Taps that Turn you On

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Studio Apartment Decor, Ideas, and What It Is

This kind of title poses a pretty important question. What is a studio apartment" What are studio apartments made of" Let?s begin. A studio apartme ...

02-10-2017 22:16

Badalona Refurbishment: From an Old Blacksmith Shop to a Hom

This isn’t the first time that you will hear about an old structure being renovated into a home. There are already many homes that are actually from ...

02-10-2017 22:15

20 Awesome DIY Halloween Wreaths Designs

Your Halloween decor won’t be complete without a wreath! Although you can buy a ready-made wreath, it would still be different if you make it on you ...

02-10-2017 22:15

The Daily Grind: A Pepper Mill from Architect Will Alsop

Will Alsop is taking his designs to a smaller scale. The award-winning architect discusses his new project ? a pepper mill for Alessi ...

02-10-2017 22:08

An Abnormal Monday With Abnormal Feelings…

My chrome lighting roundup post wasn’t exactly matching my emotions today. We are incredibly devastated for the families of the victims of the shoo ...

02-10-2017 22:05

Trending: Chrome Lighting

Photo Source *Please read the first post today regarding the events of this particular day. If you want to escape and read about chrome, here you go: ...

02-10-2017 22:05

A Very Jungalicious Hardware Roundup

Whether it?s a hand-me down from your mother-in-law, or a fab find from the flea, sometimes your vintage treasures need a little confidence boost. You ...

02-10-2017 22:05

An Interior Designer’s Fresh Start in West Hollywood,

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02-10-2017 22:04

An Eclectic and Modern Bungalow in Phoenix, AZ

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02-10-2017 22:04

Kid’s bedroom ideas: Where to find cool bunk beds

When it comes to choosing furniture, a bit of research and creative thinking goes a long way. Alex Fulton shares her tips for finding stylish bunk bed ...

02-10-2017 22:01

YUME | Bridging Sustainability + Design

A one-stop destination for sustainable design, YUME has just launched globally online. The Copenhagen-based company was founded by Anja Holm and Marie ...

02-10-2017 21:52

EasyJet to fly battery-powered planes within the next decade

UK budget airline EasyJet has paired with US firm Wright Electric to develop all-electric aircraft that can be used for its short haul flights. As pa ...

02-10-2017 21:48

Desktop Wallpaper: October 2017

It’s a no brainer that we’re fans of LA-based interior designer  ...

02-10-2017 21:45

Get Inspired By This Small Home Project

Want to remodel your home" Make the most of your inspiration with this project! The need for remodelling your house is in great change. If you?re look ...

02-10-2017 21:42

Room of the Week :: A Moody Bedroom with Vintage Vibes

I remember bookmarking this moody bedroom last year when looking for inspiration for our own attic. What struck me the most about this space was the u ...

02-10-2017 21:38

Ottoman/Pouf Round-Up

Via Coco Lapine Design What is functional and an accessory at the same time" An ottoman/pouf! I love adding one of these to a living room. They’re p ...

02-10-2017 21:38

Our entrance ready for fall

MAKING OUR ENTRANCE READY FOR FALL I have for a long time been thinking about finding a large pot and a wintergreen tree for our entrance. And a coupl ...

02-10-2017 21:38

Monday Inspiration | Raena Interiors

The weekend flew by did it not"  It was so nice to see my boys Friday in Greenville.  Mom joined me for a quick trip to the purple-gold meet and we ...

02-10-2017 21:38

1930s modernism: The Lubetkin Penthouse in the Highpoint II

1930s modernism: The Lubetkin Penthouse in the Highpoint II building, London N6 We have featured the Highpoint buildings in the past, but The Lubetkin ...

02-10-2017 21:37

The serene Bergen home of Gunn Kristin Monsen

Hej! I hope you had a wonderful weekend"! It\'s been pouring all day here in South Sweden, but I kinda don\'t mind a wet Monday, do you" I mean it\'s ...

02-10-2017 21:37

Let’s play house! A bunk bed converted to playhouse

This is a hack of the IKEA KURA into a playhouse bunk bed. It offers a neat space beneath the bed for play, with the ladder converted for additional s ...

02-10-2017 21:37

Williams-Sonoma Home Must Haves

As you might remember, I hosted a joint Habitually Chic 10 Year Anniversary and Williams-Sonoma Home new Chelsea store opening party last week. So ma ...

02-10-2017 21:36

Amaze Me Monday #234

Welcome to Amaze Me Monday #234!Have you finished decorating for fall"  I've finished the front porch, so be sure to take a peek while you're ...

02-10-2017 21:36

Deco Trend: Minerals

 It?s elementary: investing in objects forged from South Africa?s precious metals will add lustre to your living spaces.  Here are some items you must ...

02-10-2017 21:36

Design Meets Architecture: Thomas Heatherwick

If you have been following the buzz leading to the official opening of The Zeitz Museum Of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) then you... The post ...

02-10-2017 21:36

A Light And Bright Restaurant In Singapore

A light and bright restaurant in Singapore shows that simplicity can be remarkable. Odette, award-winning chef Julien Royer?s first restaurant, is loc ...

02-10-2017 21:36

~easy faux concrete pumpkins~ {DIY}

I am seriously obsessed with this look right now. I kinda want to give everything the "concrete treatment"But lets start with pumpkins, because it\'s ...

02-10-2017 21:36

How to save lots of money and create an unusual garden

My friend Anna has a wonderful, unusual garden. And practically everything in it has been swapped or acquired for free. Swapping and recycling doesn†...

01-10-2017 22:03

Simple Scandinavian Living Room Styling

Sponsored post in collaboration with Nest.co.ukI had a little time this weekend and I finally styled my own living room a little bit, so before I star ...

01-10-2017 21:55

A Serene Sunday Space

Arh søndag. Dig kan jeg godt lide. Sådan har det nu ikke altid været, men efter vi har indført en fast søndags-tradition med, at Mads går til bageren ...

01-10-2017 21:55

This One Small Change Transformed my Morning Routine

  “There’s little in life that’s more satisfying than smelling that coffee scent first thing when you wake up.�   This post is in partnershi ...

01-10-2017 21:37

Casa OM1 Allows Nature Interaction with Its Gardens

Isn’t it nice to live in a house that is surrounded by nature" It would be very relaxing if you see plants everywhere! Although we can actually add ...

30-09-2017 22:22

How to make spaces look a million bucks

You can you totally make a space look expensive and a million bucks, it’s all out being insightful and stretching that dollar. Firstly, none of us c ...

30-09-2017 22:08

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL CHEAT SHEET

London Design Festival is the fast and furious design celebration and it’s happening all over the city, right now. If you love design, this is your ...

30-09-2017 22:08

RESTAURANT CRUSH: PLOT

PLOT is my new restaurant crush. Based in cool and trendy Tooting this small but perfectly formed restaurant is the place to hang out. Close to the en ...

30-09-2017 22:08

MY GUIDE TO DECOREX 2017

Sunday kicked off this year’s London Design Festival with the fabulous Decorex. Held at Syon Park again with over 400 hand-selected brands, exclusiv ...

