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
First featured on these very pages back in 2019, Palazzo Daniele is an aristocratic residence turned contemporary art hotel in Italy’s Puglia region that has since become synonymous with minimalist grandeur and avant-garde hospitality. Six years...
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...
City Notes
Set inside a former Unitarian chapel house in Louisville KY, Holy Grale is a restaurant and bar where Belgian beer tradition meets sacred architecture. Now reimagined by Amanda Jacobs Design — the studio behind The Last Refuge — the storied...
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,...
City Notes
Set inside Houston’s historic El Dorado Ballroom, Kindred Stories redefines what a bookstore can be. Designed by local studio gin design group, this vibrant space brings literature, community, and cultural legacy together under one bold roof....
City Notes
Marking a decade in hospitality design, London- and LA-based interior architecture studio, Fettle, unveil their latest work in collaboration with Amsterdam-born apartment-hotel brand The July. Hot on the heels of BOAT&CO and The July — Twenty...
City Notes
Cook, a Mediterranean restaurant situated in a storied Parisian building, has undergone a considered transformation at the hands of creative studio Mersi; led by Meryl Motyka and Simon Mimoun. In just six months, the pair have reimagined the space...
Dispatches
For those designing the future, few accolades carry the weight of the A’ Design Award & Competition. With the submission period for the 2025—2026 edition well under way, this international juried competition calls on designers, innovators and...
City Notes
Located in the secluded bay of Günlüklü on Turkey’s Aegean coast, just east of Göcek, AHÃMA is a sanctuary shaped by conservation, design, and connection to place. A new member of The Aficionados, this 20 hectare eco-biome sits among ancient...
City Notes
In Madrid’s elegant Chamberí neighbourhood, Càlido is rethinking the neighbourhood café. Dreamed up by digital entrepreneur and Paris-trained pastry maker Mariale Briceño, the all-day spot is her first foray into the physical world; a space...
City Notes
Set on Rue de Prague in Paris’s 12th arrondissement, Araku’s latest boutique is a café-cum-working roastery, a stripped-back space that reflects the brand’s focus on process, precision, and purpose. It’s the third Paris location for the...
City Notes
Reopened in the centre of Megève, Hotel Saint-Georges returns as a thoughtfully reimagined alpine retreat with a new visual language and razor-sharp focus. Set within a traditional chalet, the five-star hotel has been reimagined by Paris-based...
City Notes
The Zetter Group is set to deepen its connection to the UK capital with the opening of The Zetter Bloomsbury in March 2026, a 68 bedroom hotel housed across six interconnecting Georgian townhouses moments from Russell Square. Sitting directly...
City Notes
TOKKIA is a new addition to Covent Garden, and Europe’s first luxury Korean matcha house. Founded by Sooji Im — who previously introduced London to Korean tea culture with be-oom in Exmouth Market — the project brings a focused look at Korean...
City Notes
Bunkhouse Hotels expands its Houston presence with the opening of Hotel Daphne, a 49 room refuge in the historic Houston Heights. Following the success of the exquisite Hotel Saint Augustine in Montrose, the Austin-based brand continues its mission...
Dispatches
Creative work and predictable income feel like they're supposed to be opposites. Artists, photographers, designers, writers, musicians built their practices around the work itself, not around revenue systems and operational infrastructure. Then...
Dispatches
This is it. The final call. The door is almost shut on the 2025—2026 edition of the A’ Design Awards & Competition, and if your work is sitting on a hard drive waiting for the right moment, this is that moment. With submissions closing on 28...
Dispatches
Inspiration seldom arrives empty-handed. As ideas clarify, books, samples, tools, notes, and references accumulate, and the pile may begin competing for space and attention. What started as inspirational fuel becomes visual noise—debris in the...
Dispatches
Freelancers and creatives rarely follow a traditional pay cycle. One month might bring multiple client payments, while the next feels quieter and less predictable. That irregular rhythm makes financial planning more nuanced than it is for salaried...