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Time Capsule: A Haussmannian Apartment in Paris by Sandra Benhamou.

Sandra Benhamou has a distinct signature: muted colours, natural materials and sharp contrasts. No two rooms are the same, and no idea is ever repeated—for good reason. As a keen connoisseur of art, her curations are a curious mix of flea market finds, pieces acquired from auction houses, and contemporary ceramics from specialist galleries. This is none more evident than in her latest project—a fifth-floor Haussmannian apartment just around the corner from Paris‘s Place de l’Étoile—where retro-c
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A European-style Café near Seoul by Design by 83.

When the pandemic hit and international travel became a no-go, people all over the world resorted to alternatives. Some lived vicariously through Instagram. Some binged K-dramas on Netflix. And yet others, as in the case of those inhabiting the old town of Yangnyeongsi in Daeguz (near Seoul), went out to get some coffee.

To clarify, this wasn’t just any coffee. It was the specialty kind served at Sted café, where each freshly brewed beverage was paired with a freshly crafted dessert and served
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Drab to Delightful: An Apartment in Madrid by Febrero Studio.

When Mercedes González Ballesteros and Jesús Díaz Osuna of Madrid-based Febrero Studio first set eyes on the apartment in Madrid’s Chamberi neighbourhood, they knew they’d need to knock it all down. After all, the structure was misaligned, the layout was skewed, and the potential was minimal. After several discussions and one green light from the homeowners later, the structure was demolished almost entirely, and the only vestiges of the apartment’s past life were the concrete pillars that remai
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Colourful Bohemia: A Clothing Workshop-Turned-Loft in Paris by Épicène.

When they chanced upon a one-time clothing workshop in suburban Paris, there was nothing not to love about the little space. It was sunny, historic and full of character. And inside, it featured Rubik’s cube-like volumes most atypical of the neighbourhood. The rare combination was enough to convince the family to sign the deal, pack their bags and move in.

But one year and many functional mishaps later, they realised they’d need to call in the professionals to give the former factory a facelift
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Sin City: A Stranger Things-Inspired Interior Design Studio in Bangalore by Multitude of Sins.

Skeletons on the wall. Kilt-clad ninjas. Dragons with ‘Slinky’ breath. Everything about this office should give you the creeps. And yet, nothing does. “When it came to our very own studio, we were convinced that it had to tell our story like it was. Authentic, laced with curiosity, and emblematic of the many personalities that inhabit this space,” says Smita Thomas, founder and principal designer of Bangalore-based interior design firm Multitude of Sins (MOS), adding that the office, aptly dubbe
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The Tallest Mass Timber Office Building in London by Waugh Thistleton Architects & Daytrip.

In London’s Shoreditch is a building that can be taken apart and put back together—it’s designed to be recyclable. And yet, there’s more to it than just its LEGO-ish nature. At 17.8 metres high, it’s the tallest mass timber office building in central London, using 37% less embodied carbon than comparable structures, and powered by 100% renewable energy sources (thanks to 80 solar panels on the roof). The Black & White Building isn’t just an object lesson in sustainable architecture, it’s also a
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A Movie-inspired Apartment in Paris by After Bach.

In the 1976 Dustin Hoffman starrer, Marathon Man, Paris’ Avenue Montaigne makes an accidental cameo, serving as the backdrop in one fight scene. If you were to visit today, chances are, you’d see no fight, nor any cameras rolling (unless you count your phone, which, given the street’s sheer beauty, you might feel compelled to keep on). Instead, you would find rows and rows of upscale boutiques that present the ultimate picture of high fashion (think stores like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Fendi
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Smoke Without Fire: Smoked Room in Madrid by Astet Studio.

Whoever coined the term ‘smoke without fire’ could well have lunched last at Madrid’s latest haunt. With its charcoal passages, sculpted black doors, dark brick backdrops, and chandeliers that look like lava balls, the restaurant channels the inside of a volcano—if volcanoes also had 15-dish tasting menus and a Japanese maple wood bar. Located inside Hotel Hyatt Regency Hesperia in Madrid, Smoked Room is intimate in scale, with exclusive seating for only 14 diners.

“We were tasked to create a s
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A Century-Old Seville Building Transformed into Four Apartments by Febrero Studio.

Seville takes many things seriously. Flamenco dancing. Tapas nights. Afternoon siestas. (To name a few). Besides its kaleidoscopic cultural hallmarks, however, the Andalusian town is also serious about preserving and elevating its traditional architecture.

Bos-Cos’ latest establishment—its first in Seville—is a classic case in point. Once an old Sevillian courtyard townhouse, the property has a gentle grandmotherly quality that makes you want to hang up your boots and pop on your slippers the m
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The Standard, Ibiza by Oskar Kohnen Studio.

The Standard, Ibiza is the kind of play-hard, party-harder hotel where glittering parties and beachside yoga sessions are both as much a part of the experience. With a DJ dialing it up in the bistro, rooftop merrymaking into the wee hours, kaleidoscopic setups, and easy-breezy knock-back zones, there’s so much going on that you could end up dancing on a table and nobody would bat an eyelid. Of course, much of the vibe is courtesy of the interior, which has that signature Oskar Kohnen touch.
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A Zany Experiment with Colour: Madrid Apartment by Sierra + De La Higuera.

