August 6, 2025 • 38 mins
Have you ever been moved to tears by the curve of a chair or the light on a Parisian street? We have—more than once. In this episode, we’re sharing our Top 5 most unforgettable design moments in Paris and Milan—the kind that leave you breathless, inspired, and maybe a little emotional.
From the tucked-away ateliers in Paris’s 6th Arrondissement to navigating Milan’s sprawling Salone del Mobile like a pro, we reveal the secret spots, time-saving strategies, and soulful experiences that turn a simple trip into a true design pilgrimage.
But here's what really surprised us: the magic isn’t only in the showrooms or famous installations. It’s in the shared gelato-fueled conversations, the clink of champagne glasses after a long day of discovery, and the unspoken understanding between people who just get why a lamp can change your life.
This episode is also your first look at our 2026 Paris & Milan Design Tour—crafted for just eight guests to preserve that special intimacy of a small group. We’re talking private studios, invitation-only events, and behind-the-scenes access you won’t find on your own.
Whether you're planning your own trip or dreaming of joining us, this is your insider guide to experiencing Paris & Milan like never before.
Information will be sent out today to those on our original waitlist & it's not too late to join below - don't miss out!
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Bree is now offering a 90-minute online design consult to help you tackle key challenges like colour selection, furniture curation, layout, and styling. Get tailored one-on-one advice and a detailed follow-up report with actionable recommendations—all without a full-service commitment.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Design Anatomy, the interior design
podcast hosted by friends andfellow designers.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Me, lauren Lee and me , Brie Banfield, with some
amazing guest appearances alongthe way.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We're here to break down everything from current
trends to timeless style.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
With a shared passion for joyful, colour-filled and
lived-in spaces.
We're excited to share ourinsights and inspiration with
you spaces.
We're excited to share ourinsights and inspiration with
you.
Now places are open for ourParis and Milan design tour 2026
, and do we have an incredibledesign experience in store for
you?
We're taking a small group ofdesign lovers on a
(00:39):
once-in-a-lifetime tour throughParis and Milan, and this is not
your average design itinerary.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Oh my gosh, brie.
It's so exciting.
It was the best, wasn't it?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I can't wait to do it all again.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I know I think, with writing my book the New French
Look, it introduced me to sometruly inspiring designers,
artists and makers and on thistour I'll be opening their
studio doors to you.
It's exclusive home tours,private viewings and an invite
only experience to see theseamazing showrooms that you know,
(01:13):
even spaces that were featuredin my book we get access to, so
amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I think that was almost the best part was seeing
those places in real life.
It was incredible and for me,after more than a decade of
attending Milan Design Week,I've really come to know exactly
where the magic happens andwhat not to see.
So you'll get early access tothe best events, private
Milanese home tours and acurated path through Salone to
(01:40):
avoid all the overwhelm.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
And together we have designed this tour to immerse
you in beauty, creativity andconnection, from intimate
dinners in Parisian bistros tobehind-the-scenes visits during
Milan Design Week.
Your heart may skip a beat.
The beauty might even move youto tears and I have to say,
embarrassingly enough, I wascrying walking down the street
(02:02):
of Paris when I first landedthere.
So embarrassing, I always cry.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I always cry at some moment.
Yeah, of course it's sobeautiful and also, you know, it
is really about connection.
One of the things that we bothrealised on this tour you know
within a couple of days and howamazing our group was and
something I just didn't eventhink about is how great it was
to connect with all thesebeautiful, like-minded people,
(02:30):
and we had these moments atlunches where everyone's sharing
their amazing stories.
Where I went oh my God, this isactually one of the best parts.
It's not all the stuff we spentall the time curating and, of
course, those experiences areamazing, but it was those
personal connections that weremade on the trip that made it so
special, I think.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
I agree, and I also didn't think about how much joy
that I got from seeing peopleexperience some of these spaces
as well for the first time andone of our friends, mel, on the
trip.
