In my world, a restaurant is never just about the food. It’s about the mise-en-scène - the way the lighting hits the wine glass, the tactile weight of the table linens, and the way a room makes you feel. When the context is romance, you want the design to do the heavy lifting, setting the scene for intimate conversation, so you can relax into your date.

Here’s a look at how thoughtful spatial planning and material selection are transforming the humble tent into the height of experiential luxury, drawn from my own travels and some of the most stunning examples leading this space globally.

In recent years, the commercial landscape has shifted in a very visible way. High-end brands are investing significantly more per square metre in their physical spaces, moving far beyond standard shopfitting. The era of the purely transactional storefront is over; in its place, the show-stopping experiential retail space has risen.

Today, I’m one of many designers celebrating the emergence of unusual, show-stopping stones. We are seeing a gorgeous explosion of rich textures, wildly unpredictable veining, and deeply saturated colours adorning our kitchen islands, bathrooms, and dining tables. Working with these striking, heavily veined stones requires a delicate balance of audacity and restraint.

With a few clicks, we can furnish an entire room by the weekend. But as the gap between inspiration and checkout shrinks, we have to ask: what are we trading for this convenience? Let's explore why the shift toward disposable design is costing us more than we think, and how we can curate spaces that are beautifully, stubbornly built to last.

It’s impossible to look at the cultural landscape right now without feeling the magnetic pull of the 1990s. With the release of Ryan Murphy’s FX series Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, the world has once again fallen under the spell of the era's definitive "It" couple and their immaculate, understated aesthetic. It was only a matter of time before this shift filtered from our wardrobes into our interiors, bringing the same restraint to the spaces we inhabit.

While the search for something entirely new and groundbreaking continues, I think a full departure from Mid-Century Modern doesn’t seem likely anytime soon. Micro-trends come and go - from the austere beige-on-beige minimalism of Kim Kardashian’s mansion to recent bursts of surrealist flair. But Mid-Century Modern remains a steady reference point.

Enter the era of the uber-designed ski chalet; a small but growing band of properties treating mountain stays like mini urban hotels - intentionally designed, camera-ready and unapologetically curated.