Built around said [authentic 200 year old] ancient house, the rest of the hotel is designed to fit in with the traditional architecture, with clay tiled roofs, white pillars, silk lanterns and wooden walkways.

Rooms are decked out with luurvely canopy beds, cool stone flooring and Asian style furniture – not to mention that bananas Chinese style window carving and tiled/beamed ceiling, yum:

The service is really very good – fresh fruit is left in your room every day and the reception staff fall over themselves to whip out a cold citronella-scented face cloth every time you get in from the hot streets outside.  Lovely and friendly, I must say I did not want to leave!

 The grounds are green and luscious, even in the dry spell this time of year.

[Err apols, our camera seems to be on its last legs, these pics are pretty hit and miss...]

Gorgeous pool area, which we didn’t actually use as were too busy running around seeing the sights but it looked fab:

And check out this sneaky little tropical interior courtyard in the middle of the main house (LHS):

I would definitely recommend this hotel – it’s a brilliant midrange option for peeps who want a break from the more economical guesthouses (us!) but aren’t wanting to stretch to full on 6 star luxe.

The one thing I was a smidge confused about though is the colour of the walls in the bar and restaurant area – orange and pink (see above LHS) just do not do justice to the grandeur of the property.  This place is lovely as it is, but honestly it has the potential to be a total show stopper.  Refurb the bathrooms to 5 star standard (like this INCREDIBLY magical place) and do away with the rainbow colours on the walls, and it would suddenly shoot up to the land of places you daydream about visiting.  Or is that just me?!

{This is a sponsored post, but all opinions herein are my own}

Anyhoo, so the internal courtyard got me thinking we should incorporate one when we build our future house.  DREAMLAND!  Don’t think you can even do that in Singers.  Ahem, well here are a few other ideas anyway, doesn’t hurt to collect some inspiration I suppose…

Those Moroccans really know how to do it well:

Couple of contemporary puppies:

And see here for the rest of this swoon-worthy property below left:

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{clockwise from top left: indigo cushion, indigo fabric, grey shade, tangerine cushion, fuchsia cushion, indigo fabric, cherry fabric, royal blue shopper, black boxes, emerald cushion, mini wooden spoons}

A bunch of these are fair trade pieces with proceeds going to the communities who make the cloth, so you get to shop and do a good deed simultaneously – winner!

May I introduce you to the newest of obsessions in the (already obsession-full) brain of Caribbean Living: the beauties that are batik.  I’d come across this gorgeous race of textiles before but it was on our honeymoon in Bali that I really became acquainted with them.  They’re traditionally made all over the world from Ghana and Nigeria to India and Japan, but it’s South East Asia that’s really famous for producing this art form, especially Malaysia and Indonesia.

See?!  Yum:

Often confused with ikat, the name batik describes the method of applying wax to fabric and then dying it, so it can come in literally any design and colour your heart desires, as opposed to ikat which sticks within an admittedly-getting-wider-by-the-day band of patterns.

Think my faves are the blueys but the bright fun colours are divine also.

Gorgeous:

Even more gorgeous!

I wish the armchairs here were a batik in a more neutral colour – other than that I am loving this space bigtime:

Delectable pastels!

And how awesome is this headboard?!  Not sure about the brown shade but if it were a blue or a purple…yummy:

Cushions are a great way to add some fun without committing to upholstery:

And this Balinese daybed on the LHS here just takes my breath away:

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I brought a few pieces back with me the last time we headed to Bali but think I need to start some serious cushion manufacturing here in Singapore – hmm I wonder when I can get back there…

French interior designer Sarah Lavoine, has the kind of style that normally doesn’t ring my bell but for some reason this morning these images pretty much leapt out of my computer screen and grabbed me by the eyeballs.

The perfect mix of understated minimalist chic, interesting quirky lighting and accessories, and dark moody monochrome colours, these spaces are simply fabulous.

Phewee it is a looong post today folks, I just kept finding more and more images to drool over.

In love with these lanterns.  In love!

The best contemporary pendants of all time?  Why I do think so yes:

The details and vignettes are so well curated – pretty much a masterclass right here…

Sarah also has a bit of a knack for scrummy kitchens – this Moroccan pendant / copper (?) splash back and countertop action has me all in a tizzy:

As does this more rustic look – love!

Her bedrooms are simple and elegant affairs, with dark soothing palettes and luxurious long drapes:

And the bathrooms?!  Oh my gawd they’re good:

Not such a massive fan of this tub design but am loving the built in shelving and accessories:

I’ve literally never seen a more glam dressing table:

And lastly (see, told you it was a killer) a villa in Marrakech which is pretty much the cat’s pyjamas.  Do you see all this carved wood??!

And the outdoors spaces are just divine:

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Swoony swoony swoon swoon.

Here are my picks from Sarah’s delectable collection, I’m loving the mix of quirky organic shapes and unusual materials:

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Thoughts…?  Have you managed to make it to the end of the post??!

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Have a fab weekend loves, see you next week!

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Today is my 30th birthday.  30 whole years on this planet.

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You know how when you’re a sprog and you think about how your life will be when you’re ‘old’ at 30 (or was that just me that did that?!) – I always imagined myself married with a house in the country, 5 kids, an aga and small army of doggies, and I find it pretty bloody amusing that our current setup could literally not be more different.  Wouldn’t change it for anything though.

Anyhoo I’m not going to commence blathering because I have some sunbathing to get done, but I will say that today I feel so full of gratitude for everybody I have in my life.  My wonderful husband, family and friends (bloggy and otherwise!) mean the world to me and I am sending out hugs worldwide from this little corner of Vietnam.

I have convincingly failed in my quest to get my design course finished, home designed and business set up by my 30th birthday, but I am 95% there on all three counts so think I’ll let myself off – it’ll be done by le bloggie’s 3rd birthday fo sho.

Anyway, I’m off to enjoy my day with my man and a hefty dose of sunshine, toodles!

Pretty fun, no?

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And here’s the lowdown on sourcing options, I know I know I’m too good to you…

{clockwise from top left: navy/fuchsia, duck egg, cream/pink, tropical green, grey/white, grey/pink}

We’re looooving Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City is totally bananas and we’ve just spent a couple of seriously relaxing days in gorgeous beachy Mui Ne.  We’re heading up the coast today towards this beaut of a hotel, and holymoly I cannot wait to see it.

Decked out in rustic woods, bamboo, stone and floaty floaty mosquito nets, it is the perfect place to spend my birthday!

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But today I thought I’d post about one luscious lady that has truly stood the test of time: the claw foot bathtub.  First created in the 1800′s from cast iron and lined in porcelain they were luxury items that only veeery few could afford.  Happily for us that is no longer the case!

As you can see here, the piece fits really well into seriously trad styling but can also hold its own in a crazy contemporary scheme:

I have a serious soft spot for metallic clawfoots but today I thought I’d just stick to the painted jobbies.

First up, how about some dark moody beauts…?

Yummy brass fixtures on the RHS here, and those floorboards!!

Or are you more of an all-the-colours-of-the-rainbow kinda gal…?

[Side note, can we all please give this FLAMINGO WALLPAPER some lovin'?!]

Floaty drapes and shower curtains get the thumbs up from moi:

And I’m seriously enamoured with these cooler shades of green and blue:

More brass fixtures!!  Stop it, it’s too much!

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So which would you pick…?

It’s my 30th birthday next week (crumbs, not entirely sure how that happened) and we’re using it as an excuse to travel in south Vietnam for a week to celebrate – will try to keep the posts rolling as normal but please humour any hiccups…

Have a happy weekend y’all, what are you up to??