30-09-2017 22:08

5 ways to kick start the autumn season

I love, love a new season particularly the autumn. The move indoors, the emphasis on making indoors as sumptuous and beautiful as possible. New arriva ...

30-09-2017 22:08

Read up

New from ILIV is the Story Time Fairy Tale fabric collection in 100% cotton, whose prints and patterns are sure to spark young imaginations and encour ...

30-09-2017 21:45

The Hepworth Limited Print Collection by Atelier by Mintstud

The fab Danish collection pays homage to British artist and sculptor, Barbara Hepworth, a pioneer who broke into the artistic scene when only a few w ...

30-09-2017 21:37

5 ways with the NAP chair

On my long list of things to do in our home (once I’ve won the lottery), is getting a new set of chairs (maybe the NAP chair) for our recently renov ...

30-09-2017 21:36

The Atlantic Monthly/Volume 18/Number 106/Passages from Hawthorne's Note-Books

Read article : The Atlantic Monthly/Volume 18/Number 106/Passages from Hawthorne's Note-Books

PASSAGES FROM HAWTHORNE'S NOTE-BOOKS. VIII. Concord, Saturday, August 13, 1842.—My life, at this time, is more like that of a boy, externally, than it has been since I was really a boy. It is usually supposed that the cares of life come with matrimony; but I seem to have cast off all care, and live on with as much easy trust in Providence as Adam could possibly have felt before he had learned that there was a world beyond Paradise. My chief anxiety consists in watching the prosperity of my vegetables, in observing how they are affected by the rain or sunshine, in lamenting the blight of one squash and rejoicing at the luxurious growth of another. It is as if the original relation between man and Nature were restored in my case, and that I were to look exclusively to her for the support of my Eve and myself,—to trust to her for food and clothing, and all things needful, with the full assurance that she would not fail me. The fight with the world,—the struggle of a man among men,—the agony of the universal effort to wrench the means of living from a host of greedy competitors,—all this seems like a dream to me. My business is merely to live and to enjoy; and whatever is essential to life and enjoyment will come as naturally as the dew from heaven. This is, practically at least, my faith. And so I awake in the morning with a boyish thoughtlessness as to how the outgoings of the day are to be provided for, and its incomings rendered certain. After breakfast, I go forth into my garden, and gather whatever the bountiful Mother has made fit for our present sustenance; and of late days she generally gives me two squashes and a cucumber, and promises me green corn and shell-beans very soon. Then I pass down through our orchard to the river-side, and ramble along its margin in search of flowers. Usually I discern a fragrant white lily, here and there along the shore, growing, with sweet prudishness, beyond the grasp of mortal arm. But it does not escape me so. I know what is its fitting destiny better than the silly flower knows for itself; so I wade in, heedless of wet trousers, and seize the shy lily by its slender stem. Thus I make prize of five or six, which are as many as usually blossom within my reach in a single morning;—some of them partially worm-eaten or blighted, like virgins with an eating sorrow at the heart; others as fair and perfect as Nature's own idea was, when she first imagined this lovely flower. A perfect pond-lily is the most satisfactory of flowers. Besides these, I gather whatever else of beautiful chances to be growing in the moist soil by the river-side,—an amphibious tribe, yet with more richness and grace than the wild-flowers of the deep and dry woodlands and hedge-rows,—sometimes the white arrow-head, always the blue spires and broad green leaves of the pickerel-flower, which contrast and harmonize so well with the white lilies. For the last two or three days, I have found scattered stalks of the cardinal-flower, the gorgeous scarlet of which it is a joy even to remember. The world is made brighter and sunnier by flowers of such a hue. Even perfume, which otherwise is the soul and spirit of a flower, may be spared when it arrays itself in this scarlet glory. It is a flower of thought and feeling, too; it seems to have its roots deep down in the hearts of those who gaze at it. Other bright flowers sometimes impress me as wanting sentiment; but it is not so with this. Well, having made up my bunch of flowers, I return home with them. . . . . Then I ascend to my study, and generally read, or perchance scribble in this journal, and otherwise suffer Time to loiter onward at his own pleasure, till the dinner-hour. In pleasant days, the chief event of the afternoon, and the happiest one of the day, is our walk. . . . So comes the night; and I look back upon a day spent in what the world would call idleness, and for which I myself can suggest no more appropriate epithet, but which, nevertheless, I cannot feel to have been spent amiss. True, it might be a sin and shame, in such a world as ours, to spend a lifetime in this manner; but for a few summer weeks it is good to live as if this world were heaven. And so it is, and so it shall be, although, in a little while, a flitting shadow of earthly care and toil will mingle itself with our realities. Monday, August 15th.—George Hillard and his wife arrived from Boston in the dusk of Saturday evening, to spend Sunday with us. It was a pleasant sensation, when the coach rumbled up our avenue, and wheeled round at the door; for I felt that I was regarded as a man with a household,—a man having a tangible existence and locality in the world,—when friends came to avail themselves of our hospitality. It was a sort of acknowledgment and reception of us into the corps of married people,—a sanction by no means essential to our peace and well-being, but yet agreeable enough to receive. So we welcomed them cordially at the door, and ushered them into our parlor, and soon into the supper-room. . . . . The night flitted over us all, and passed away, and up rose a gray and sullen morning, . . . . and we had a splendid breakfast of flapjacks, or slapjacks, and whortleberries, which I gathered on a neighboring hill, and perch, bream, and pout, which I hooked out of the river the evening before. About nine o'clock, Hillard and I set out for a walk to Walden Pond, calling by the way at Mr. Emerson's, to obtain his guidance or directions, and he accompanied us in his own illustrious person. We turned aside a little from our way, to visit Mr. ———, a yeoman, of whose homely and self-acquired wisdom Mr. Emerson has a very high opinion. We found him walking in his fields, a short and stalwart and sturdy personage of middle age, with a face of shrewd and kind expression, and manners of natural courtesy. He had a very free flow of talk, and not much diffidence about his own opinions; for, with a little induction from Mr. Emerson, he began to discourse about the state of the nation, agriculture, and business in general, uttering thoughts that had come to him at the plough, and which had a sort of flavor of the fresh earth about them. I was not impressed with any remarkable originality in his views; but they were sensible and characteristic, and had grown in the soil where we found them; . . . . and he is certainly a man of intellectual and moral substance, a sturdy fact, a reality, something to be felt and touched, whose ideas seem to be dug out of his mind as he digs potatoes, beets, carrots, and turnips out of the ground. After leaving Mr. ———, we proceeded through wood paths to Walden Pond, picking blackberries of enormous size along the way. The pond itself was beautiful and refreshing to my soul, after such long and exclusive familiarity with our tawny and sluggish river. It lies embosomed among wooded hills,—it is not very extensive, but large enough for waves to dance upon its surface, and to look like a piece of blue firmament, earth-encircled. The shore has a narrow, pebbly strand, which it was worth a day's journey to look at, for the sake of the contrast between it and the weedy, oozy margin of the river. Farther within its depths, you perceive a bottom of pure white sand, sparkling through the transparent water, which, methought, was the very purest liquid in the world. After Mr. Emerson left us, Hillard and I bathed in the pond, and it does really seem as if my spirit, as well as corporeal person, were refreshed by that bath. A good deal of mud and river slime had accumulated on my soul; but these bright waters washed it all away. We returned home in due season for dinner. . . . . To my misfortune, however, a box of Mediterranean wine proved to have undergone the acetous fermentation; so that the splendor of the festival suffered some diminution. Nevertheless, we ate our dinner with a good appetite, and afterwards went universally to take our several siestas. Meantime there came a shower, which so besprinkled the grass and shrubbery as to make it rather wet for our after-tea ramble. The chief result of the walk was the bringing home of an immense burden of the trailing clematis-vine, now just in blossom, and with which all our flower-stands and vases are this morning decorated. On our return we found Mr. and Mrs. S———, and E. H———, who shortly took their leave, and we sat up late, telling ghost-stories. This morning, at seven, our friends left us. We were both pleased with the visit, and so I think were our guests. Monday, August 22nd.