Wander around and explore

You know that feeling when you walked into a hotel when you were a kid?

"what's to see here?" "what am I going to find?" "where is the drinking fountain?" "do they even have a drinking fountain?"

The best spaces do that.

They give you an opportunity to roam, explore, and find things. There are little vignettes. There are places to discover things. It takes you a while to really absorb all of it.

I'm sitting in a hotel lobby right now.

They have it all.

Bold pattern furniture. Soriana sofas. Huge pencil cacti. Giant windows. A rooftop bar. A coffee bar. Noguchi lights galore. Rose colored glass backsplashes. Beautiful warm wood built-ins.

I want to explore and look at it all. I want to sit in each piece of furniture but that would be too weird because there are actual guests having a peaceful morning and I'm just a local dropping in for a coffee to fuel his newsletter writing.

​I love that they were able to do all of this and still have it be basically one large open room. My eye moves around and never gets bored.

There is so much and yet somehow it's still under the same umbrella.

The vast majority of this stuff in here could have been found in hotel interiors from the 70s-80s.

So it's a nice loose period theme with a lot of color and texture variety.

my grandparent's home

This idea reminds me of my visiting my grandparents beautiful 1940's brick house in Toledo, OH. It was a perfect place and each room was very different, yet still compatible.

Most rooms had my grandmother's warm abstract art on the walls.

In the living room they had a grand piano, a fawn velvet sofa, and a fireplace. Brass reading lamps too.

The dining room had some Spanish paper mache masks hanging on the wall, grass cloth wallpaper, metal blinds, and a beautiful menorah. Upholstered mid century wood dining furniture.

The eat-in kitchen had 70's avocado green GE appliances and a beautiful view of the backyard.

Peak refrigerator vibe - via RC Vintage

The basement was very dark, had exposed beams, carpeted in brown shag and smelled strongly like a wood fireplace. I remember first seeing the music video for "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal in that basement (still the choicest of soul/rock bangers, my karaoke go-to).

Upstairs had those iconic mid century tile bathrooms (here's a picture of it from an old listing)

My grandfather's office was a proper office - wood paneled with built-ins. Cozy but enough space to both lounge and read and work at a desk. More brass reading lamps.

Another picture from an old listing - spent a lot of time in here.

The whole house was diverse but it was unmistakably them.

Texture, international culture, abstract art, great furniture, warm tones, brass lamps.

To me, this is is the aim.

So many new homes & buildings I see today are similar neutral colors full of brand new stuff.

They are nice, they are "luxury" but there is nothing to see, and not much of a reason to explore.

They are missing intrigue - a collection of interesting and diverse items and fixtures and moments that awaken that sense of exploration in all of us.

If you were a treasure hunter when you were a kid, you still have it in you. Honor it!