Pink Star, the largest pink diamond in the world, is all set to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on April 4, 2017. The 59.60-carat stone is an oval mixed cut and the largest internally flawless fancy vivid pink diamond as per the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Mined in 1999 by the De Beers Group in Africa, the Pink Star was a massive 132.5-carat rough gemstone when found. The current size is a result of cutting and polishing carried out upon the stone. Estimated to fetch $60 million, the huge pink rock is expected to break the record of Christie’s blue diamond sold at $57.5 million last year.
W Goa at Vagator Beach is now open, as announced by W Hotels Worldwide. The highly anticipated debut marks the brand’s 50th hotel globally. Situated between the jungle and the coastline, W Goa features 160 guestrooms including Villas, Chalets, a Marvelous Suite and an Extreme WOW Villa (the brand’s take on the Presidential Suite). The hotel overlooks the Arabian Sea and spans 25 acres of exotic sandy beach set against the backdrop of a 500-year old Portuguese Fort.
Great news for yacht lovers: London’s Saatchi Gallery will soon feature an exclusive exhibit dedicated entirely to Superyachts. Come June 2017, the doors to the Super Yacht Gallery will be open. To be held from June 1 to 3, the exhibit is supposed to be a “high quality and intresting exposition about the super yacht lifestyle. “ The event has around 12 super yacht owners—including big names such as Lürssen, Benetti, Rossinavi, Nuvolari Lenard and Espen Oeino— working with the Super Yacht Gallery. The SuperYacht Gallery was founded by Merjin de Waard and Marijin Smit, former Manager Events & Multimedia at Feadship. The exposition is set to cover a number of different galleries such as Exploration, Performance, Innovation and Imagination. There will also be several workshops and seminars with expert builders and designers, while the top floor of the Saatchi Gallery will serve as the VIP deck serving food and drinks.
JR East’s uber-luxe train in Japan, the Train Suite Shiki-Shima, will embark upon its maiden journey this May. The $44.4 million, 10-car bullet train offers ultra luxe onboard accommodation in 17 suites, and has the distinction of being designed by Ken Okuyama, the only non-Italian Ferrari designer ever. Okuyama formerly worked for Pininfarina, designing and supervising projects such as the Enzo Ferrari and Ferrari P4/5. The train’s first journeys will take guests through the north-eastern region of Tohoku and into Hokkaido exploring the regions’ cultures, crafts and cuisines. And guess what—the super awesome train is already all-booked for the first 6 months. Well, going by the pictures, that was only to be expected.
DREAM DECOR | When decorating kids’ rooms, manage the décor in a way that would last till their teenage, with creative transformations from time to time
All kids love to have a nicely decorated room that reflects their personality. Of course, it’s up to you to provide them with the most interesting solution. Then again, redesigning a kid’s room all the time is far from budget-friendly lifestyle. So, if you’re wondering if there’s a way to design and decorate your kid’s room in the most beautiful way that would last them for a long time, you better believe that there is. Of course, this doesn’t mean that your kids will have to deal with the same décor at preschool and teenage, but if you play your cards right, you will encourage their own creativity. That way, the kids themselves will be able to take care of decorative details while the design you invested in will be timeless.
Walls first
Painting the entire wall in chalkboard paint is a great investment since the kids can get creative with it
Once you start decorating and designing your kid’s room, make sure to take care of the walls first. Now, paint is the obvious choice. It’s fairly easy to paint the walls yourself and it can be changed later on. Therefore, stick to the color scheme that your child would love. On the other hand, it would be wise to avoid murals no matter how cool these are. The child’s interests will change over time and the mural will probably annoy them as they age. Therefore, opt for equally cool yet easily removable wall stickers. What’s more, painting the entire wall in chalkboard paint is definitely a great investment since the kids themselves will be able to get creative and change up the look of their room when they feel like it.
Furniture that lasts
Make sure to buy a bed, desk and other furniture that can serve a teenager as much as a preschool kid
Getting really childish furniture for the kid’s room isn’t frugal. This means that no matter how nice these appear, you should stay away from wardrobes, desks, chairs and beds that are specifically made for younger kids. If you want your child to be able to use everything in the room as they grow older, you need to be very practical about this. Focus on quality, comfort and functionality instead of looks. Therefore, make sure to buy a bed, desk and other furniture bits that can serve a teenager as much as a preschool kid. And as far as looks go, you can always spruce the furniture up with posters, decoupage and stickers. An ordinary bed can be transformed with an effective curtain that separates this area from the rest of the room. Similarly, plain chairs can be decorated with cushions and covers.