—I took a walk through the woods yesterday afternoon, to Mr. Emerson's, with a book which Margaret Fuller had left, after a call on Saturday eve. I missed the nearest way, and wandered into a very secluded portion of the forest; for forest it might justly be called, so dense and sombre was the shade of oaks and pines. Once I wandered into a tract so overgrown with bushes and underbrush that I could scarcely force a passage through. Nothing is more annoying than a walk of this kind, where one is tormented by an innumerable host of petty impediments. It incenses and depresses me at the same time. Always when I flounder into the midst of bushes, which cross and intertwine themselves about my legs, and brush my face, and seize hold of my clothes, with their multitudinous grip,—always, in such a difficulty, I feel as if it were almost as well to lie down and die in rage and despair as to go one step farther. It is laughable, after I have got out of the moil, to think how miserably it affected me for the moment; but I had better learn patience betimes, for there are many such bushy tracts in this vicinity, on the margins of meadows, and my walks will often lead me into them. Escaping from the bushes, I soon came to an open space among the woods,—a very lovely spot, with the tall old trees standing around as quietly as if no one had intruded there throughout the whole summer. A company of crows were holding their Sabbath on their summits. Apparently they felt themselves injured or insulted by my presence; for, with one consent, they began to Caw! caw! caw! and, launching themselves sullenly on the air, took flight to some securer solitude. Mine, probably, was the first human shape that they had seen all day long,—at least, if they had been stationary in that spot; but perhaps they had winged their way over miles and miles of country, had breakfasted on the summit of Greylock, and dined at the base of Wachusett, and were merely come to sup and sleep among the quiet woods of Concord. But it was my impression at the time, that they had sat still and silent on the tops of the trees all through the Sabbath day, and I felt like one who should unawares disturb an assembly of worshippers. A crow, however, has no real pretensions to religion, in spite of his gravity of mien and black attire. Crows are certainly thieves, and probably infidels. Nevertheless, their voices yesterday were in admirable accordance with the influences of the quiet, sunny, warm, yet autumnal afternoon. They were so far above my head that their loud clamor added to the quiet of the scene, instead of disturbing it. There was no other sound, except the song of the cricket, which is but an audible stillness; for, though it be very loud and heard afar, yet the mind does not take note of it as a sound, so entirely does it mingle and lose its individuality among the other characteristics of coming autumn. Alas for the summer! The grass is still verdant on the hills and in the valleys; the foliage of the trees is as dense as ever, and as green; the flowers are abundant along the margin of the river, and in the hedge-rows, and deep among the woods; the days, too, are as fervid as they were a month ago; and yet in every breath of wind and in every beam of sunshine there is an autumnal influence. I know not how to describe it. Methinks there is a sort of coolness amid all the heat, and a mildness in the brightest of the sunshine. A breeze cannot stir, without thrilling me with the breath of autumn, and I behold its pensive glory in the far, golden gleams among the long shadows of the trees. The flowers, even the brightest of them,—the golden-rod and the gorgeous cardinals,—the most glorious flowers of the year,—have this gentle sadness amid their pomp. Pensive autumn is expressed in the glow of every one of them. I have felt this influence earlier in some years than in others. Sometimes autumn may be perceived even in the early days of July. There is no other feeling like that caused by this faint, doubtful, yet real perception, or rather prophecy, of the year's decay, so deliciously sweet and sad at the same time. After leaving the book at Mr. Emerson's I returned through the woods, and, entering Sleepy Hollow, I perceived a lady reclining near the path which bends along its verge. It was Margaret herself. She had been there the whole afternoon, meditating or reading; for she had a book in her hand, with some strange title, which I did not understand, and have forgotten. She said that nobody had broken her solitude, and was just giving utterance to a theory that no inhabitant of Concord ever visited Sleepy Hollow, when we saw a group of people entering the sacred precincts. Most of them followed a path which led them away from us; but an old man passed near us, and smiled to see Margaret reclining on the ground, and me sitting by her side. He made some remark about the beauty of the afternoon, and withdrew himself into the shadow of the wood. Then we talked about autumn, and about the pleasures of being lost in the woods, and about the crows, whose voices Margaret had heard; and about the experiences of early childhood, whose influence remains upon the character after the recollection of them has passed away; and about the sight of mountains from a distance, and the view from their summits; and about other matters of high and low philosophy. In the midst of our talk, we heard footsteps above us, on the high bank; and while the person was still hidden among the trees, he called to Margaret, of whom he had gotten a glimpse. Then he emerged from the green shade, and, behold! it was Mr. Emerson. He appeared to have had a pleasant time; for he said that there were Muses in the woods to-day, and whispers to be heard in the breezes. It being now nearly six o'clock, we separated,—Margaret and Mr. Emerson towards his home, and I towards mine. . . . . Last evening there was the most beautiful moonlight that ever hallowed this earthly world; and when I went to bathe in the river, which was as calm as death, it seemed like plunging down into the sky. But I had rather be on earth than even in the seventh heaven, just now. Wednesday, August 24th.—I left home at five o'clock this morning to catch some fish for breakfast. I shook our summer apple-tree, and ate the golden apple which fell from it. Methinks these early apples, which come as a golden promise before the treasures of autumnal fruit, are almost more delicious than anything that comes afterwards. We have but one such tree in our orchard; but it supplies us with a daily abundance, and probably will do so for at least a week to come. Meantime other trees begin to cast their ripening windfalls upon the grass; and when I taste them, and perceive their mellowed flavor and blackening seeds, I feel somewhat overwhelmed with the impending bounties of Providence. I suppose Adam, in Paradise, did not like to see his fruits decaying on the ground, after he had watched them through the sunny days of the world's first summer. However, insects, at the worst, will hold a festival upon them, so that they will not be thrown away, in the great scheme of Nature. Moreover, I have one advantage over the primeval Adam, inasmuch as there is a chance of disposing of my superfluous fruits among people who inhabit no Paradise of their own. Passing a little way down along the river-side, I threw in my line, and soon drew out one of the smallest possible of fishes. It seemed to be a pretty good morning for the angler,—an autumnal coolness in the air, a clear sky, but with a fog across the lowlands and on the surface of the river, which a gentle breeze sometimes condensed into wreaths. At first I could barely discern the opposite shore of the river; but, as the sun arose, the vapors gradually dispersed, till only a warm, smoky tint was left along the water's surface. The farm-houses across the river made their appearance out of the dusky cloud; the voices of boys were heard, shouting to the cattle as they drove them to the pastures; a man whetted his scythe, and set to work in a neighboring meadow. Meantime, I continued to stand on the oozy margin of the stream, beguiling the little fish; and though the scaly inhabitants of our river partake somewhat of the character of their native element, and are but sluggish biters, still I contrived to pull out not far from two dozen. They were all bream, a broad, flat, almost circular fish, shaped a good deal like a flounder, but swimming on their edges, instead of on their sides. As far as mere pleasure is concerned, it is hardly worth while to fish in our river, it is so much like angling in a mud-puddle; and one does not attach the idea of freshness and purity to the fishes, as we do to those which inhabit swift, transparent streams, or haunt the shores of the great briny deep. Standing on the weedy margin, and throwing the line over the elder-bushes that dip into the water, it seems as if we could catch nothing but frogs and mud-turtles, or reptiles akin to them. And even when a fish of reputable aspect is drawn out, one feels a shyness about touching him. As to our river, its character was admirably expressed last night by some one who said "it was too lazy to keep itself clean." I might write pages and pages, and only obscure the impression which this brief sentence conveys. Nevertheless, we made bold to eat some of my fish for breakfast, and found them very savory; and the rest shall meet with due entertainment at dinner, together with some shell-beans, green corn, and cucumbers from our garden; so this day's food comes directly and entirely from beneficent Nature, without the intervention of any third person between her and us. Saturday, August 27th.—A peach-tree, which grows beside our house and brushes against the window, is so burdened with fruit that I have had to prop it up. I never saw more splendid peaches in appearance,—great, round, crimson-cheeked beauties, clustering all over the tree. A pear-tree, likewise, is maturing a generous burden of small, sweet fruit, which will require to be eaten at about the same time as the peaches. There is something pleasantly annoying in this superfluous abundance; it is like standing under a tree of ripe apples, and giving it a shake, with the intention of bringing down a single one, when, behold, a dozen come thumping about our ears. But the idea of the infinite generosity and exhaustless bounty of our Mother Nature is well worth attaining; and I never had it so vividly as now, when I find myself, with the few mouths which I am to feed, the sole inheritor of the old clergyman's wealth of fruits. His children, his friends in the village, and the clerical guests who came to preach in his pulpit, were all wont to eat and be filled from these trees. Now, all these hearty old people have passed away, and in their stead is a solitary pair, whose appetites are more than satisfied with the windfalls which the trees throw down at their feet. Howbeit, we shall have now and then a guest to keep our peaches and pears from decaying. G——— B———, my old fellow-laborer at the community at Brook Farm, called on me last evening, and dined here to-day. He has been cultivating vegetables at Plymouth this summer, and selling them in the market. What a singular mode of life for a man of education and refinement,—to spend his days in hard and earnest bodily toil, and then to convey the products of his labor, in a wheelbarrow, to the public market, and there retail them out,—a peck of peas or beans, a bunch of turnips, a squash, a dozen ears of green corn! Few men, without some eccentricity of character, would have the moral strength to do this; and it is very striking to find such strength combined with the utmost gentleness, and an uncommon regularity of nature. Occasionally he returns for a day or two to resume his place among scholars and idle people, as, for instance, the present week, when he has thrown aside his spade and hoe to attend the Commencement at Cambridge. He is a rare man,—a perfect original, yet without any one salient point; a character to be felt and understood, but almost impossible to describe: for, should you seize upon any characteristic, it would inevitably be altered and distorted in the process of writing it down. Our few remaining days of summer have been latterly grievously darkened with clouds. To-day there has been an hour or two of hot sunshine; but the sun rose amid cloud and mist, and before he could dry up the moisture of last night's shower upon the trees and grass, the clouds have gathered between him and us again. This afternoon the thunder rumbles in the distance, and I believe a few drops of rain have fallen; but the weight of the shower has burst elsewhere, leaving us nothing but its sullen gloom. There is a muggy warmth in the atmosphere, which takes all the spring and vivacity out of the mind and body. Sunday, August 28th.