Located in Interlaken in Bernese Oberland (Bernese Highlands) in Switzerland, this beautiful 200 year-old farmhouse dates back to early 1800s. In 1890, the property was turned into a country house. This year, the chalet was lovingly refurbished by Swiss design agency Bergdorf in collaboration with Berne-based architect Nick Ruef…

Zürich-based photographer Bruno Helbling specialises in design, architecture and still life photography. He has worked with book and magazine editors, creative agencies and numerous other clients in Switzerland and worldwide. His portfolio is full of beautiful little gems, particularly the ones he has captured of homes designed by various Swiss architects…

Swiss architect Gus Wüstemann certainly knows a thing or two about refurbishing heritage interiors. Oh yes he does! This apartment is a beautiful example of what is possible when ‘heritage’ and ‘contemporary’ make sweet, sweet love – oh come on, those two are married so it’s perfectly ok for them to do that…

Let’s face it – car-parks are not usually at the top of any architect’s list of “things to design before they die”, right? Well… I would like to challenge that idea with today’s humble little post about one of the most beautiful and interesting car-parks I’ve seen. It was designed by Peter Kunz Architects back in 1998 and located in Herdern, a little town in northern Switzerland. Individual pods with large glass panels provide a perfect resting place with a view for your beloved Porsche (I do hope it’s a turbo, btw!)

So for all architects out there – next time you get a shitty design brief for something you consider to be less than inspiring, i.e. a car-park, I would like you to remember this project and create something extraordinary…

Hello pumpkins. I’m back! Seriously, for a couple of days there I thought I was going to be stuck in Europe forever! Those damn volcanos. If you’ve been following my tweets, you probably already know that my volcation included a “slight detour” and I never made it to London as originally planned. Having said that, I wouldn’t change my trip for one second, as a little group of us got to experience an amazing drive from Milan to Hildesheim in northern Germany, via the Swiss alps. Wow. What an amazing road trip, even if six of us had to jam ourselves into a people-mover with all our luggage {I had the back shelf stuck to my cheek for about 8 hours – nice}.

As for Milan, the fair, and all the design events… Well… What can I say… Gee… Let me think… Oh yeah, it was friggin’ AWESOME!! Seriously, I had such a brilliant, brilliant time. There was so much inspiration and talent around, my head was exploding from all the cleverness, awesomeness and attractiveness. Oh yes, Milan is one spunky city people. I took just over 2,500 photos during my 4 days… oh hang on… make that 7 days in Milan thanks to the Icelandic eruption. My experience during this time included more design than you can poke a stick at, zero sleep, running around, talking to designers, taking notes and photos, phone calls to family and travel agents trying to sort out flights, new friendships, lots of laughs, amazing food, excellent wine and a few too many drinks. I’ve been left with no time to go through any of my photos or do any writing, so please be patient as I sort through all the information I’ve gathered…