City Notes
The word hostel may have you immediately reaching for the insecticide, but it’s time to put aside your prejudices and embrace communal quarters - the number of 'hip hostels' on our radar continues to rise. Have a gander at this re-imagining of...
Journal
The aptly-named canteen-style restaurant, Canteen, now has outlets covering all of London's hot-spots; from Baker Street to Spitalfields. With classic British inspired cooking and award-winning menus you're likely to expect quality ingredients in...
City Notes
Let’s be honest, no one likes the council planning department. They seem to have a rule against everything, with the curious exception of erecting truly hideous houses everywhere you look, which is apparently smiled upon enthusiastically. But if...
City Notes
Travellers to Portugal wanting a taste of boutique hotel at B&B prices are in for a treat when visiting Lisbon’s Casa das Janelas com Vista, located in the hip Biarro Alto district. As the name suggests, the building – a former basketry...
City Notes
If the name of your place is The Martian Embassy, you had better back it up with some outlandish design, and that’s what designers LAVA have done at the Sydney Story Factory down under. Created as a space for creative endeavours, a far out...
City Notes
When eight shipping containers beach themselves outside the Southbank Centre, your first thought might be to call the Environmental Protection Agency. But this is no ordinary jetsam. In fact, Softroom Architects have made old into new by stacking...
City Notes
They said you couldn't engage the masses with contemporary art, but engage them they did... with not far short of 5 million visitors a year, Tate Modern has been somewhat of a sensation since it opened at the turn of the century. Coveted Basel-based...
City Notes
Probably not the place to go if you’re feeling fragile, Distrito is a restaurant and bar found at the Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. Brought into being by Brooklyn design firm crème and its principal Jun Aizaki, this place puts the vibe...
The Edit
Gloomy? Grim? Clinically depressed? Then you must live in Britain, where the country’s weather contrives to dampen even the liveliest spirits with one of the worst examples of a summer since Noah was a lad. If you’re fed up with asking...
City Notes
Given its phonetically-incongruous name, Bar Soba is doing quite well for itself, thank you very much. The bar-restaurant-club outfit has just opened its second venue, sprouting from a successful 12-year run of its first site on Glasgow’s Mitchell...
City Notes
Dominating the skyline of Nantes, and one of France's tallest buildings outside Paris, Tour Bretagne is not exactly the prettiest of skyscrapers - but that no longer matters. Not one iota. Because, thanks to London-based French graphic designer Jean...
City Notes
Outdoorsy types: Berghaus fleeces, The North Face jackets, chintzy B&Bs and hearty bowls of porridge - it's a field that's not necessarily renowned for its design aesthetic. Enter Basecamp, a frightfully good-looking hotel concept that takes the...
Stuff Crush
Weirdness is a notion long entwined with the concept of creativity. Mocked by the strait-laced confined to their boxes of conformism, celebrated by the bold and the brave who pursue the outré as a means of pushing beyond the banal. In Weird...
City Notes
In Montreal’s Little Italy, a new arrival is making waves with a fresh take on Italian dining. Pasta Pooks, which opened in March 2025, is a compact five-seat takeout counter serving pasta and natural wine in a space that marries Old World charm...
City Notes
A once-forgotten 19th-century residence in Savannah’s historic district has been brought spectacularly back to life, reincarnated as The Douglas; a refined 16-room boutique hotel at 14 East Oglethorpe Avenue, where design meets old-world...
Dispatches
In a country where club floors open with Buddhist chants and Ladyboys offer dawn alms in corsets and stilettos, Elizabeth Waterman has found a world of contradictions too vivid to ignore. Over the past three years, and across four extended trips,...
Dispatches
There's a paradox about self-care, which is that those who need it most are probably the least likely to practice it. If you're one of those people, you might even be put off by the term self-care. Maybe it sounds too self-indulgent to you. If...
Dispatches
Looking for a Japanese tutor in Chicago without breaking the bank? You’re not alone. Whether you’re aiming to order ramen with confidence, ace a language exam, or shape your skills for business or travel, one thing’s clear: good private...
Dispatches
If you’ve ever looked at your balcony and thought, “What a wasted space,” you’re not alone. Many of us live in homes where every square foot counts, yet balconies often remain underutilized. Whether it’s too small, too plain, or simply...
Dispatches
Recognising the world’s most inspiring work across design, innovation and creativity, the A’ Design Award & Competition stands as one of the most respected and far-reaching international design accolades. Each year, a diverse panel of academics,...