AGD, Anguilla, architecture, Caribbean, Commercial Interiors, Design, Io Adoro, Me Myself and I, Outdoor Spaces, Travel AGD, Anguilla, architecture, Caribbean, Commercial Interiors, Design, Io Adoro, Me Myself and I, Outdoor Spaces, Travel

Io Adoro - Anguilla, British West Indies

Anguilla is quite the A-list celebrity/VIP destination these days.  However, the small island has managed to retain it's relaxed, quiet charm.My most recent piece for FATHOM Magazine went live today. ANGUILLA – I wish I could say I have always appreciated this beautiful island. That would be untrue.When my family moved from New York City to the leafy suburbs of Verona, New Jersey, I knew I had to become a true American teenager. I was hampered by my parents' insistence on raising their children as if we were a family living in the Caribbean.My parents are from St. Martin (totally different from the Dutch side, St. Maarten) and both my grandmothers were Anguillian. Whenever we went to St. Martin to stay with my paternal grandparents, we ferried over to Anguilla to visit family and friends. When I was a child it, was fun to hang out with my cousins, go the beaches, and stuff ourselves on Johnnycakes, rice and peas, and salt fish cakes. But as for the stunning white beaches of the island, they were lost on me when I was older. I mean, I was a teenager. Visiting relative after relative while sitting on their verandas for hours drinking Ting was boring.The final anti-island straw happened one night when I was walking back to my aunt's house and a mongoose ran across my foot. I was done. I thought, "I could be chilling at the Short Hills Mall with my friends instead of being stuck on this tiny island."It wasn't until my parents moved to back to St. Martin after retirement and I moved to Rome that I began to understand why those trips back home were so important.To read the rest and see more pictures, click HERE.

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The beach at Cap Juluca with the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten in the background.

Photo: Me and my iPHone

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AGD, Anguilla, architecture, Caribbean, Commercial Interiors, Design, Designers, Outdoor Spaces, Travel AGD, Anguilla, architecture, Caribbean, Commercial Interiors, Design, Designers, Outdoor Spaces, Travel

Weekend Insipiration - Have A Seat - Viceroy Hotel - Anguilla, British West Indies

How funky are these chairs?IMG_5161I am a big fan of Kelly Wearstler's commercial work, yet the Viceroy in Anguilla took me by surprise.A few years ago I met clients for a drink at the bar.  At first, when I walked in, the décor seemed so "uncaribbean" to me.Then I walked around.  It IS very Caribbean.  Wearstler's use of natural materials, her color palette, and the subtle nod to more tradition Caribbean design makes the Viceroy one my favorite hotel spaces.This hotel is huge and could easily feel very corporate (thinking of a certain hotel on the Dutch side of St. Maarten that ruined one of the best beaches on the island).Instead it's unique and jaw dropping gorgeous.Not a bad place to meet for drinks, especially with a locals' discount.I have more meetings this weekend about my Caribbean project.Feeling very inspiredBuon weekend!  

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