becky_sunshine (@becky_sunshine)

After moderating a talk last week with the Norwegian design studio @anderssenandvoll for @andtradition it got me thinking about my week in Norway last summer. It didn’t quite go to plan - the weather was generally horrendous among other things - but I did manage to see a handful of excellent Brutalist buildings in Bergen and Stavanger. There’s the imposing Greighallen designed by Danish architect Knud Munk, the City Hall by Erling Viksjø and a few others I didn’t manage to identify. Elsewhere the iconic Hotel Norge (now part of the Scandic group) where we stayed (paid for but with a media discount) was sensitively revamped a few years ago by Dutch studio @concreteamsterdam. In Stavanger there was the curious Norwegian Petroleum Museum designed by architects Lunde & Løvseth and a sad robot face in a vent that I rather loved. Must go back and explore a bit more… perhaps when the sun comes out to play. . . . . . . . . . #norway #norwegiandesign #architecture #brutalistarchitecture #interiors #design #furniture #concrete #buildings #brutalism #bergen #vacation #stavanger #holiday #summer #weather

Another year. Goodness, it’s going fast. I’m sure I looked like this recently. A funny old few months of family stuff makes me treasure the people I love even more. What else is there? Love. . . . . . . . . . #birthday #gettingolder #newage #family #parents #brother #home #childhood #happybirthday #london #holiday #january #newadventures #change #life #love #familylove #old

So glad I finally caught designer @martinogamper’s retrospective Before, After & Beyond before it finishes today. It charts more or less 20 years of his work, staged so invitingly in room sets across several floors of @majahoffmann’s central London townhouse. It’s a joyous mishmash of his colourful, material rich creations, as curated by Martino and @sarahdouglas.co. So, so good. . . . . . . . . #martinogamper #design #home #interiordesign #interior #architecture #furniture #innovation #installation #london #exhibition #majahoffmann #curator #designer #art #artist #london

What a privilege it was to spend time with architect David Rockwell, founder of the 40-year-old @rockwellgroup, in his Union Square office. Time in his company is always uplifting; he’s full of warmth and wisdom. Great conversations about community, music, theatre, literature and buildings. I wrote about my visit for @telegraph @telegraphluxury. It was in print a few weeks ago and is now live on the website. Link in bio. Thanks to @joanmackeith, @tomorrowprlondon and @neilpbyrne for making it happen. . . . . . . . . . . #davidrockwell #rockwellgroup #architecture #architect #design #presstrip #interiordesign #interior #home #hotels #luxury #music #musically #broadway #musicaltheatre #telegraph #telegraphluxury

Back to the idyllic Swiss village of Adelboden last week a year after my first visit. This time to experience a new mountain hideaway @thebrecon. It’s small, perfectly formed and so full of laidback charm - I loved it. Designed by the Amsterdam studio @nicemakers, it’s independently owned by Welsh brothers Grant and Craig Maunder. What was an unremarkable timber chalet has now had its exterior restored and inside is reborn: full of Welsh design references, vintage pieces, custom furniture in warm, relaxed textures and tones. Room rates include all the food and drink so guests never to have to sign for anything, as if staying with friends. I loved all the earthy handmade ceramic plates and cups - over 1000 pieces - by @dreacreate. The revolving timber front door, crafted locally, made me smile: a reference to The Pink Panther movie scene in Gstaad when Clouseau gets trapped entering the hotel. Thank you @mattvines and @jessiefirmstone for arranging everything and to Grant, Andréa and GM Martina - thank you for your incredible hospitality. An experience that will stay with me for a long time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #thebrecon #grantmaunder #freshair #experience #nicemakers #presstrip #adelboden #welsh #design #architecture #interiors #switzerland #swisstourism #mountains #alps #summerinswitzerland #walking #lakes #waterfalls #hideaway #hotel #homefromhome

I can’t remember how long I’ve been eager (read: desperate!) to visit @louisianamuseum but a few weeks ago, during a wonderful visit to Copenhagen for @3daysofdesign (thanks to @fritzhansen), I was able to spend a few hours there. The week was generally cold and rainy but for just a short while the clouds parted, the sun emerged and I wandered aimlessly, happily around the connecting buildings and through the sculpture garden. I couldn’t have loved it more. . . . . . . . . . . #louisiana #landscape #danishdesign #louisianmuseumofmodernart #denmark #copenhagen #modernism #midcentury #design #art #sculpture #coast #timber #garden #jeannouvel #interiordesign #interiors #giacometti #louisebourgeois #calder #fritzhansen #jetty

