Category Archives: General

A Luxury Guide to Sleeping in Style : Elements of style

A return to the classical for bedroom design.

Bedroom decor is trending towards the classical again, with luxurious accents. There’s a swing towards this look, but not in a full-blown gaudy way – just think of touches here and there, within clean lines.

Wallpaper from Royal Collection Fabrics & Wallpapers by Designers Guild

Architect Lin Yi Yan of Yard Pte Ltd sees this move on the horizon, and you can spot this trend as well based on the industrial designs in the market. ‘Even the fittings in bathrooms are showing this trend – as they now come in more fanciful choices, instead of your streamlined taps and faucets. Taps tend to have diamond or a ruby-cut handles, for example,’ he says.

But as a whole, there’s no particular style for bedroom interiors as these generally are wholly dependent on the occupants’ personal tastes, he notes.

Terri Tan of Designworx Interior Consultants agrees, saying that bedrooms can range from airy and bright to dark, sombre colours – it totally depends on their individual tastes.

‘One group of people might want their bedrooms off-white and neutral because they want the clean look, but another group want to recreate their look and feel of their favourite hotel room. They’re particular about their beds and pillows; about the comfort level and the look,’ she notes.

For something luxurious, the kind of texture and pattern of the wallpaper and curtains set the tone while wooden floors give the cosy feel. ‘A rug would also be important,’ says Ms Tan. Continue reading

Count on Monte Carlo

As the rich and famous shift to new playgrounds, Monaco kingpin Bernard Lambert is rebuilding the Monte Carlo story.

AH … Monaco: where royalty and tax exiles winter in luxury suites and multi-million dollar penthouses; where movie stars sip Cristal from Baccarat flutes on 300-foot yachts anchored in azure waters, baiting the paparazzi; where Prince Ranier once wooed Grace Kelly and fortunes were won and lost (mostly lost) at fabled roulette tables that have seen the likes of James Bond (in various iterations); where perfectly tanned beauties have been coming to play alongside legendary race car drivers out hunting for their next trophy…

Almost surreal, this picture of the glamourous and slightly decadent principality did certainly exist once. But the glamour appeared to be fading of late – tuxedos are not even de rigeur at the Casino de Monte Carlo any more.

Instead, the ultra-rich have been seeking out ever more exotic holiday destinations, hampered only by landing rights for their Gulfstream jets.

Enter Bernard Lambert, CEO of Monte Carlo SBM, the 146-year-old company that holds the monopoly to Monaco’s five casinos. It also owns four hotels there, the oldest of which, the Beach Hotel, has just undergone a multi-million dollar refurbishment with its Hotel de Paris and Hermitage being tweaked as well.

For many years before Mr Lambert joined in 2002, the company was quite happy with business as usual. Continue reading