—Still another rainy day,—the heaviest rain, I believe, that has fallen since we came to Concord (not two months ago). There never was a more sombre aspect of all external nature. I gaze from the open window of my study, somewhat disconsolately, and observe the great willow-tree which shades the house, and which has caught and retained a whole cataract of rain among its leaves and boughs; and all the fruit-trees, too, are dripping continually, even in the brief intervals when the clouds give us a respite. If shaken to bring down the fruit, they will discharge a shower upon the head of him who stands beneath. The rain is warm, coming from some southern region; but the willow attests that it is an autumnal spell of weather, by scattering down no infrequent multitude of yellow leaves, which rest upon the sloping roof of the house, and strew the gravel-path and the grass. The other trees do not yet shed their leaves, though in some of them a lighter tint of verdure, tending towards yellow, is perceptible. All day long we hear the water drip, drip, dripping, splash, splash, splashing, from the eaves, and babbling and foaming into the tubs which have been set out to receive it. The old unpainted shingles and boards of the mansion and out-houses are black with the moisture which they have imbibed. Looking at the river, we perceive that its usually smooth and mirrored surface is blurred by the infinity of rain-drops; the whole landscape—grass, trees, and houses—has a completely water-soaked aspect, as if the earth were wet through. The wooded hill, about a mile distant, whither we went to gather whortleberries, has a mist upon its summit, as if the demon of the rain were enthroned there; and if we look to the sky, it seems as if all the water that had been poured down upon us were as nothing to what is to come. Once in a while, indeed, there is a gleam of sky along the horizon, or a half-cheerful, half-sullen lighting up of the atmosphere; the rain-drops cease to patter down, except when the trees shake off a gentle shower; but soon we hear the broad, quiet, slow, and sure recommencement of the rain. The river, if I mistake not, has risen considerably during the day, and its current will acquire some degree of energy. In this sombre weather, when some mortals almost forget that there ever was any golden sunshine, or ever will be any hereafter, others seem absolutely to radiate it from their own hearts and minds. The gloom cannot pervade them; they conquer it, and drive it quite out of their sphere, and create a moral rainbow of hope upon the blackest cloud. As for myself, I am little other than a cloud at such seasons, but such persons contrive to make me a sunny one, shining all through me. And thus, even without the support of a stated occupation, I survive these sullen days and am happy. This morning we read the Sermon on the Mount. In the course of the forenoon, the rain abated for a season, and I went out and gathered some corn and summer-squashes, and picked up the windfalls of apples and pears and peaches. Wet, wet, wet,—everything was wet; the blades of the corn-stalks moistened me; the wet grass soaked my boots quite through; the trees threw their reserved showers upon my head; and soon the remorseless rain began anew, and drove me into the house. When shall we be able to walk again to the far hills, and plunge into the deep woods, and gather more cardinals along the river's margin? The track along which we trod is probably under water now. How inhospitable Nature is during a rain! In the fervid heat of sunny days, she still retains some degree of mercy for us; she has shady spots, whither the sun cannot come; but she provides no shelter against her storms. It makes one shiver to think how dripping with wet are those deep, umbrageous nooks, those overshadowed banks, where we find such enjoyment during sultry afternoons. And what becomes of the birds in such a soaking rain as this? Is hope and an instinctive faith so mixed up with their nature, that they can be cheered by the thought that the sunshine will return? or do they think, as I almost do, that there is to be no sunshine any more? Very disconsolate must they be among the dripping leaves; and when a single summer makes so important a portion of their lives, it seems hard that so much of it should be dissolved in rain. I, likewise, am greedy of the summer-days for my own sake: the life of man does not contain so many of them that one can be spared without regret. Tuesday, August 30th.—I was promised, in the midst of Sunday's rain, that Monday should be fair, and, behold! the sun came back to us, and brought one of the most perfect days ever made since Adam was driven out of Paradise. By the by, was there ever any rain in Paradise? If so, how comfortless must Eve's bower have been! It makes me shiver to think of it. Well, it seemed as if the world was newly created yesterday morning, and I beheld its birth; for I had risen before the sun was over the hill, and had gone forth to fish. How instantaneously did all dreariness and heaviness of the earth's spirit flit away before one smile of the beneficent sun! This proves that all gloom is but a dream and a shadow, and that cheerfulness is the real truth. It requires many clouds, long brooding over us, to make us sad, but one gleam of sunshine always suffices to cheer up the landscape. The banks of the river actually laughed when the sunshine fell upon them; and the river itself was alive and cheerful, and, by way of fun and amusement, it had swept away many wreaths of meadow-hay, and old, rotten branches of trees, and all such trumpery. These matters came floating downwards, whirling round and round in the eddies, or hastening onward in the main current; and many of them, before this time, have probably been carried into the Merrimack, and will be borne onward to the sea. The spots where I stood to fish, on my preceding excursion, were now under water; and the tops of many of the bushes, along the river's margin, barely emerged from the stream. Large spaces of meadow are overflowed. There was a northwest wind throughout the day; and as many clouds, the remnants of departed gloom, were scattered about the sky, the breeze was continually blowing them across the sun. For the most part, they were gone again in a moment; but sometimes the shadow remained long enough to make me dread a return of sulky weather. Then would come the burst of sunshine, making me feel as if a rainy day were henceforth an impossibility. . . . . In the afternoon Mr. Emerson called, bringing Mr. ———. He is a good sort of humdrum parson enough, and well fitted to increase the stock of manuscript sermons, of which there must be a fearful quantity already in the world. Mr. ———, however, is probably one of the best and most useful of his class, because no suspicion of the necessity of his profession, constituted as it now is, to mankind, and of his own usefulness and success in it, has hitherto disturbed him; and therefore he labors with faith and confidence, as ministers did a hundred years ago. After the visitors were gone, I sat at the gallery window, looking down the avenue, and soon there appeared an elderly woman,—a homely, decent old matron, dressed in a dark gown, and with what seemed a manuscript book under her arm. The wind sported with her gown, and blew her veil across her face, and seemed to make game of her, though on a nearer view she looked like a sad old creature, with a pale, thin countenance, and somewhat of a wild and wandering expression. She had a singular gait, reeling, as it were, and yet not quite reeling, from one side of the path to the other; going onward as if it were not much matter whether she went straight or crooked. Such were my observations as she approached through the scattered sunshine and shade of our long avenue, until, reaching the door, she gave a knock, and inquired for the lady of the house. Her manuscript contained a certificate, stating that the old woman was a widow from a foreign land, who had recently lost her son, and was now utterly destitute of friends and kindred, and without means of support. Appended to the certificate there was a list of names of people who had bestowed charity on her, with the amounts of their several donations,—none, as I recollect, higher than twenty-five cents. Here is a strange life, and a character fit for romance and poetry. All the early part of her life, I suppose, and much of her widowhood were spent in the quiet of a home, with kinsfolk around her, and children, and the life-long gossiping acquaintances that some women always create about them. But in her decline she has wandered away from all these, and from her native country itself, and is a vagrant, yet with something of the homeliness and decency of aspect belonging to one who has been a wife and mother, and has had a roof of her own above her head,—and, with all this, a wildness proper to her present life. I have a liking for vagrants of all sorts, and never, that I know of, refused my mite to a wandering beggar, when I had anything in my own pocket. There is so much wretchedness in the world, that we may safely take the word of any mortal professing to need our assistance; and even should we be deceived, still the good to ourselves resulting from a kind act is worth more than the trifle by which we purchase it. It is desirable, I think, that such persons should be permitted to roam through our land of plenty, scattering the seeds of tenderness and charity, as birds of passage bear the seeds of precious plants from land to land, without even dreaming of the office which they perform.

