I’m lost in the London listings on onefinestay. “A fresh alternative to a hotel for a short stays, live like a local without compromising on service and comfort.” May be a slogan but it seems to be true. Look at this oasis in the bustling city. Love the grey walls (the listing says duck egg blue but my monitor is definitely reading more grey… I’m fantasising about that blue though), the pared back furnishings, a scattering of vintage and the historic details. Simplicity and style. So refreshing. Excuse me while I pop over to Beresford Terrace for a few days stay. I really need to straighten that sofa cushion ;)<

A beautiful little house perched on a garden allotment in Groningen in The Netherlands. A wonderful getaway on a tiny lot in a communal setting. Don’t pop a portable shed or generic lock up on it. No. Create something as special as the eccentric gardens that surround it. Garden house, summerhouse, shed and hide-away. A marvellous mini villa by Haiko Meijer of Onix, perfect for architect and family.

On and on forever. Blue sea melts into blue sky. The perfect backdrop for this small but casually elegant seaside cottage at Palm Beach north of Sydney I recently found real estate stalking. As lovely as the home is, it is the deck and that view that just might clinch the deal for any prospective buyer. If they need a little more convincing then the stone wine cellar and bathroom are definitely a talking point. By no means large it is big on style and long on lingering drinking in that view. Imagine lying cosy in your bed and watching a storm roll in. Link here while it lasts.

Saturdays are normally about helping readers with their design dilemmas. Today, instead, it is all about a wonderful retreat in an exotic location, full of creativity and it’s a reader’s home. Maureen Booth is a painter and print maker who lives just outside Granada, Spain in paradise….in a chicken coop. Well her guests actually live in the coop. This bijou building is an artist’s and writer’s retreat.

“Yes, it was a chicken coop. After that it was a dog kennel, then a painting studio, then it was a junk room for years  before we got around to enlarging it, re-roofing it and renovating it. Artists love it, both for the peace, the atmosphere and the five-meter-long workspace.”

Nothing grand, very honest, practical and wonderfully romantic. A reclaimed Spanish outbuilding with a view full of inspiration and a garden full of respite. El Gallinero.

Deep, rich, sophisticated. The dark side of interior designer Melissa CollisonSwoon. Design and food and travel. A magic carpet ride of style and colour.