Her camera, her phone, I don'tthink left her hand.
She takes the best photos, butseeing the joy that she got for
experiencing Paris for the firsttime, I found that just such a
(03:12):
cool thing.
It just was beautiful.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, I think we're both people who absolutely love
to share things that we love andget so much joy when we see
other people feel the same wayabout them.
So the spaces are reallylimited.
We only take eight people.
We won't take any more thanthat.
We really like to keep it small, um and special.
So if you are dreaming of adesign tour that goes beyond,
(03:36):
just like the surface itinerary,this is your invitation.
You can check your inbox.
We will have released thattoday and that's the 7th of
september, correct?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
we're actually august .
Is it the year's flying by we?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
don't know where we, we will know what date is when
we leave to go there.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
So I think between the both of us.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Hopefully we'll figure it out sorry, I hope so,
um, but so we thought today, um,in today's episode, that we
would talk about the top 10things we think you need to know
when visiting paris and milanand some of our tips.
So good.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
so I wanted to start with aris, if that's okay, brie,
of course.
Okay, brie, of course.
I have got sort of five topthings that I would recommend
you go and check out or comewith us on the tour.
The first one is the Left Bankand more specifically, the
showrooms in the 6tharrondissement.
(04:38):
If you're there, time it to thepad fair number three are the
fee flea markets.
You must visit the flea markets.
And number four is generally lemarais area and a few places
there, um, like pierreyovanovitch showroom.
And number five would be Ithink it's what we were sort of
talking about brie.
It's when you can be um, yourinspiration cup is filled,
(05:03):
you're sitting around a table,or in this case I was thinking
about Hotel Costas.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
We just swanned in there.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
We did.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
We were seated in this beautiful banquette seating
area with these, you know,fringed lounges.
It's very opulent but it's sortof quite minimalist.
At the same time it's sublimeand it's a real people watching,
like a celebrity peoplewatching kind of place.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
And we were quite exhausted.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
It was the last, very last activity, but we all just
sat in these comfortable lounges, we had a drink and we just
hung out and relaxed and I thinkthat's something that again, I
guess we had a plan on ouritinerary.
It was there, but actually beingthere with a group of women and
(05:52):
I guess we're open to men aswell coming along, of course,
yes, of course, but there was acouple of people that were sort
of almost like a bit of the gluein the trip that just were
talked to everyone reallyeffortlessly, really easily.
There was a few that were a ofalmost like a bit of the glue in
the trip that just were talkedto everyone really effortlessly,
really easily.
There was a few that were alittle quieter and I think that
was that lunch that you spokeabout, before sitting around a
(06:13):
table and we were having thismost opulent lunch served by
waiters in tuxedos andeverything, and it was hearing
almost like a life story told ina really beautiful but yet sort
of casual way, and it was.
You're laughing, you're crying,you're feeling really connected
, you're just in this moment.
You're like, is this real?
(06:34):
Like it was just one of thosereally special moments, and I
think you know, brie and I kindof looked at each other.
We're like, oh wow, this isreally cool.
Like look at this beautifulgroup of women that we've
brought together, and you can'tscript that.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It was the unexpected things on the trip, whether
that was like just kind of going, hey, let's go in here and have
a drink or hey, let's justthrow this into the itinerary
because we have time andsometimes those little things
are the best surprises, but itwas that unexpected moment of
like.
I still.
I'll always remember thatmoment of like, glancing over at
you when that was happening andgoing hang on, this isn't.
(07:09):
I didn't think about this.
I didn't think about the factthat we would love all of these
people.
I mean, we obviously we'repeople, people like we.
We enjoy being around peopleand and getting to know new
people.
But I just didn't realize howmuch of a connection you would
make with someone.
I guess when you're traveling.
It's a, it's a differentexperience.