Bhutan's 5 best luxury hotels

Read article : Bhutan's 5 best luxury hotels

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Though five-star luxury may not be the first thing that springs to mind when one thinks of Bhutan, ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’ does offer a selection of stunning hotels, strategically placed around the country so that every corner has somewhere that offers a sophistication and elegance of accommodation to match any other country in this region.

Gangtey Lodge, Gangte Valley

Nestled away in the heart of the beautiful Gangte Valley near the centre of Bhutan, the Gangtey Lodge offers the ideal luxury abode from which to explore the stunning surroundings. With the interior exclusively designed by award-winning designer Mary Lou Thomson and with only 12 guest rooms, the lodge offers an intimacy that is difficult to match and really allows you to unwind and soak in the scenery at your own pace.

Como Uma Punakha, Punakha Valley

Exuding tranquillity and relaxation, Como Uma Punakha is located deep in the west of Bhutan in the Punakha Valley. Two free-standing luxury villas and eight deluxe hillside rooms make this a unique and exclusive hideaway. Whether you’re in search of an adventurous escape to the surrounding forest, brimming with hikes to famous Bhutanese Temples such as the Divine Madman, or you want to get back in control of your senses by enjoying a traditional Bhutanese hot stone bath in total serenity, Como Uma Punakha is an ideal pit stop on any Bhutan tour.

Dhensa, Punakha Valley

Located in the heart of the Punakha Valley, Dhensa offers 24 luxurious suites which are light and open, keeping an elegant simplicity which highlights the beautiful nature that surrounds the hotel. It’s little wonder that Dhensa literally means ‘Heavenly Abode’ in Bhutanese, something that’s brought to life in their magnificent spa which contains its own hand-blended Bhutanese oils. Revive your senses and restore your spirit in this magical place after a long day discovering the surrounding hills.