Last November, on a brief work trip to New York, I had a couple of hours to spare before heading to the airport so I jumped on the subway to Long Island City to visit the Noguchi Museum; I’ve been eager to go for years. I had less than an hour to race around but it was so worth it. A quiet, contemplative space bathed in the autumn sun when I was there and the ideal setting in which to explore the work of the late American Japanese sculptor. Must confess I knew little about him other than the 1947 glass top table for Herman Miller so this was such a highlight. The sculpture is housed across a two-storey 1920s industrial building, a concrete pavilion and sculpture garden. The light inside and out is magical. The planting, much of it native to Japan which he designed, is so beautiful too. I so loved this place and have been thinking about it a lot since visiting. Can’t wait to go back. . . . . . . #design #sculpture #noguchi #noguchimuseum #newyork #longislandcity #stone #art #installation #architecture #midcentury #adventure #explore

Another year older. Still no wiser. Thinking of recreating this 10-year-old me punk girl look having decided that growing older gracefully is overrated. Am going down in flames like Joan Collins instead 👌🏻 . . . . . . #happybirthday #itsmybirthday #home #design #fancydress #punk #growingolder #hair #makeup #style #party #joancollins

About 10 days ago we made the pilgrimage to Jungfraujoch - the Top of Europe as it’s billed. It’s touristy but it is truly spectacular up there, as is the swift journey on the new Eiger Express gondola that gets you most of the way there. The views from the observatory at the top are extraordinary and frankly enough for me, but then @air__commission thought it would be great fun to drag us up a further 250m by foot through icy snow to 3650m for a bowl of soup at Mönchsjuchhütte, an Alpine hut improbably perched on the edge of the mountain. I wasn’t happy about it in the moment but am obviously pleased we (including the eight-year-old) did it. Naturally, @air__commission has been smug about it ever since. Thank you so, so much to @victorinox, @mrjulianvogel and @modusbpcm for arranging our passes - it was one of our highlights of the trip. . . . . . #jungfraujoch #jungfrau #topofeurope #swissrailpass #inlovewithswitzerland #mountains #adventure #walking #trekking #outdoors #switzerland#presspass @jungfraujochtopofeurope @myswitzerland @swisstravelsystem

Stayed a few nights at @thecambrianadelboden in the Alpine village of Adelboden. Such a lovely, peaceful space. The views are ridiculously beautiful so it’s hard to compete but then everything inside is so thoughtfully designed too. Owned by a pair of Welsh brothers, the hotel is housed in an old Belle Epoque building but entirely redesigned inside. The design has a lightness about it. Easy furniture to live with: @bebitalia, @haydesign, @nanimarquina_official and @melintregwynt around the place. There are custom timber walls, wardrobes and headboards by the Dutch designer @studiojeroenwand along with some very pretty cast porcelain pendant lights. The walls are mostly a soft @farrowandball green so reflecting back what’s outside. The outdoor infinity pool is Instagrammer’s heaven with mountain (and waterfall) views. Also loved the restaurant by Welsh chef @chefbrynw: local, seasonal produce but steering clear of the obvious Swiss classics for a change. I even took a yoga class in the airy studio facing the mountains which was pretty spectacular. A really happy few days. Thank you so much to @lorenzmaurer and team for welcoming us. . . . . . . . . @design_hotels, #pressstay #designhotels, #furniture #thecambrianadelboden, #design, #architecture, #travel, #switzerland, #iloveswitzerland, #swisstravelpass, #alpine, #mountains, #outdoors, @myswitzerland, #interiordesign #swisstravelsystem. #bebitalia, #haydesign.

Visited the new @birchcommunity at Selsden a few weeks ago. It’s vast. There’s 200 acres of land formerly a golf course now being rewilded - overseen by wonderful and thoughtful @sebastiancoxltd who has also created some of the furniture. The enormous interiors of the Victorian gothic manor have been designed by @a_nrdstudio with a whopping 181 rooms and numerous public spaces. There’s been quite a bit of stripping away of slightly awful modifications made by previous hotel owners and now there’s a much better connection between the communal spaces and the landscape. Lots of warm tones, natural textures and great natural light everywhere. Simple furniture too - lots of it vintage or repurposed in keeping with the low waste policy at Birch. The members bar and lido by @sella.concept wasn’t quite ready when I visited but knowing @tatjanavonstein both will be spectacular. . . . . . . . . #birchcommunity #birch #birchselsdon #a-nrd #design #interiors #sebastiancox #architecture #reuse #repurposed #recycledinteriors #rewilding #hotel #community #coworking #london #homeawayfromhome #landscape #countrylife #breathe #designdeinteriores

I’m in love with the warm spring light of Puglia: beautifully golden and full of summery promise. It rained a lot a few weeks ago so everything was especially lush at the magical @castle_elvira where we stayed for a few days. I ate waaay too much, had nightly cocktails on the castle roof at sunset, visited friends at @villazagaralecce and practiced somersaults and handstands in the pool with the eight-year-old. That was all we needed. That and a surprise double rainbow on the last night. Thank you @harvey_b_brown and @stevieriseley for everything. . . . . . . . . . #castleelvira #castle #design #architecture #puglia #holiday #italy #interiors #rainbow #interiordesign #spring #homeawayfromhome #friends #swimming #cocktails #italianfood