Chance Encounters

My days in NYC have been very busy and very productive.  I have enjoyed uncovering some wonderful treasures and meeting some lovely people along the way. 

Earlier today I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  As I walked out the front door of The Crosby Street Hotel where we are staying, who should be standing right in front of me?  I could hardly believe my eyes...it was Kit Kemp who is the owner and designer of The Crosby Street Hotel.

My knees went a little shaky and butterflies started to fly ferociously around inside my stomach however, despite my nervous state I approached her and said hello.  I told her I would never usually do something like this. However, I know how much I would have re regretted it if I didn't pluck up the courage to say hello.  She was so kind and so lovely.  We spent a few minutes chatting about various things and I must say, having admired her for such a long time, including posting about her work, her home and her hotels here on the blog over the years, it was one of the most wonderful and exciting encounters of my life!!

Another wonderful experience I had today was being invited to Betsy Morgan's beautiful house for afternoon tea.  Betsy, who is an Interior Designer here in NYC and her husband own a DIVINE 5 storey townhouse in Chelsea.  We enjoyed a tour of her home and in doing so met her 2 beautiful daughters and chatted about all things New York and Design. 

Betsy allowed me to take a few photos of her home which I am sharing here today. You may think you have seen Betsy's home before.  Well you are probably right as it has been used for some pretty well-known photo shoots including the photos taken by Mario Testino of Sarah Jessica Parker for Vogue.  That's right, she's had Mario Testino and SJP in her home all at once.  AMAZING!

All in all it was such a wonderful and inspiring day.  Thank you Betsy for inviting us to your home for afternoon tea and thank you Kit Kemp for stopping to say hello to me.  I was completely and utterly starstruck!!

xx
Anna

Fabric Deja Vu

I knew I had seen that gorgeous Christopher Farr fabric before when I opened up my copy of this month's Vogue Living and spotted those beautiful chairs on the cover by designer Darryl Gordon. When I stayed at the Haymarket Hotel in London last year that fabric was used by owner & designer Kit Kemp en masse in the foyer of the hotel. It's such a fresh and vibrant fabric and looks so beautiful on those chairs on the cover of VL. I thought I would show you a few photos I snapped last year of the fabric and how it was used at the Haymarket.

Image 1, 2, 3 - Anna Spiro, Image 4 - Vogue Living

The Hart

The Hart Lodge in Tauranga Bay of Plenty New Zealand looks like it would be a beautiful place to visit and if you were feeling a little extravagant you could fly in on your own helicopter and land at the property's helipad. If only I could flit off over there for a few days. That would be nice!!

Take Me To Rome

And let me stay at Portrait Suites owned by the Ferragamo family. I love the shoe artwork which hangs throughout this dreamy Italian Townhouse. Did I mention it is perfectly located right above the Ferragamo store on Via Condotti?!

Bed of Flowers

I fell in love with this gorgeous guest house in the Netherlands when it was featured in Real Living magazine recently. I love, love, love it! The coloured feature walls are divine and I love them paired with the floral fabrics, vintage floral artwork, white walls and vintage inspired furniture pieces. The house is aptly named Bed of Flowers!! You can stay at this beautiful place and I must say I think it is very reasonable priced. Click HERE to visit the website.

Dreaming...

What are you dreaming about today? I'm dreaming about Round Hill Hotel in Jamaica!!

{And Finally} London...

I was only in London for one day and one night but that didn't stop me...even though it was at the end of my long trip I managed to squeeze lots into my short stay. One thing which was on my must do list was the Notting Hill Markets. I think I must have been one of the first people to arrive at the markets on that rainy Saturday morning but wow, I'm so thrilled I was as I picked up some amazing things and it wasn't long until the crowds started to fill the street.

In London I stayed at the new very stylish Haymarket Hotel which was designed by owner and Designer Kit Kemp. I must say this hotel was one of the most wonderful hotels I have ever stayed in. Not only was it absolutely beautiful, the service was like no other and the staff were so lovely and so kind and absolutely nothing was too hard. When I arrived at the hotel I was given an upgrade to a junior suite {at no charge} and when I asked if I could get a late check out at 6.00pm the next day {which I was more than happy to pay for} they granted it at no charge. Wow, what an end to my trip away. I absolutely LOVED this hotel and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting London in the future as I personally wouldn't stay anywhere else!! If you live in London and don't need to stay at the hotel I would recommend visiting the Haymarket for afternoon tea which they serve all around the beautiful foyer...so gorgeous!!

All images - Anna Spiro 2008

Charlotte Street Hotel

Loving the pretty blue and white colour scheme chosen for this guest room at Charlotte Street Hotel in London!!

More Mollies

A few weeks ago I posted a beautiful picture of a room at Mollies Boutique Hotel in Auckland as a link to a post This Is Glamorous did on Mollies. I recently stumbled across these images of the exterior of Mollies on Trip Advisor and felt I had to share them. Such a pretty building!! Enjoy!!

Beautiful Villa Feltrinelli

Now this is definitely a place I would love to visit one day. Villa Feltrinelli sits on the shores of Lake Garda in the beautiful village of Gargnano in Northern Italy. Dating back to 1892 the villa was meticulously restored in 1997 and is now offered to travellers as a luxury hotel. By the sounds of it - Frette bed linen, croquet and tea on the lawn, a picnic for two on the property's wood-paneled boat, laundered linen arriving back wrapped in tissue and tied up with silk ribbon with a sprig of lavender - I really don't think I would ever want to come home!!!

All images via Trip Advisor

Happy Weekend!!

A couple of images of Villa Mauresque - a small hotel on the beach in the South of France - how dreamy is this??!! Have a great weekend!