Como Uma Paro, Paro

With a philosophy of providing each and every one of their guests with a unique and spiritual experience of Bhutan, The Uma Paro boasts sleek modern style interiors with jaw-dropping views of the snow-capped Himalayan Mountains and exquisitely prepared gourmet Bhutanese local cuisine. When it comes to Bhutan, one of the experiences that you simply cannot miss out on is the hike to the Tiger’s Nest and there is no hotel better placed as your base camp than Como Uma Paro.

Amankora Thimpu, Thimpu

Take your pick from one of the 16 lavish private guest lodges of this magnificent hotel, located close enough to the capital’s main sights and shopping centres, yet remaining a secluded retreat. With beautiful rooms, contemporary Bhutanese architecture and breath-taking views of the eastern Himalayas peaks, the Amankora Thimpu has something for everyone.  Why not experience waking early to watch the sun rise over the valley as you meander through the rice fields? It’s one of those experiences that you don’t forget.

Tom Marchant is Co-founder of Black Tomato.

If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

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Testing out the new Salina 48 Evolution

Read article : Testing out the new Salina 48 Evolution

Caroline Strainig checks out the new Salina 48 Evolution, a slightly tweaked version of the Salina 48.

Charles Darwin’s famous theory of natural selection and evolution was based on the premise that a species either adapts to the demands of the environment or dies out. Mother Nature makes this possible by ensuring different traits crop up from time to time. Those traits - such as skin colour - can increase a particular animal’s chance of survival so it has a higher chance of living to breeding age and passing those traits on.

French manufacturer Fountaine Pajot is applying that theory to its boats in a slightly more business-like way, tweaking models in response to feedback and releasing a new version a couple of years down the track. The new versions have the same name but with the addition of the word “Evolution”.

The Salina 48 Evolution is the tweaked version of the 48 Roger Priest reviewed in CH in October 28. There are only a few changes, and these are largely aesthetic rather than major structural ones. However, they do improve the boat.

Mark Elkington of Australian distributor Multihull Solutions said they include a new interior design by an Italian company called Costa renowned for making the most of small spaces (they also did the Airbuses), an improved helm station, upgraded galley and roomier hulls.

Sail-plan-wise, the Evolution has a new square-topped mainsail — designed to give more sail area in lighter winds but spill air in strong
winds — and a soft-topped dodger-cum bimini with clears to give the helmsman protection from the elements.

Other tweaks include:
• Additional storage in saloon and galley.
• Huge owner’s bathroom for’ard in owner’s hull, which is to starboard. (The original was central and a lot smaller.)
• Larger portholes to afford even more natural light and even better views.
• New cherrywood interior with more timber fit-out.
• New vynilester resin-infused hull.
• Leather bedheads,
• 240L additional storage in starboard hull.
• Even higher-quality fittings and fixtures throughout.
• New galley benchtops.
• Saloon table also converts to a coffee table.
• LED lighting.
• View panel in cockpit hardtop bimini to see the sails when lazing around the cockpit.

Okay, enough of that. Let’s take a look at what you get for your $955,000 plus.

The general look

Any boat is a balancing act between a number of factors, the main ones being space, seaworthiness and speed. It is important that you get the right balance for you, and it is something Mark and his sales team are all too aware of. “It’s no good sacrificing space for speed if you plan to spend 80 percent of your cruising time at anchor,” Mark said.

“The same obviously goes the other way around. I have seen far too many people make that mistake.”

To me, the Evolution looked a cross between the Lagoon catamarans built by a French competitor and some of the more streamlined cats we have in Australia like the Lightwaves built on the Gold Coast. That should mean it should have reasonable space but still perform well under sail.

I won’t go into too much detail because we have already run a full-length story on the earlier version, but the Evolution has fairly plumb bows, huge trampolines with twin single pulpit seats for’ard in both hulls, wide side decks with shrouds well outboard (no running into things in the dark!) and a flat cabin top with good access to the boombag and boom. Access to the cabin top is via a fold-down step on the base of the mast and easy even for someone vertically challenged like me. The huge anchor locker is just for’ard of the mast, with the anchor (45lb plough standard) stored well aft, as are the water and fuel tanks, helping keep weight central, and thus reduce pitching and hobby-horsing. The only exception to this are the engines, which are just aft of the aft berths instead of under them, but the trade-off is no smell and less noise below.

A large hardtop shelters the cockpit aft, which is a great place to entertain with a good-sized table, plenty of seating and lots of stowage. One locker near the door to the saloon is ideal to be converted to a fridge.

A few steps on the side of the cockpit to starboard lead to the large helm station, which easily seats three, and is protected from the elements by a soft-top dodger-cum-bimini. Sail controls come back to a Harken electric winch and two manual Harken winches on the cabin top near the helm. As Roger noted in the previous story, unlike many cats, the traveller in the Salina 48 is atop the cockpit hard cover, so its control lines go to the helm – where you can use power if feeling lazy.

The halyards can be led back here too, but on the test boat they were still adjusted on the mast. The owners of the test boat were a novice couple and Mark Elkington suggests learning reefing at the mast before moving it aft.

Apart from depth, speed and wind and a compass, instruments are owner’s choice so I won’t go into them here.

As are many distributors, Multihull Solutions encourages buyers to tick the box just for basics at initial purchase stage and then add as they work through what they really need at their leisure. Sails are a dacron composite and a screecher and bowsprit are available as optional extras. A Facnor headsail furler and a 1200W Lofrans anchor windlass are included in the standard package price.

Engines are in each hull (40hp standard, 55 optional, choice of Yanmar or Volvo), with lots of space to access those sometimes-hard-to-get-at spots although the owner of the test boat had added a generator in the port hull, which did make that a little squeezier.

Davits aft have been disguised under a large platform that doubles as a sunbed. Within reason the latter can be customised — you can even axe the platform altogether in favour of heavy-duty davits with an electric winch. A swimming ladder and hot-and-cold shower complete the list of features here.

Inside/below

Sliding doors lead into a spacious saloon with an L-shaped settee and adjustable dining-cum-coffee table to port and U-shaped galley to starboard.

Features include twin opening ports for’ard to enable plenty of through breeze. The galley has a high-set gas oven with separate bench-top burner range, front-opening fridge and a second lift-top fridge/freezer.

I agree with Roger that the views are fantastic and the Salina 48 has one of the biggest saloons I have seen on a catamaran.

Below

The Evolution is available in two versions; the accommodation-maximising Quatuor version and the owner’s Maestro version. The port hull is the same in both, with twin berths with head and shower for’ard and aft and a single berth central (in many boats the owners turn this single berth into stowage). However in the Maestro version the starboard hull is given over to a luxurious owner’s hull with a large semi-island berth aft, office and more stowage midships and a large head for’ard.

Escape hatches in both hulls double as wonderful places to watch the fish go by in normal circumstances. Ventilation is excellent courtesy of a myriad of opening ports and ducted air-circulation system. Lighting is LED, so no need to worry about draining the batteries if you cannot sleep and want to read late at night.

