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Cabinet of Chic Curiosities
Category / Desirable Digs

At Home and in the Office with America’s First Black Millionairess

There are so many grand Gilded Age homes in New York’s Hudson River Valley, it led one 19th century wit to comment that ‘one couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a millionaire’s mansion’. Walk along the always fascinating Croton Aqueduct Trail and you can catch glimpses of these luxurious mansions that were once homes to…

How America Became Enamoured with Octagon Houses

Explore America’s small towns, and you might be lucky to stumble across a peculiarly shaped house that stands out from its surrounding neighbours by virtue of having eight facades. Back in the middle of the 19th century, there were once thousands of these ‘octagonal’ houses all over America when they were the height of fashion,…

A Brief Compendium of Modernist Homes for Movie Villains with Flawless Taste

Why is it that the bad guy always inhabits an incredible spread? It seems every self-respecting movie villain needs a strategic hideaway to devise all their evil plans, so let’s take stock of some memorable cinema locations for movie villains with a weakness for Modernist design… The Chemosphere House, LA The Chemosphere, perched on the…

Forget Roadside America, Let’s Location Scout in “Weird France”

I’ve been yearning to get back across the pond for a good ol’ dose of “weird America”, but I tend to forget that my own country has some pretty odd, quirky and wonderfully nostalgic sights to see when you venture off the main road. Wes Anderson would have a field day with Atlas des Régions…

Who Will Rescue this New York Manor Worthy of a Tim Burton Movie?

This incredible historic home has been sitting on the market for a little longer than we’re comfortable with. Fairview Manor is the sort of place that’s pretty much straight out of Tim Burton’s imagination, so it’ll take a special sort of owner to take it on. But of course, pairing quirky houses with even quirkier…

Inside the Imaginarium of a Solarpunk Architect

Imagine a world in which nature is intertwined with the industrial: giant lotus flowers replace concrete skyscrapers; an urban forest forms a city constantly in shift through a tree’s life cycle. This is the imaginarium of Belgian architect Luc Schuiten. To discover his work is to fall under the spell of a colourful cosmos, where…

I Have This Thing with Swedish Stoves

Ask someone to describe Swedish interior design and they’ll probably give you a one word answer: IKEA. But here’s another word: kakelugn. No, it’s not the name for another ready-to-assemble IKEA product line, but rather, the exquisite and unique tiled stoves found in homes throughout Sweden since the 18th century. Looking like giant elaborate chess…

The Endlessly Inspiring DIY World of Maude Smith

I’ve just found another kindred spirit. Someone who understands my deep-rooted Capricorn need to find new uses for old or unwanted things. Maude Smith is the kind of person that will cover her entire kitchen in wine corks, shells and pieces of broken crockery. Rather than re-tiling her bathroom, she’ll meticulously paint every single tile…

Dream Apartment Du Jour: Meet the Tenant

During the lockdowns of the past year, it’s been all about nesting (and investing) in our homes. Serving as both our workplaces and sanctuaries, as well as our private entertainment spaces, apartment Feng shui has become top priority next to staying healthy. One of the most re-posted apartments on Instagram during the pandemic has got…
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Mum & Dad named me Vanessa, but you can call me Nessy.

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