DON’T MISS | COOL HOTELS | Argentina | La Bamba de Areco Estancia | 17 June 2013
This is the scene that awaited me when the car finally pulled through the gates of La Bamba de Areco Estancia.
STYLE MOMENTS | Narlai, India | 14 June 2013
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
Jawaharial Nehru (1889-1964) First prime minister of independent India
DON’T MISS | COOL HOTELS | India | Rawla Narlai | 10 June 2013
At the foot of a great mystical rock where sages have meditated, in the heart of a colorful Rajasthan village, sits Rawla Narlai, the 17th century villa used as a hunting lodge by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. It’s now a charming boutique hotel, with cozy rooms opening onto a courtyard surrounded by cascading bougainvillea.
STYLE MOMENTS | Hotel Palacio de Villapanés | 7 June 2013
“Good design is a manifestation of the capacity of the human spirit to transcend its limitations.”
George Nelson (1908-1986) American industrial designer
DON’T MISS | COOL HOTELS | Seville | Hotel Palacio de Villapanés | 3 June 2013
For the next couple of months, I’m going to feature some of my favorite hotels. Some I’ve posted before, some are new – all are unique, a few are unusual, several historical, and each one, naturally, an example of design perfection.
The first of the series is Hotel Palacio de Villapanés in Seville, Spain. Originally built as a private mansion for the Marques of Villapanés in the 18th century, it is now a luxury hotel.
A set of rose-colored marble steps lead to the stunning arched entrance, with a surround of elaborately filigreed ironwork.
The street is quiet, and unassuming, so it’s a surprise to find such a grandiose entrance.
The palace is built around a light-filled, marble-floored, balconied courtyard.
A grand staircase leads up to the balcony level.
Throughout the building, traditional historical elements are presented in a contemporary manner – like these lighted plexiglass panels resembling decorative tile.
Even the room numbers are silk-screened with a typical tile pattern.
The pattern of this wood parquet floor also resembles the famous tile patterns.
Actual Spanish azulejos cover a wall behind a contemporary leather chair.
An original mosaic stone altar is the focal point for this enclosed terrace.
The guest rooms are beautifully designed to fit in with the setting, but have a contemporary edge that I love.
My room was reached by walking through another interior courtyard, filled with fragrant orange trees…
…and this is my glorious, early morning view.
I loved Sevilla – the flamenco shows, the azulejos, the flea market, the people – and Hotel Palacio de Villapanés.
Magnífico!
Alma Sevilla Hotel Palacio de Villepanés
Santiago, 31
41003 Sevilla
Spain
www.almasevilla.com
EYE ON DESIGN | My Pajarita | 28 May 2013
I was in the Madrid design studio of Spain’s doyenne d’intérieurs, Isabel López-Quesada, when I spotted the little bronze sculpture on her desk.
I was obsessed.
“Where is it from?” I asked.
Next stop, sculptor José G. Onieva.
DON’T MISS | Guest Post on Shabby Apple | 22 May 2013
STYLE MOMENTS | Behind the Cathedral de Sevilla | 12 May 2013
“We travel to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”
Anais Nin (1903-1977) French-born American author
EYE ON DESIGN | The Alcázar | 7 May 2013
Yes, it’s the same palace I snuck into – but I had only been able to see the gardens at that time. The next day I went back to the Royal Alcázar of Seville to see the glorious arched, tiled, filigreed, crenulated, vibrantly colorful interior.
STYLE MOMENTS | Reales Alcázares de Sevilla | 4 May 2013
“Yet all experience is an arch where through
Gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades
Forever and forever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
As though to breathe were life!”
Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) British poet