Construction

French builder Fountaine-Pajot is one of the world’s most forward-thinking companies, and I wasn’t surprised to learn the Salina 48 Evolution is manufactured with modern technology, which includes an infused sandwich composite hull plus a deckhouse moulded with new RTM eco-technology.

How she sailed

On the day of our outing we had hardly any wind, so it is probably fairer to refer to Roger Priest’s outing in stronger winds back in 2008, although I will note that even in the light winds, she was responsive and I had no issues tacking. In fact, I had to be reminded by Mark Elkington that the other parties on board had things to do later in the day because I was enjoying myself so much I had forgotten time constraints and was heading down SE Queensland’s Moreton Bay as if I didn’t have a care in the world!

On Roger’s outing in 13-16 knots true he recorded 6.1 knots at 40 degrees apparent and 7.3 knots at 45 degrees. Then a broad reach at 100-110 degrees apparent produced speeds of 9-11 knots.

On our outing under motor with the optional 55hp Volvos we achieved 6.5 knots at a mere 1700 rpm and 8.4 knots at 2400 rpm.

Because the motors are just aft of each interior cabin instead of under the berths as they are in some catamarans – plus have water- and smell-tight bulkheads between them and the accommodation, this means that motoring does not create noise or smell issues, which is a plus, although in many instances you will use just one motor anyway to conserve fuel. I went and lay on a bunk aft while we were motoring and the sound was such a low hum I could easily have fallen asleep. The downside is that the engines are a little further aft weight-wise, but  Mark assured me they were still central enough not to exacerbate pitching and the 48 was extremely comfortable offshore.

Summary

Roger Priest liked the original version in 2008, and from what I saw, the Mark II has only improved on an already-winning recipe. Oh, and if you’d like something a little cheaper or different, Multihull Solutions also sells the Mahé 36 Evolution ($395,000), Lipari 41 ($525,000) and Orana 44 ($725,000). Those with spare cash to burn can go for the Sanya 57 ($1,650,000) or Galathea 65 (POA).

SPECIFICATIONS
Length 14.3m
Beam 7.7m
Draught 1.10m
Displacement unloaded 10.5T
Mainsail area 80sqm
Genoa area 56sqm
Motors two x 40 CV diesel or 2 x 50hp optional (choice of Yanmars or Volvo)
Bridgedeck clearance 0.8m lightship
Fuel 480L
Water 750L
Standard version four double cabins
Owner’s version three double cabins with workshop/single bed fwd
Quatuor version four doubles
Distributor:
Multihull Solutions Australia, 33-45 Parkyn Parade, PO Box 15, Mooloolaba, Queensland 4557,ph 1300 855 338, (07) 5452 5164 mobile 427 88 99 10 www.multihullsolutions.com.au

What about those Mark 1 queries?
Roger Priest had a few suggestions for minor tweaks in his October 2008 story, which I put to Mark Elkington.
Roger:“No standard shelter from sun, rain or spray at the helm. Others (especially Australian cats) do this better. The dealer is working on an Australian-designed add-on because the factory option is only a sun shelter.”
Mark: “No, an option and fitted to almost every order; we do customisation as well for specific clients.”
Roger: “Stern berthing cleats need re-locating. You have to stand on one to enter the boat from an alongside berth. EC Marine is shifting this cleat, pending a factory change.”
Mark:“Option for relocation, but most of our clients like this position.”
Roger: “Lack of a dedicated start battery for the starboard engine, allowing current and voltage surges through electronics.”
Mark: “Separate start batteries now standard.”
Roger: “Two of the three heads in the standard boat are manual, thus having no maceration for legal discharge in some Australian waters.”
Mark: “Again, most our orders are bluewater sailors who like a few manual heads. Electric are options and fitting to most owner versions.”
Roger: “Small standard sewage-holding tanks. With three couples on board, the standard boat will only last between 1 and 1.5 days before needing to discharge or pumpout the three 45L tanks.”
Mark: “150L now standard.”
Roger:“Lifelines are not standard across the bow (they are an option).”
Mark: “Most production cats and one-off’s have no lifelines across the bows. Yes, they are an option, but only ever requested for charter.”

Inside the Weekend Home of Your Dreams

Read article : Inside the Weekend Home of Your Dreams

May 18, 2017

Your second (or third, or fifth) house should be a place where life is simpler, the design is a little bit more loose, and the shower has glass walls. So we asked renowned designer Russell Groves for tips on how to build your dream retreat.

You made it to "weekend home" status, which means you're a hard worker or you're in finance. Either way, congratulations! Now comes the tough part, where you have to find the perfect place to indulge your leisure time. Somewhere that feels different from your everyday living situation, a house that's comfortable and inspiring in equal measure. And truth is, the best way to get what you want is to create it your damn self. Just like one couple from Palo Alto did when they bought the jealousy-inducing mod-cabin you're looking at here.

When they first saw the place, it was mid-way through construction, had a distinct knockoff French chateaux vibe, and was larger than they were looking for—(12,000-square-feet!)—but the setting, all 250 acres of it, was too perfect to pass up. They were looking for a place to escape bustling city life, entertain their extended family and friends, and experience the outdoors. Russell Groves and his team spent more than two years gut renovating the property. What they—and Groves—aimed to do was open up the space, make the outdoors come indoors, and create an escape hatch "that allows comfort and privacy." Unless you're in the shower. (You'll see.)

"This meant plenty of bedrooms and baths, a large open kitchen, an extra large dining room table, recreational outdoor spaces, and a charming goes home that allows comfort and privacy," says Groves. Now, the home is, in the words of the owners, magical, elegantly causal, open, and peaceful. Some elements of the original facade, including the stone, remain.

Tip #1. Location is Still Everything

Especially if you live in a city—most of Groves' clients are from Manhattan—you're probably looking for space, light, and air. That's not so hard to find. But don't just settle for the any old great outdoors. Hone in on the outdoors that gets you fired up, and work from there. "Adjacency to key elements, such as the beach, the woods, the lake, or the ski slopes is essential," says Groves.

Tip #2. Be a Little Weird

Just like a vacation, a weekend home is a place to break out of your normal routines. Including your default design vibe. "A weekend home provides clients, and us as their designers, with the flexibility and opportunity to stray further from the 'conventional,'" notes Groves. "Since these homes are used less frequently, clients are willing to be more daring and experiment with furnishings, accessories and art that they love, but may not want for a primary residence." Which is how you get a black coffee table made of ebonized petrified wood, or a custom Groves & Co. chandelier in the entryway that "emulated the starry sky," according to owner Adam Weiss. That said, no need to make your house into a fever dream of over designed furniture or accessories. Here, vintage chairs by Mira Nakashima and ottomans accent the living area.

Tip #3. Get High

This is going to blow your mind: when you're higher up, you can see more. "When building a new home, it's best to build on the highest elevation point, sitting the home on an axis resulting in optimal light and views," says Groves. Here, in Napa, the house sits high on a crest of the Mayacamas Mountains, a 130-acre ridge, at an elevation of 1420 feet above sea level, on the valley’s western edge. The view from the pool—during sunrise, sunset, and every sun in between—would make every one of your Instagram followers hate you so much. Aim for that.

