Design Days Dubai is Middle East’s first dedicated design fair, returning for its third edition with a diverse collection of compelling, highly collectible contemporary design pieces and installations. Don’t worry – you haven’t missed it – we are just way too excited, and wanted to give you the opportunity to snoop around this awesome event before it even happens between 17th – 21st March 2014.

Never mind the fact we initially thought this was an interior of a milk-bar (rather than an artisan cocktail bar of alcoholic variety), the beautifully crafted space is a little jewellery box carefully designed, resolved and detailed within an inch of it’s life. The Munich bar interior, designed by Fabian A. Wagner of Buero Wagner with Andreas Kreft, pays tribute to the local Bavarian culture and craftsmanship.

The ‘Pila’ series, meaning ‘pile’ in italian is a unique and unconventional assemblage of different plates by German designer Hanna Krüger from the Rosenthal Studio Line. The design ‘Pila’ stacks china plates and transforms them into vases and lamps with reference from everyday life – where plate piles are created for pragmatic reasons, for washing up in the sink or stashed in the cupboard. The design also demonstrates that the clash of forms, stories and time can develop a completely new aesthetic dimension.

This nimble beach house designed by John Wardle Architects creates a series of sensory and spatial experiences that frame the panoramic ocean views within.

The smokin’ hot showroom by Dutch designer Roderick Vos is full of awesome products and extreme moments of beauty at every corner. Everything about this place is a total knockout! Part workplace and part store, this design forward showroom is located in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), a small town outside of Eindhoven, and is full to the brim with products exclusively designed by Roderick himself.

This year’s premier design event, Salone del Mobile in Milan, will be hosting a very special exhibition titled “Where Architects Live”. The exhibition will provide a unique peek inside the homes of serious design royalty – think Zaha, Libeskind, Chipperfield, Shigeru Ban etc. I know what you’re thinking – they really should have called it “Where STARchitects Live”. As much as it would’ve been really fun to see mediocre furniture and average homes (the reality of many designers and architects I know), I hate to disappoint you – these houses are pretty sexy. No popcorn ceilings, Ikea desks, stained rugs and hand-me-down sofas to be seen here. No sir. It’s all pretty dandy in the land(y) of rockstar architects. Let’s take a closer look.