Tapawingo Lake Camp is a lakeside family retreat in Wisconsin that is so picturesque and rustic and cozy that I could totally see myself spending the rest of my days in a home like this (but maybe wayyyyy smaller). It’s the best of cabin/camp/cottage living. Complete with numerous outbuildings for various activities, log cabin architecture, massive stone fireplaces and lake views that can’t be beat. This post features the exterior, family cabin, and east and west house. The rest to come in the following post. Architect: Pearson Design Group; Builder: North Fork Builders; Designer: Emma Burns of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler.

Another year has ended for the A’ Design Award & Competition. With sooooo many categories to apply for this is the world’s largest design competition. But it is not just an award. It is an indicator of quality and perfection in design, recognized worldwide, bringing your design front and centre before design companies and professionals. Categories such as Interior Space and Exhibition Design; Architecture, Building and Structure Design; Furniture, Decorative Items and Homeware Design; Lighting Products and Lighting Projects Design; Arts, Crafts and Ready-Made Design; Landscape Planning and Garden Design and so many more. (You can find all the design categories here.)

Entries have been judged by an international jury panel of scholars, professionals and media members. The prize? The trophy, of course, a certificate of quality, inclusion in the prestigious A’ Design Award and Competition exhibition and the yearly ResultBook but even more importantly press, PR, introduction to industry professionals and companies and international exposure. The fame, the prestige, the recognition and so much more. Yes finally the winners have been announced! Can you imagine the scale of this competition? Winners from over 100 countries in over 100 different design disciplines!

Here are some of my favourite winners for 2023-2024 Furniture Design category.

Tau Murano Small Table by Tulczinsky – love the jewel tones!

Hone Shelf by Pablo Vidiella – slim so perfect for a small space

Hanoi Detachable Sofa by Yuqi Wang – this would be amazing for tight spaces and it comes flat packed

Alskar Lounge Chair by Danwei Zhao – this is like a modern take on a wingback chair. Cocooning!

Calligraphy Study Desk by Bai Xiangyu – a great desk for post-pandemic work life as it raises so you can use it standing

Accent Item Lighting Furniture by Yu Ren – double-duty furniture and lighting! Handy in a space that is small or for minimalists

Cenear Bench by Christine Xiang – I’d 100% buy this. One of my favourite winners in this category over all the years we’ve been sharing this competition

Luar Armchair by Lattoog – beautiful! Like a piece of art for a corner of any room

Ariu Armchair by Research and Development Design Italia Srl – so sculptural and fun! I bet my cats would love this too (maybe not the ones with claws though)

Oco Armchair by Mauricio Coelho – I would LOVE to curl up with a book on this chair

Caterpillar Bar Unit by Priyam Doshi – the most unique bar I have a ever seen! Perfect for vertical storage if space is limited

Morfius Modular Furniture by Arman Farahmand – I would have SOOOO much fun playing with different configurations of this

The Power Nap Chair by Martin Tsankov – I’m sold on the name alone! If anyone can make use of this chair, it’s me 🙂

Hot Hot Sofa by Jun Wang – another fun configurable piece that would be perfect in the middle of a room so you can easily sit on both sides

4×4 Bench by Shayan Ramesht – I really dig this one. Would be so fun in a mudroom/foyer

Queen Bench by Pinar Eren – this is sophisticated and super sexy

Fuyao Chair by Shanghai Mlesun Furniture Technology Co. – another perfect napping chair. This looks incredibly comfy

Umma Swing by Ariane Rosa – soooo cozy (most swings don’t look it)… I just need a big porch for this and I’d be SET

Paula Storage Rack by Bingyue Zhu – multi-functional depending on how you place it. I really like if horizontal as a media cabinet

Snapfit Detachable Trash Can by Weiwen Xiong – another item I would totally buy. A garbage with legs so you’re not bending down so much is brilliant

Rin Display Shelf by Misaki Kiyuna – raw edge wood is forever a classic so this shelving with the modern legs is a cool and timeless approach

Brera Modular Sofa by Dima Loginov – another fun modular sofa! This one is so versatile and suitable for typical daily use

So there are just a few of the winners. If you head here you can explore so many more categories and their winners.