Tip #4. Open Up a Bit

Particularly in a vacation house where guests will be wandering in and out through the day, the main hang-out space tends to be the kitchen, for an obvious reason: that's where the food is. Make sure yours is built for function and conversation. "Be sure to include an oversized island that provides ample room to prepare large family meals and for everyone to gather," advises Groves. An island-sized island lets everyone everyone gather around—and if they're smart, they'll take the hint to help with dinner.

Tip #5. Make Your Outsides Feel Like Your Insides

You're here to breathe deep, so don't skimp on the windows, and consider the idea of a wall to be more a suggestion than a requirement. The porch is basically an extension of the living room, and looks out over the valley below. When the 70-foot retractable window wall is open—and it often is, because why wouldn't you if you could?—the rear porch and double-height great room become one big, beautiful chill space.

Tip #6. Recognize that Work Always Comes on Vacation

We all know that "out of office" is a cruel euphemism for "still doing work, just somewhere else," which explains why the owners opted to install a bona fide office into their escape home. By having a dedicated (but still laid back) workspace that's out of the way of friends, guests, and freeloading family members, they can take care of business fast, then get back to the real task at hand: day drinking.

Tip #7. Put Seating Everywhere

Why? Because seating serve the double purpose of looking cool and setting the tone for how you'll use that space. Deep, cushy couches quietly invite people to sit and chat, or read a book. While stools in front of a fireplace (below) announce to guests that this is a house that appreciates s'mores.

Tip #8. Bath Time Can Be Sexy Time

Not necessarily sexy in the sex way, but sexy as in beautiful, relaxing, and, yeah, jaw-dropping. The master bathtub below is marble with a custom marble surround, behind a glassed-in shower with a view—and not just of who's inside. "Our favorite aspect of the master bath is how open it is to the outdoors, with infinite views of the peaked mountain tops," says owner Lynn Callaghan. And the guest bath (above) looks like it comes with an aperol spritz.

Tip #9. Treat Yo Self

It's a getaway home. Bless it with at least one major (and potentially absurd) luxury that you would never shoehorn into your everyday mansion. In this instance, the owners went with a lavish master bath that opens up to a private outdoor spa, offering his-and-hers open-air showers and a secret garden—all linked to the master bedroom, which also has a meditation space. If a Zen stroll through some azaleas isn't your taste, that's fine. It's your house. Install the movie theater/bowling alley/illegal growing room of your dreams.

Tip #10. Look Into the Flames

Whether or not your patio resembles that of a four-star hotel, you want someplace outdoors that you can gather round at night, drinks in hand, while telling old stories about each other that you'd never say in mixed company. And the key to this happening, more than the booze, is the fire. It's elemental, and magic, and extremely impressive if you can start one without using lighter fluid.

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Escape to Four Seasons Silicon Valley Palo Alto

Read article : Escape to Four Seasons Silicon Valley Palo Alto

[esc] to the restaurant and wine bar. [Esc] is a clever play on the “escape” key on the top left of your computer keyboard, after all, we are in Silicon Valley! The sophisticated wine bar and lounge restaurant is buzzing with energy. House made charcuterie and local cheeses from purveyors such as Cowgirl Creamery, Cypress Grove & Point Reyes, will compliment a wide array of many California wines.

Slayer espresso machine photo © Nancy D. Brown

In the morning, [esc] serves up the best cup of coffee from their state of the art Slayer espresso machine. This sexy looking machine is handmade with Peruvian walnut handles. You’ll only find the Slayer in a handful of locations, including Four Seasons Beverly Hills and FS New York. Yes, there’s grab and go healthy yogurt parfaits with house made granola and fresh juices, but you’ll want to try Pastry Chef Eric Keppler’s Koign Amann. If you aren’t a fan of rich, buttery pastries, at least make your kids happy and splurge on the milk and cookies from the room service menu. Can you tell I had a good time eating my way through Palo Alto?

Four Seasons Relaxation Room photo © Nancy D. Brown

If this is a girls weekend or romantic getaway, book the Western Healing 60 minute massage, inspired by the California Redwoods. This signature massage uses a combination of essential oils with anti-aging and healing elements to help reduce inflammation and the woody aroma is calming and grounding. Before your spa treatment, grab a lounge chair by the pool and order a cocktail or cleansing juice if you’re opting for a detox weekend.

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For an extra fee ($175 during my visit) you can arrange for a private yoga class held on the pool deck. While there is thankfully no resort fee, valet parking will set you back $24 or the self park option is $12. Good news dog lovers, the property is pet-friendly and there is no charge for your well-behaved dog!

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Executive king room Four Seasons Silicon Valley. Photo © Nancy D. Brown

With 200 rooms, there are plenty of luxurious options. My Executive Suite King #902 had a view of the bay (and Highway 101) but with triple pane glass, you could only hear the faintest of, what sounded like, white noise. Watching the sunrise from my bed was had with the simple push of a button to raise the blackout shades electronically. In the bathroom there was a separate tub and shower with Mer & Mistral amenities from L’Occitane in France. Frankly, I was a little surprised that the Four Seasons didn’t opt for a local soap maker, but you gotta love L’Occitane products.

Butter poached lobster at Quattro restaurant. Photo © Nancy D. Brown

In addition to esc (Escape), there’s also Quattro restaurant, featuring Italian cuisine. Breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner are offered in this contemporary restaurant. My butter poached lobster appetizer, with chantrelle mushrooms, baby artichokes and black garlic was as pretty to look at as it was to eat.

Need to know
Checkin 3:00 p.m.
Check out noon (late check out upon request on weekends)

Complimentary Wi-Fi, additional fee for super fast speeds because…we’re in Silicon Valley. Rooms feature slippers and plush robes, hairdryer, tv & mini fridge. I loved the USB ports in the majority of the lamps; thank you Silicon Valley.

Oysters & caviar in [esc] lounge. Photo © Nancy D. Brown

Inside tips:
If you arrive on Friday, look for oysters & caviar in [esc] wine bar. My other favorite thing: PLUM. This at home wine preservation device is making its way into select hotels with the Four Seasons rolling out the first machines into executive hotel rooms. After a long day of meetings or to celebrate in the privacy of your room, Plum chills and preserves wine, allowing guests to pour the perfect glass every time. The machine holds two bottles, including background information on the varietal, vineyard and winemaker. I anticipate this good-looking appliance will be showing up in a lot of luxury properties and high-end homes. For additional insider tips follow luxury travel writer @Nancydbrown on Twitter or Instagram @Nancydbrown and @fspaloalto on Instagram.

If You Go:

Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto (650) 566-1200
2050 University Avenue
East Palo Alto, California 94303

Four Seasons Palo Alto review, YouTube video and all photography by travel writer Nancy D. Brown. I was a guest of Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley to experience the new [esc] lounge concept restaurant in the hotel lobby. As always, all opinions are my own.