Japanese Interiors Under the Monocle

For a country with such high design standards, it's surprising that many Japanese apartments are pre-fabricated plastic matchboxes with little longevity. Few and far between are Sir David Tang's sisal floors, paulownia woods loved by Studio Nendo or Hasamiyaki ceramics.

Perfectly placed in Design Trawler's highly rated Hankyu Men's store sits the Monocle Cafe. A little basement oasis of democratised design; taste makers sit alongside teachers, enamel lighting, soft woods and typographic detailing. Everything Japanese studio apartments should be, yet seldom are. Do we over-romanticise Japanese design? Most likely there's a blog in Japan that thinks everyone in England has a four poster bed and a chesterfield. Which is entirley untrue of course. We all have Chippendale's.

Fish Crate & Barrel

I was always disappointed with US furniture retailer Crate & Barrel. Yes, the emporium of stateside middle-class taste has, for years now made the most handsome drinks cabinet in the world, and yes, they pair it with a veritable Abercrombie & Fitch-like portfolio of finely chiseled friends - but there is a distinct lack of anything made from crates, or from barrels.

Not so in this local fish-focused izakaya in Shinjuku. Using crates from what is likely Tokyo's famous Tsukiji fish market, the tuna crates-turned-tables look rugged and relevant. The only thing missing perhaps, is a barrel themed bar stool or two.

Strike a Match - Save a Beard

So you've got the aforementioned pepe nero man candle and need something equally attractive to set said armoas alight. In the absence of a vintage table top lighter, silver, and in the shape of leaping jaguar, naturally; an old fashioned box of matches will do the trick. These unique designs available for a couple of coins at the Conran Shop do the trick perfectly.

A little twee perhaps, with the decidedly Stella Artois vintage designs; there is something satisfying, iconic even, about striking a vesta against the side of a cardboard box. Of course, real men have designer stubble for such uses... or kitchen blow torches.

Introducing the Man Candle

Scented candles are about as masculine as scatter cushions, but as proved by Cape Henley, the man cushion does exist, and therefore the same must be said for the 'man candle'. Well, it's taken a little while, but Design Trawler has pinned it down [and while you can get a suitably masculine black pepper candle from the admirable Molton Brown, that's far too easy].

This suitably 'grrr' flame bearer comes from Erbario in Italy. Based in Tuscany, the firm produces innovative scents including citrus and cinnamon, wine and also olive oil. I particularly like the brick-like form, hearty paper packaging and shoelace finishing. It's not tested on animals so it'll please sensitive sorts, or at least provide a fitting excuse to vegan other halves with kittens.

These Boots are Made for Trawling

Otsu Furniture is just the kind of perfectly crafted little store that Tyler Brule and the editorial team at Monocle Magazine would love. The sliding shoji doors off Tokyo's Meguro-Dori hide a space that's more workshop than well... 'shop'. There's always a chap contently working away restoring an old wooden cabinet or shelf as only Japanese woodworkers seem to.

I previously picked up an old tailor's spool and on my most recent trip was attracted by these antique Japanese shoe stays. The best place for wooden shelf-candy, Otsu is as honest as a shop can get and it seems fitting that both my acquisitions here have been tailoring related. I'd like to think If Otsu did tailoring, they'd do so without a care in the world for schedules or profitability, diligently crafting bespoke wears like their effortlessly honest cabinets, stools and curios.

Crossover Carpets - The Riva Rug

I've never given much thought to carpeted floors. If it isn't an Argentinian cowhide called Carlos or a dead gazelle, I'll admit, I'm unlikely to be interested. While Sir David Tang swears by oriental sisal flooring, this penthouse worthy rug [from the previously mentioned Ambassador Suite at the Macau Sheraton] stopped me in my tracks.

Iconic manufacturer of Italian runabouts for millionaires on Lake Como, Riva, would be proud. This woollen masterpiece perfectly echoes the teak and holly construction of the classic yachts. Rich and architectural, it's a percent example of design as metaphor. Placed alongside reflective marble, polished woods, chrome or brass, it recreates a Mediterranean glamour without the need for a life vest.

Giardino Mountain - The Snowy Peak of Design

It's not enough these days to install some quirky furniture and call yourself a design bar, hotel, health club or boutique. While it's true that design has become democratised, the term design has been devalued; becoming a synonym for wacky differentiation. Design is more than owning a Philippe Starck chaise; it's more than playing jazzy house in the elevators, and it's refreshing to see that people still recognise this.

Design Hotels, the association for genuinely great independent hotels has given it's seal of approval to the Giardino Mountain hotel in St. Mortiz. In a world of Heidi style log cabins and dusty grand hotels we flew in to see what the avantgarde property is doing differently. Read our full report on why the Giardino Mountain is the definition of what design all hotels should aspire to.

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Grains of Inspiration

What is it with rice? It gets it's own wine, paper, breakfast cereal and even when it does come in old fashioned grain variety, it commands its own storage. I don't see anybody turning fettuccine in to alcoholic beverages, or throwing macaroni around at weddings; well, not intentionally anyway.

