at Parker Palm Springs.  Apparently, this Parker hotel is something of a legend... something I might have to check out later....

A Spa Like No Other 9/11/2010

Typically, spas are light and airy with a palette ranging from whites to blues to greens.  The ESPA Spa at Hotel Metropole in Monte Carlo, Monaco is just the opposite.  

They manage to pull it off though with an equally soothing color scheme of whites and browns.  I especially love the creaminess of it all!

HOTEL JUNKIE: Una Palace Hotel - Sicily, Italy 9/11/2010

My favorite thing about this place is their excellent use of drapery.  Otherwise, the place would look very stark!

Lobby

Suite

Photos courtesy of Una Hotels.

HOTEL JUNKIE: Una Palazzo Mannaioni - Tuscany, Italy 9/11/2010

I personally harbor a soft spot for all things "countrified" or rustic.  So when it's mixed so fluidly with contemporary design, I can't help but swoon!  If I were to travel to Italy, this looks like the most comfortable place to stay.

Lobby Lounge

Suites

Wine Tasting Cellar

Photos courtesy of Una Hotels.

HOTEL JUNKIE: Tcherassi Hotel - Cartegena de Indias, Colombia 9/11/2010

A fashion designer turned hotel designer by the name of Silvia Tcherassi has definitely made a statement that I'm surely not to forget anytime soon. Her style is definitely really fresh.  Just take a look at some of these photos of this gorgeous mansion-turned-hotel:

Entrance to Hotel

Vera Restaurant

Another View of Vera

Spa Entrance

Photos courtesy of Tcherassi Hotels.

HOTEL JUNKIE: Andaz (Hyatt) - San Diego, CA 9/11/2010

Originally I was looking into the New York Andaz Hyatt, but found it a little too boring.  Then I found out that there was a San Diego Andaz and decided, "Hey, no harm in giving it a look."  Well, I'm sure glad I decided to give it a look because as soon as I saw this, I thought, "I wish I had seen this place before I had done my senior thesis in school...."

Quarter Kitchen

Ivy Rooftop Lounge

The Lobby

The Andaz San Diego

The whole problem with my senior thesis was that I was not very familiar with such high end hotels to begin with, even though high-end hotels is what I really want to do in the future.  Let this be a lesson that research is a crucial first step to any project!

Photos courtesy of San Diego Andaz.

Round Back Adirondack Chairs 9/10/2010

Saw these awfully unique outdoor chairs in an ad for Round Hill resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica

HOTEL JUNKIE: Maison Moschino - Milan, Italy 9/10/2010

Maison Moschino is probably the most adorable hotel I've come across.  All the way in Milan, Maison Moschino is known as a design hotel and is part of a hotel management firm known as HotelPhilosophy.  HotelPhilosophy builds only in Italy and has some of the most spectacular hotels that I have ever laid eyes on.  Definitely a "wow" for every hotel they've got!  

I would say that Maison Moschino is the most fanciful one.  Based on dreams and fairy tales, each of their 65 rooms tells of  

   "a fairy tale theme inside a dreamlike environment 

                                          which tell an optimistic story about a fantasy world 

                                                                                                      and come to three-dimensional life."  

The Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Room

Frightening, dont you think?

The Forest

Inside the suite known as the Forest, there is this adorable little owl lamp!  

The Shadow Room

The Shadow Room is probably the most "normal" room out of them all.

Wallpaper Room

The Wallpaper Room is by far my favorite!  I love everything about from the wall paper with a damask heart design that is duplicated onto all the materials in the room.... to the fabulous bench!

I think that Maison Moschino is definitely on my list of hotels-to-visit-when-I'm-stinkin'-rich list!  For the time being, Maison Moschino's website will just have to do...

Photos courtesy of Maison Moschino.

HOTEL JUNKIE: Gramercy Park Hotel NY, NY 9/10/2010

Introducing a new section of my blog!  HOTEL JUNKIE will be about hotels that I adore.... 

First up will be the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, New York!

The Lobby with Reclaimed Wood Columns & a Coffered Ceiling

If there's one thing I love about design, it's about the reuse of old materials.  The coffered ceiling is repeated throughout the hotel.  

The Rose Bar

Love, love, love, love, love....

Penthouse Suite Bathroom

Okay, I personally would LOVE to walk into this bathroom every morning and just feel "aaahhh...." 

Private Roof Club

I've always been a fan of those types of light bulbs and this is one of the first times that I've seen it used blanketing the ceiling.  I've got to say... It blew me away when I first spotted this picture!

What is also great about Gramercy Park is that their website also features awesome floorplans of each suite!  ....which is pretty suite.  (Sorry... I had to pun.)

By the way, Ian Schrager is a design GENIUS.  Pure Genius.

Photos courtesy of Gramercy Park Hotel.