The question of accessories
Instead of alphabet or number learning rugs, go for those with colors and patterns, which are interesting to young kids but also fitting for a teenage room later
Some accessories are easier to replace than others. For example, there are plenty of unique kids’ floor rugs to choose from, but parents usually opt for one that’s targeted at young learners. Instead of going for alphabet or number learning rugs, go for those that have plenty of color and pattern so that they can be interesting to young kids but also fitting for a teenage room. A toy box doesn’t have to feature cartoon characters in order to serve its purpose. It’s better to get functional trunks that can be repurposed later on. As they grow older, your kids can replace other details such as frames, figurines, plants, etc. themselves. Introduce them to the fun of DIY projects so that they get into a habit of creating before buying something.
When you’re decorating and designing a child’s room, make sure that you don’t fall into the hype of kid-only items. With a touch of creativity, anything can be made to look more interesting, beautiful and special. Most importantly, everything can be redecorated and transformed again later on. Of course, include your kids in the process of room décor. That way they will feel a lot more inspired and motivated to create something completely personal and unique even without your help.
[Elise Morgan is an ordinary girl with an extraordinary life that she shares with her 8 pets. She is a health and fitness fanatic who adores hiking, long bicycle rides, paragliding and all sorts of extreme sports. After all, she did spend hundreds of hours in the air. She loves writing about health, beauty, adventures, experiences and life in general.
Plans have been proposed for the first luxury floating hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland. The former Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) tender, MV Fingal, will be converted into a 23 bedroom hotel, berthed permanently at the Prince of Wales Dock in Edinburgh’s historic port of Leith. Royal Yacht Britannia’s trading company, Royal Yacht Enterprises, plans to invest £3.5m in the ‘boatique’ hotel, which is expected to open in 2018. The hotel concept has been created by the Pedley Group, while the interior design has been inspired by Fingal’s rich maritime history.
Star Wars fans, rejoice! ANA’s latest Star-Wars themed jet is a bright yellow Boeing 777-200ER, that’s delightfully named C3PO. Not only is the aircraft designed with motifs of wiring and discs characteristic of C3PO, the unforgettable humanoid from the Star Wars universe, at the inauguration of the plane on-board cabin attendants also wore special C3PO themed aprons, with matching coffee cups, headrests and even boarding passes. The aircraft will begin service on domestic Japanese routes in a week’s time.
U.S. Specialty Vehicles (USSV) from California have created the power packed dream vehicle for off-roading buffs: the Rhino XT, priced at $80,735. Inspired by the Hummer H1 and built on a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited frame, this luxury SUV is fit for both driving on the road and off it—but it’s truly in its element in rough and rugged terrain. Aggresively styled to present the wild beast its named after, The Rhino XT comes with flared fenders, reinforced body panels, hardened tow hooks and performance roll cage with a removable hard top for thrown in for that added adrenaline rush. The Rhino XT stands tall on 35” off-road tires with 20″ aluminum rims, with power drawn from a 285 hp turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 engine. Inside, the Rhino XT flaunts custom leather seats, and features an Alpine sound and navigation system with a digital instrument panel, and even a back-up camera. Now isn’t that what we call the best of both worlds?
Audi has announced its plans to launch three electric vehicles by the year 2020. Among the three, the first one will be an SUV, while the second would be an electric sports car expected to stand as rival to the BMW i8. The third in the line-up will be a smaller and compact car similar to the I.D. Concept showcased by Volkswagen. Audi has admitted the employment of the Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB) electric platform which is specially developed for the German giant’s future EVs. This I.D.-based Audi’s compact could be pitched against the i3 from BMW.Audi’s expected push towards electrification could be a part of Volkswagen’s grand scheme of introducing 30 or more electric vehicles by the year 2025.
Behold the Savoy Steam, Penhaligon’s classy new fragrance created by perfumer Juliette Karagueuzoglou. Presented as a unisex perfume, the fragrance promises a refreshing experience, a “wet plunge from hot to cold”. Priced at £148 for a 200ml bottle, the fragrance contains top notes of bergamot, lemon, eucalyptus, mint, pink pepper and rosemary; with a floral and spicy mix in the middle notes of rose, geranium, cardamom, hedione and tea. Warm base notes includes White Cedarwood Oil, Fir Balsam, benzoin, incense, vanilla and white musk.