You're away from home, it's alot more intimate and you're
(07:30):
right, there was lots ofdifferent, I guess, characters,
but everybody sort of got alongand you find your people as well
.
But also, only being eightguests means that we sort of
stay as one group and you don'tsort of tend to, you know, break
off into smaller groups.
Everyone gets along really well.
We can give everyone theattention they deserve too in
the smaller groups.
(07:50):
So I think it's that intimacythat's created is why it was so
easy to make connections as wellwith the people that were there
.
And also, we're all like-minded, we're all there for the same
reason.
We're, all, you know, taking inthe most beautiful, beautiful
things, so that puts you in apretty good mood.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
A glass of wine and a cocktail doesn't hurt either it
does not hurt, but I think it'syet to your point.
You know, when you're overseasand you're experiencing
something so beautiful and youwant to turn around to someone
and say, oh my god, did you seethat light over there?
Look at that light, look atthat chair.
Like you want to share it withsomeone.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, and you don't ever get really that opportunity
to do that with someone that'sthat excited as you are About
the same thing right yeah, Likeyou know, you might be traveling
with your partner or a friendthat's not in the industry and
say that and they'll be like, oh, yeah, yeah.
Whereas you know, on the tourthey're all like, oh, it's
amazing.
Or you know, you'll talk aboutwhat it is or why it is, or
(08:51):
whether you maybe don't like it.
Oh no, I don't like it becauseit's like those discussions are
kind of what makes it special.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So true.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Yeah, not just like you know the amazing itinerary
that we have curated for you,not just like the amazing
itinerary that we have curatedfor you, so I guess, yeah, that
would be my first one.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Like Hotel Costas was just a really beautiful place
and having that experience toshare with a small group.
Number two would be the LeftBank and specifically the 6th
arrondissement, which has awhole host of showrooms, and
that was our.
I think that was our firstactivity, actually our first day
, and it was just we did notwaste a minute.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
No, we definitely didn't.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It was so great.
I think the first place we wentto was the Invisible Collection
and I have sort of worked withthem a little bit in my book and
we obviously they anticipatedus.
That's, I guess, what I'mtrying to say.
It was really lovely and again,that was something I have to
say.
I kind of you don't know, youdon't know the vibe You're going
(09:58):
by emails, really friendlyemails, very responsive, but
when we got there they were justreally happy to see us and I
think they were impressed.
Obviously, we've come all theway from Australia.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
People do get impressed by that.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, the hospitality she was gorgeous, the woman
that worked there and theInvisible Collection.
If you're not familiar, I wouldencourage you to just jump on
their website because it hostsfurniture from all of these
different designers from aroundthe world, specifically, I guess
, europe, and it's a reallygorgeous eclectic mix.
(10:34):
It's about handcrafted piecesand quite limited edition, so
that was really fun.
We hopped over there and thisleft bank area.
It's known for being a veryartistic area.
The universities were set upthere and I remember when we got
there Brie, we were walkingalong the streets and we smelled
(10:56):
this like French onion soupsmell.
And I was like, oh my gosh, Ijust read that in one of the
guidebooks that was where Frenchonion soup originated from,
because it was such a affordablebut uh, you know hearty kind of
meal.
So it's just like all of theselayers of history.
I just absolutely love it allyou do love that.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I love it all we did rely on you for all the little
historian moments of telling meabout oh and because this is,
this statue was blah, blah, blah, whereas I'm like oh yeah, this
is where everybody's head wasrolling, where the guillotine
was set up.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I just think it's so amazing it was pretty amazing,
all these prisoners were held inthis palace here and all of
these cool things, um, but trynot to bore everyone with all of
that.
But, um, we checked out a bunchof showrooms around there, so
around that area you've gotIndia Madhavi as well.
So she's known for her use ofcolour and gorgeous, quite
(11:52):
playful furniture that I thinkwe really love in Australia as
well.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, I do.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
That was a nice visit .
And then there's a few fabrichouses in that area as well,
data.