Nonetheless, I picked up this humble rice keeper in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo and particularly like its honest, dovetailed construction. Finished with a leather fob on the lid, perhaps it's this understated simplicity that earns rice its status. It'd be entirely possible to create an interior with a grain of rice as the only inspiration. Simple, versatile, traditional, contemporary. The Room of Rice. You heard it here first.

A Little Bit of Linley

A little design guilt here, as I'm an eternal fan of the Viscount David Linley's store on the Pimlico Road. Marquetry watch boxes, cigar humidors, photos frames and gifts are the epitome of contemporary British craftsmanship - The Union Flag trinket box was recently featured alongside Philippe Stark's gold AK-47 lamp and tweed Anta cushions in a montage of James Bond Skyfall inspired design.

Only the trinket box pictured hails from Peter Jones and not David Linley. Priced at £50, the short stroll to Sloane Square saves you £1,200 on the Linley price, and while it's hand made in India not the Cotswolds, that 96% saving is enough to pick up an AK-47 lamp to complete the Skyfall inspired interior.

The Tube's Last Tycoon

The reason Design Hero Tyler Brûlé famously won't release his Monocle magazine on the iPad isn't because he wants readers to appreciate the three or four different paper stocks used in the publication. It isn't because readers wouldn't be able to detach perfectly formed supplements attached by coloured rubber bands. It's because, on an iPad, nobody is able to see that you're reading Monocle magazine.

With the invasion of Kindles, Kobos and Komodo Dragons, there is only one way to command a presence on the London Tube nowadays [okay two, but brandishing a Komodo Dragon isn't the best of ideas during rush hour]. These Coralie Bickford-Smith designed hardbacks from Penguin Classics celebrate US literary great F. Scott Fitzgerald, and come in a range of metallic designs from the Conran Shop.

They say you might not be able to judge a book by it's cover, but judging the Tycoon with excellent taste, reading the book with the superbly designed geometric cover... is another matter entirely.

Gin Mare - Designed for Cool

Once the preserve of Queen Mother sorts, gin is now firmly established as the urban tipple of choice on a warm day in the capital. Enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years, graphic designers with skinny jeans can't get enough of small-batch brands distilled in gritty corners of the Capital.

But far away from converted loft apartments, and far removed from tiresome vintage branding, Gin Mare is designing a difference. Spotted at this year's Snow Polo in St. Moritz, fur clad models and heli-skiing millionaires were opting for Mare.

Distilled from olives, thyme, rosemary and basil the Mediterranean spirit was being served up with 1724 tonic - made with organic quinine, hand harvested in Argentina. With an effortlessly smart 'wave' design, it looks like Gin Mare will be equally at home on board yachts in Santorini as it is on the slopes of St. Moritz; which is just as well, as that's where said heli-skiing millionaires are likely to be this summer.

Nippon Typographic Domino Co.

I have no idea where these tiles came from, or what they were used for. Actually, that's a lie, they came from a dusty wooden tray in the Sone Chika vintage furniture store in Meguro, Tokyo. Who knows what they were used for. But who cares?! With all that Nippon typographic goodness in New York Taxi Yellow on a grained background reminiscent of Dunhill's Sidecar leather, these little dominoes win all day long.

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The Elemental Miller

The brilliance of Sir Johnny Ive and the design team at Apple is due largely to simplicity. Simple design, uncluttered interfaces, good honest white shiny goodness. The same can't be said for the myriad of Apple accessories from manufacturers keen to dunk said industrial design in rubber cases, covers and protectors.

Not Miller. Based in Singapore, Miller men [Colin Chen] cut leather, hammer in a button or two, engrave a name and that's it. Hand-made, man-made, cable tidies, wallets and card holders that'd make even Monocle blush. The tan leather in particular, is a rich and elemental addition to anything Apple.

Couture Coffee - Agnes B. Gaultier

Porcelain shouldn't be messed with. The iconicity of a plan white plate has a simplicity not to be messed with. White dinnerware puts the food and drink centre stage - the same is as true for a mug of builders tea as it is for fine dining from Heston.

But what if your builders are French? or you live on a submarine and you're having your walk in wardrobe extended to accommodate this season's range of stripey blue t-shirts? In such instances, and in such instances alone, Design Trawler deems it permissible to deviate from the formula of plain porcelain. Serve up couture chamomile in these smart mugs from the Agnes B. cafe found in Taipei's Eslite.

Material Reflections in 2013

This year, Design Trawler is once again putting its chips on metal. In the new year we're going to see a progression of the popularity of copper, gold and brass in to fabrics. Taking inspiration from the rather smart Ambassador Suite in Sheraton's new Macau hotel and casino [pictured], reflective fabrics add a richness long embraced by designers like Andrew Martin and Candy & Candy.

Reflective silks, velvets and satin, previously preserves of feminine boudoirs are set to 'man up' in a big way. Think teal, petrol blue and gunmetal grey. Bright reds and oranges carry over the golden metals theme evoking Ozwald Boaeting suit linings and metallic macs from Burberry.

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