In a 1940s building in Madrid’s beatnik Conde Duque neighbourhood, is a little apartment that could well belong in Mexico City. Or along the Galician coastline. “The clients are bicultural: she is Mexican, he is Galician. Plus, they are avid travellers, so they yearned to bring all those influences into their new home,” say Inés Sierra and Javier De La Higuera, co-founders and partners of Madrid-based architecture and design firm Sierra + De La Higuera, for whom the refurbishment project became
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Warm and Familiar: Little Cat Lodge in the Hudson Valley by LOVEISENOUGH.

Little Cat Lodge isn’t little, nor is it for cats (although you can bring them along if you so wish). What it is, is an alpine retreat with a tavern and a bar and twelve guest rooms that could have popped out of twelve different postcards. Nestled at the foothills of Catamount Mountain, the Hudson Valley property, as its designer Loren Daye—founder and principal of LOVEISENOUGH—aptly puts it, “merges the rustic charm of an alpine lodge with the magic of mid-century Berkshires.”

The design borro
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Curiosity Central: Capital Kitchen in Amsterdam by Maarten Spruyt.

There are many things to love about Amsterdam: its great canals, the bike culture, the gorgeous cityscape and the adorable houseboats. Not to forget, the friendly locals and the stroopwafels that melt in your mouth like little spots of sunshine. If the city had a resumé, there wouldn’t be space to fit anymore. Not that that would stop it from adding to its already stellar list of attractions. One of the latest in said list is Capital Kitchen, a new restaurant conceived by multi-talented artist a
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The Red House in Barcelona by Aramé Studio.

Interior courtyards have long been a hallmark of Mediterranean architecture, stretching all the way from the Iberian Peninsula to the Persian Gulf as far back as 2000 BC. In fact, in the ancient town of Ur, by the Euphrates River, each home had a courtyard at its heart. Likewise, in ancient Greece, the courtyard was the home’s nucleus, serving as a central sanctuary and illuminating the rooms that skirted it. The architectural style took on various other avatars: in Rome, it emerged as the domus
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Casa Aire in Medellin by Cinco Solidos.

In Medellín, Colombia, atop a bluff that overlooks the valley, is a house that kisses the clouds. Aptly named Casa Aire, or House of Air, it moves you along with the breeze, quietly, weightlessly, towards a handkerchief balcony that appears to somewhere meet the mountains. With a spirit so zen, you’d imagine it to belong to a retired couple. Or a quiet family looking to escape city life. Anyone really, but a best-selling mega artist with over 35 million records. But for Colombian music sensation
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Biiird Yakitori in Guangdong by bigER club design.

During festivals, or just on regular weekday evenings, the main streets of Japan buzz with small carts and stalls known as yatai. These yatai are where people flock to get their hands on yakitori, a Japanese style of skewered chicken. There’s something magical about the experience. Standing roadside, skewer in hand, unperturbed by the cars that swish past or the busy passersby.

Over time, yakitori stalls evolved into yakitori restaurants, but what remained unchanged was their knocked-back, fril
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Recooked Leftovers: Mo de Movimiento in Madrid by Lucas Muñoz.

Mo de Movimiento is no ordinary restaurant. It’s a phantasmic space brought alive from dead objects, each one resuscitated, repolished and refashioned into something new. For most designers, an interior like this would have been a tall order. But Lucas Muñoz is not most designers. The Madrid-based creative has an exceptional flair for upcycling objects, as evidenced in Mo de Movimiento, his largest and best waste-to-wealth project yet.

As far as the interior goes, each element nods to the envir
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Village by BOA: A Heritage Resort in Porto by Pablo Pita, Heim Balp Architekten & Bacana Studio.

In the Portuguese town of Porto (a UNESCO heritage site), is a neighbourhood that masquerades as a resort. Established at the end of the nineteenth century, Bairro do Silva is the sort of neighbourhood that straddles vernacular and voguish, simple and swish—with equal elan. After all, with cool concierge services, cutting-edge technologies and amenities that could put five-stars to shame, it’s nothing like its country neighbours.

The resort has 40 accommodation units and commercial spaces—divid
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Rue Du Bac Apartment in Paris by Rodolphe Parente.

For an apartment situated on Paris’ historic Rue Du Bac, Rodolphe Parente’s kaleidoscopic interior remodel could have you mistaking it for a gallery. Or a museum. Or even a zany installation that could have tumbled out of The Louvre. Neither loud nor muted, the home features outré pieces that are both bizarre and beautiful.

A pair of floating legs (actually a blue jeans body pillow by Pia Camil), for example, dangles over a mantel in the living room. A metallic blue Tube Chair by Joe Colombo si
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4Rooms: A Creative Playground in Kastellorizo, Greece.

Candy colours, eye-popping furniture and lights that look like modern spaceships—whether 4Rooms in Kastellorizo, Greece is a children’s playground or a work sanctuary is anybody’s guess. Well, not anybody’s. For the artists and creatives who work there, the place serves as the ultimate oasis for discussions and brainstorming sessions, unleashing a creative spirit hardly possible in white-walled offices.

The project, which was only recently unveiled, is the brainchild of Silvia Fiorucci, preside
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