I think we finished off brickhouses in that area as well,
data, I think we finished off.
We actually had lunch at LeDeux Magots, which is like a
really famous French bistro andthey had just finished some
renovations, and it was justreally special to be sitting
sort of in this outdoorsemi-covered area.
(12:19):
The sun was shining, thechampagne was pouring.
It's just magic, um.
So that would be one of thefirst places I would recommend
to check out, and we also.
I think one of the last placeswe went to was gallery amelie de
schulard.
So she is a it's an art galleryand it's beautiful contemporary
(12:41):
pieces that that are just a bitleft of center so she was great
too.
I suppose my number three wouldbe the Pad Fair.
So, I feel like it's more of anunderrated furniture fair.
Obviously, Milan is huge.
This is a tiny little speckcompared to the Milan Fair, but
(13:02):
what it is, it's very curated.
So if you love vintagefurniture and have introduced
artwork as well into thecollection.
So it's really rare vintagepieces that you can see all in
the one place.
And I think Brie and I were thelast ones to leave because you
could hardly drag me out ofthere.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I loved it, I could have spent longer probably.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
And it's tiny compared to even some of the
fairs we have here.
It's not a big fair but it wasvery like highly concentrated,
the kind of top tier suppliers,dealers, in sort of vintage with
some new, but it definitely hada vintage tone to it with some
(13:47):
new, but it definitely had avintage tone to it.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
It did um and it was a really great atmosphere in
terms of um.
Well, number one, againsurprisingly, how friendly
everybody was and wanting totalk to me, which I thought was
beautiful, and the peopleattending like they were the
real deal, like professionaldesigners, and it had a really
good atmosphere.
One of the stands that stoodout to me was like a design
(14:10):
collective from Russia.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
And it was just different.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
It was just so fun to see really contemporary,
gorgeous pieces.
So across town, in the otherdistrict called Le Marais again,
it's famous for havingbeautiful streets.
I mean all of Paris kind of is,but there may have been a tear
shed when I walked down thosestreets.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
And I don't really need to.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, you don't really need a huge itinerary
because it all kind of hits youin the face.
However, something like PierreYovanovitch, I would definitely
go and check that out, and thatis just off the main street and
nearby.
There we found a really greatcoffee place, and I have to say
Paris is not known for itscoffee.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
We drank some no, you have to sort of search that out
a bit.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Yeah, it was called Sevenly Heart or something like
that.
It was a really cute littlecoffee place.
Also, I want to mention anothershowroom that we saw going back
to the 6th arrondissement.
It was Christophe Delcourt.
Ah, yes that was a really greatshowroom and they were so
(15:17):
gorgeous, to us very friendly inthere as well.
The pieces were exquisite,amazing sort of similar to PA
Yovanovitch, I guess, in termsof handcrafted, quite unique
design, natural materials, youknow, chunky sort of oak sofas
with beautiful upholstery, likein these huge big modular shapes
(15:40):
.
And she was great because shetook us to their little studios
up the back and upstairs and wegot to see sort of a bit of a
behind the scenes, which wasgreat.
And then I think, lastly, it isjust something so basic, but it
just stands out for me and thatis really just walking around
(16:00):
the streets of somewhere like LeMarais and taking it all in and
taking photos and just lettingyourself wander.
I think I was wandering aroundLe Marais before we started the
tour and I just followed my noseand I walked into a museum of
decorative arts and it was justone of those unexpected,
(16:21):
mind-blowing things that you canplan so much.
But sometimes it is just niceto follow your nose as well.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
But I think one of the most overrated places is the
Champs-Élysées.
For me it's very commercialized.
It doesn't have that reallygreat atmosphere in some of
those little streets.
So you might want to check itout, but I would probably give
it a miss.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah, I mean, I guess , if you've never been, go and
have a look.
But I agree, there's so muchmore to see of Paris and I think
it's easy to fall into the sortof tourist trap of what we
think is going to be.