A’ Design Award and Competitions are organized and awarded annually and internationally in a wide range of categories. Every year projects that focus on innovation, technology, design and creativity are awarded with the A’ Award. While realized projects find opportunities to get published, reach new markets and meet a wide range of buyers for their existing products, the organization also helps the creative minds and startups to meet with the business people to realize their product ideas. Early Registrations to A’ Design Award are now open, enter your works for fame, prestige and international publicity. To register for next year’s competition you can do so here.

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This post is brought to you in collaboration with A’ Design Award and Competition.

I am really just posting all of these photos as an excuse to feature the one above. That chair upholstered in quilt fabrics is just about the cutest and covetable thing I have ever seen. Photos from several country homes designed by the always inspiring Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. (Some photos by Simon Upton)

I have been a fan of photographer Henry Bourne’s work for many MANY years so I was soooo excited to get my hands on his new book Turn of the Century: Portraits of Creative Interiors (it was gifted but I would absolutely have forked over the $ for this one). I love that it is a range of styles so you don’t really know what to expect from one page to the next. Published by Rizzoli, his own photos of course, text by Robin Muir and Pilar Viladas and Jane Withers.
For nearly thirty years, Bourne has been photographing the residences and studios of, or those designed by, some of the world’s most important artists, architects, designers, and innovators. Spaces and portraits in this volume range from the Upstate New York studio of artist Richard Prince, Vincent Van Duysen’s early apartment in Antwerp, and Marc Newson’s residences (his modern former bachelor pad as well as the more textured apartment he shares with Charlotte Stockdale today) to the joyfully chaotic London atelier of artist Paula Rego, the Villa Volpi by architect Tomaso Buzzi near Rome, the London studio of artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster—before and after its sleek renovation, designed by architect David Adjaye.

Next is City of Dreams: Los Angeles Interiors: Inspiring Homes of Architects, Designers, and Artists By decorator and writer Annie Kelly with photographs by her husband Tim Street-Porter and published by Rizzoli. This one is also a book I would have added to my Amazon cart in a heartbeat had it not appeared in my mailbox. Sooooo much eye candy!!!
Los Angeles’s Street-Porter has been chronicling this metropolis’s architecture and interiors for over twenty-five years.This stunning collection of inspiring homes begins with a look back, which includes examples of iconic houses inspired by Hollywood film fantasies, Modernist residences by such luminaries as John Lautner, and Frank Gehry’s Deconstructivism-style home. The heart of the book features today’s forward-looking homes, divided into two sections: Living with Art and Design and Los Angeles Modern. Antiquarian Joel Chen artfully blends an eye-catching collection of period furniture and Chinese objets while interior designer Jean-Louis Denoit’s house sparkles with a Tony Duquette gilded mirror and an abalone shell chandelier. Another trend is the renovation of modernist houses with a personal touch. Artist Mary Weatherford’s reworking of her A. Quincy Jones–designed home, in collaboration with designer Oliver Furth, has a striking orange bedroom.

The third book that arrived was Alyssa Kapito: Interiors, published by Rizzoli. If classic, elegant spaces with a modern approach and really exquisite vintage furnishings are up your alley then this book is for you. My only critique is I find Alyssa’s style to be very one-noted and each project so similar to the last.
With bespoke interiors that merge contemporary touches with time-honored sophistication—think luxurious textures, neutral tones, crisp whites, and sleek lines—she has become one of the most exciting names working in design today. In this beautiful volume, Kapito shares her unique design philosophy and ten of her most outstanding projects. An Upper East Side town house is punctuated with modern design pieces and warm beige hues. A medley of natural materials offset with bold artworks define a sleek duplex in SoHo. Clean lines and a soft palette of blues, yellows, and mauve breathe new life into a grand countryside estate. 

Ok I’m packing my bags and moving to Picts Hill, Langport in Somerset. Though luckily I can save myself the trip because it looks like this incredible home is in the process of being sold. I am IN LOVE with this. Gothic style and stained glass windows, Victorian minton tile floors, many fireplaces, acres of land to landscape… I’d have to do something with that kitchen though. It’s as bland as a hospital room. Listed with Roderick Thomas.