Durham House

I love the idea of escaping for a few days to a 5 star hotel whether far afield or just in the next city. An escape from the everyday to somewhere special. What I love even better is a getaway to a beautifully crafted home like Durham House, a unique alternative to luxury hotel-style accommodation. Luckily this award-winning house by architects Owen and Vokes and Peters (now Vokes and Peters) is less than an hours drive from my own in the bohemian, inner-city Brisbane suburb of West End. The 1920s worker’s cottage has recently undergone an extensive but sympathetic renovation and is the perfect base for exploring all that Brisbane has to offer. There is only one problem though. I won't want to leave at the end of my stay!

Click to read more ...

A beachside getaway in Portugal

Is it the end of the weekend already? Another working week stretches before us and I'm daydreaming of a beachside getaway to help me make it through until next weekend. Let's escape to Alentejo Beach House, a contemporary villa rental near Comporta on the beautiful Alentejo coast in Portugal. Three independent bungalows with beautiful ocean views and a communal main house for dining and socialising. Oh the sunsets and the sand and the water and the rolling dunes! Oh the fabulous Portuguese food and wine! Oh is it really a new working week already! Alentejo Beach House another hand-picked piece of paradise via Welcome Beyond.

Click to read more ...

The Dreamcatcher

After discovering the website of The Dreamcatcher, I am ready to pack my bags, skip work this week and hop on a plane to San Juan, Puerto Rico. This vegetarian B&B is all kinds of bohemian vintage awesomeness and would be such a delightful and cozy getaway from life's monotonous realities...like WEEK FOUR of my foyer being painted/wallpapered. *SHOOT ME* (Photos: Ayasha + Christina)

Click to read more ...

The elephant in the room

Or should that be the skeleton on the ceiling? It may be the deal breaker if you want to come on my virtual getaway to this loft style apartment in Tribeca, New York which ticks all the boxes. Exposed brick walls, light streaming in the the tall windows, a mini jungle, curios on industrial style shelves, great kitchen ... and the skeleton above the dining table. I've been staring at it for ages trying to work out what the model is actually of. Ichthyosaur? Prehistoric razor toothed dolphin? A cousin of the Loch Ness Monster? It would certainly make for an interesting dinner party conversation. Franklin Place is available through onefinestay. 

Click to read more ...

Rivertown Lodge

Welcome to Wednesday. Welcome to hump day. Welcome to my mid week daydream. We're packing our bags and heading to Hudson, New York, to the Rivertown Lodge, a boutique hotel housed, in of all things, an old movie theatre. It's vintage modern meets über cool and it was designed by Brooklyn-based WORKSTEAD. We can sit by the fire in the lobby and chat over coffee or have a drink at the bar but that little nook with the over supply of pillows is mine. A couple for my head, a couple for my feet, one to grab to my belly to balance the book and several to throw at you if you try to steal any.

Click to read more ...