You know where you want to go,but that's why you come along
with us and we'll take you tothe best places.
We won't take you to the shops,elise.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Another thing that you must see in Paris are the
famous flea markets, and thereare a few.
If you are design addicts likeus, there's only one flea market
that you want to go to, andthat is the Paul Burt Market.
So what it is?
It's made up of lots of littlestalls and it's high-end vintage
(17:25):
, so it's not the kind of thingthat you're just going to wander
through and pick up a littlesouvenir.
That's not what this market is.
Even calling it a marketdoesn't feel like the right word
, but it is just a lot ofdifferent vintage vendors all in
one outdoor market.
Some of it's covered as well,and you can find unique ceramics
(17:47):
.
I think that was one of myhighlights.
I found this really great storewith this woman who sources
these ceramics that are made inthe countryside in France
somewhere, and hearing the wholestory behind it.
It's just really fun as wellthat it's vintage French pieces
art deco, 1960s, 70s so much fun.
(18:08):
So it is open on Saturdays andSundays are the main days.
However, perhaps you might wantto avoid the crowds and go on a
Friday morning, which is whatwe did, so you don't really need
to get up at the crack of dawn.
You can wander through, speakto the vendors.
Again, I don't know.
I think there is thisstereotype of French people
(18:29):
feeling really snooty orsomething.
I did not experience that Well,maybe just once, but everyone
was so friendly and I thinkbecause we were so excited, they
were excited to see us excitedover their pieces.
It was just they were justwonderful.
So that is another thing.
I would definitely recommendthat you make the 40 or so
minute train trip out of suburbof Paris and enjoy a couple of
(18:53):
hours there.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Okay so Milan?
Well, I think obviously I can't.
Milan is different every year.
It's a couple of hours there.
Okay so Milan?
Well, I think obviously I can't.
Milan is different every year.
It's a bit of a moving feastand we don't know where the
exhibitions are going to be andliterally you know there's
obviously a bit of a who's whoof generally who would be
exhibiting.
But what I thought I would do isgive you the tips more around.
If you're going A where to stay, that'd be number one.
(19:17):
So I find the hotels will bequite expensive and usually
booked out, and also the.
I guess to stay anywhere halfdecent in a hotel, you really do
need to spend a fair bit ofmoney.
There are some okay ones outthere, but your expectations
need to be lowered in terms ofthe style and that sort of thing
, particularly during that week,because they really push their
(19:40):
rates up.
I find the best thing to do ishopefully have a group of people
with you and you can find greatapartment accommodation
bookingcom, airbnb and there's afew others you can look at.
But in terms of where, if youlook at a map of Milan, you can
see it's sort of based on theold city, which would have had
the wall around it.
(20:01):
So it's sort of circular, sosort of stay inside that circle
as a general guide but and sortof close-ish to Duomo, which is
in the middle, so that's the bigchurch.
My favorite places are Brera.
If you can get accommodation inBrera, that's probably the
closest you're going to be tomost of the design areas, and a
(20:22):
lot of the great, I guess,exhibitions and showrooms are in
Brera.
Brera is kind of a design areain Milan.
But I also love Tortona.
I've stayed in Tortona for manyyears and we stayed in Tortona
again this year and we had areally great apartment.
It was easy to get around.
Nivelli I love, which is closeto the canals, and I guess the
(20:44):
biggest tip is, wherever youdecide to land, make sure you're
just walking distance to atrain station or a tram that can
take you to the train station.
So that's kind of the bigtakeaway in terms of
accommodation If you're lookingand you're not really sure where
to stay.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And do you mean walking distance or running
distance, because I believe weran a few times.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
The other great thing for me.
I mean, paris has amazing food.
We had some fabulous food,great drinks, but for me, italy
is where the food is at.
It is my favorite kind of food.
I had the good coffee.
Yes, we were missing that.
