It’s been almost a year since I’ve left Beijing and I still think about how the city landscape was in such dramatic change while I was there, as I’m sure it still is. At that time I also met Jonah Kessel (via Twitter), who filmed a series of short videos for Asia Society, the first is titled “A Disappearing World.” This chapter documents and interviews the local people’s reflections on life in Beijing’s Hutongs and Alleyways. The following two videos provide deeper insight into this changing landscape and discussion about cultural preservation.

Wandering the hutongs was one of my favorite things to do while in Beijing, with glimpses into the daily lives, living, and culture. I also had small insights into the poor conditions and dramatic gentrification of these neighborhoods. I’m simply sharing with you this difficult balance and bit of heartache. It’s such a dilemma, isn’t it?

Regardless, see the beautiful scenes for yourself– either in the videos or in person!

It’s like having a window of escape in your own home. These door sticker/wallpapers at Couture Deco (for US$199) are a lovely way to dream and get away, without going anywhere at all. Customize to fit in the proper space with scissors and use wallpaper glue to adhere to the wall. I’m afraid I’d actually try to pull a Harry Potter and walk into the wall! via Curbly

Along the same lines…

“Glimpse” by Sarah Dayo creates an opening in any wall by using a mirror… via Make

不需要去旅游了，自有这两个产品能想或者做梦你在别的地方。第一个在Couture Deco好像壁纸用的。第二个就是镜子能放大房间或者分开墙。

Hotel Costa Verde in Costa Rica has “most exclusive hotel suite in Costa Rica.”

The fully outfitted, meticulously detailed, two bedroom, Boeing 727 fuselage suite. We have refurbished a vintage 1965 Boeing 727 airframe, which in its prior life shuttled globetrotters on South Africa Air and Avianca Airlines (Colombia).

Our 727 home features two air conditioned bedrooms, a flat screen TV, a kitchenette, dining area foyer; an ocean view terrace; a private entrance up a river rock, spiral staircase; and 360 degrees of surrounding gardens.

I certainly can’t afford the US$400-500/night stay, but one can certainly dream! It’s amazing how refurbishing and repurposing is catching on and becoming something high-end (definitely from trash to treasures!)

via Toxel

And from high end to budget travel, using old planes is definitely a trend that extends the flying experience from travel to where you’ll crash for the night. Check out the Jumbo Hostel at the entrance of the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport in Sweden. Jumbo Hostel was perviously posted here.

用旧飞机来做酒店和宿舍是个新设计趋势。能做非常贵酒店到便宜的宿舍。

Medill kitchen recipe.

On the Design in a Bag website, you can browse online galleries of coordinated kitchen and bath looks, each carefully designed and crafted by Rebekah Zaveloff, an HGTV contributor and the creative force behind Chicago’s preeminent kitchen and bath interior design firm KitchenLab.

Before and After of a client using the Design In A Bag Burgoyne.

Design in a Bag includes: cabinetry finishes showing color and wood species, countertop and tile selections, shopping / resource list, 4 large-format paint swatches and coordinating architectural drawings illustrating the finishes and wall colors – all which combine to help you envision and create your dream kitchen or bath.

via Design Milk

In addition to the concepts from “The Ballad of John & Yoko, adorned with a guitar and simple white interior, to Goldilocks and The Three Bears, which has a quaint storybook feel to it,” there’s a more local feel from the Afro-Funk trailer by Carla Soudien.

The trailer’s earthy colours set the tone for an African experience – minus the wildlife. Soudien was inspired by the street fashion of Cape Town and this is represented in her careful attention to texture.

What a great way to collaborate with local artists and create unique experiences for travelers! Not to mention the poetic nature of the project, where we think of trailers for traveling. Now, the trailers are permanently parked and made into housing for those same travelers. Each Airstream has a small garden, air-conditioning, and running hot and cold water. I want to visit! I’m so curious how the interiors are have been redesigned.

via CoolHunting