One of my absolute favoritethings is gelato and I took this
(21:33):
was actually not during thetour, maybe we'll take the tour
there next year took uh, thiswas actually not during the tour
, maybe we'll take the tourthere next year.
Um, but I took our small littlefriend group, um, after we'd
finished the tour to my favoritegelato place, which is um
bastienalo, and uh, that's insan babila, I think it is um and
it's just the most.
(21:54):
That's like really old, it'sbeen there forever.
It's a patisserie as well, soit has like pastries and you can
get food and you can have wineand all that sort of stuff.
But we sat down inside thelittle kind of patio area and
had some gelato at kind ofafternoon, wasn't it?
It wasn't quite end of day, butwe were like ready to just sit
(22:15):
and relax and enjoy a moment.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I have to say that was one of my favorite the best
timed gelato, because that wasafter we'd done the Paris tour,
the Milan tour, and then we hada day and I mean I'm an
introvert so I actually need abit of minute to recharge.
But we'd gone hard that morningand we were just quite well.
(22:41):
I was quite exhausted and wesat down and we took a leisurely
long gelato break.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
It was fantastic, wasn't it?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
And it was so yeah, I loved how traditional it was.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Yeah, it's.
You know the waiters in theirtuxes and all of that sort of
traditional beautiful Italianpatisserie style.
Machete is also.
We went there for breakfastwith the tour group.
That's another place which Iwould recommend you check out,
even just for the beautifulpistachio green interiors.
It's sort of got the Pradagreen.
(23:10):
I think the Prada groupactually own them now.
I don't know if they alwayshave, but that's a bit of an
experience as well and a bit ofan institution.
There's, I think, threedifferent places in Milan, three
different locations, but Iguess I think the coolest one
and the one you go and sit downat is inside the Galleria there,
(23:30):
right near Duomo, so in centralMilan.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
And that really is a place where you've got to know
it.
You could walk past it.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
You don't really see where it is upstairs in the
gallery, so you kind of have toknow where the entry is.
Yes, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Secret it was and when we were there.
I called my mum on FaceTime.
I'm like you've got to see thisplace, I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
And then the other food thing.
I mean there's so many foodthings, we could do a whole
podcast just about that.
But the other thing that um isgreat is just like a really
quick and easy snack, is um, thepenzorotti, which is like the
kind of it's like a, like afried sandwich that you can have
like cheese and all sorts ofthings inside.
And uh, luini is where you gofor that, which is, again, is in
(24:18):
that sort of central Milan area.
Yeah, so that those are my kindof top tips for the food.
Coffee you can pretty much goanywhere and the coffee's good.
You don't need to search thatout.
People do love the Starbucks.
I'm not a big fan of Starbucks,but the Starbucks in Milan is a
bit of an experience.
So if you are into kind of likecoffee, you might want to go
(24:40):
and have a look there.
It's not like any otherStarbucks, it's quite full on.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Yeah, people will be gasping, thinking what on earth
is Bree talking about in Milanto recommend Starbucks.
But when you see it, you willunderstand.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, it is, and because of where it is, sort of
a bit central, a lot of peoplechoose that as kind of a meeting
place, an easy meeting place,because people can find it
easily and you can grab a coffee.
But I mean, I've been a fewtimes but, as I said, I'm not a
Starbucks fan Because we'reMelbournians quite different.
(25:18):
Okay.
So showrooms there areobviously some showrooms that
are there all year and it's hardto sort of point out what's the
thing to see during design weekexcept if it is a permanent
showroom.
So I would say Casina, for me,is probably my favorite
permanent showroom in Milan andit always is beautiful.
During design week they usuallydo new installations and colors
and things like that, and it'sgot that beautiful spiral
staircase that you would haveseen on Instagram probably a
(25:40):
million times and usually that'sin a different color each year.
Oh really, yeah, yeah, usually.
I mean I don't know, I'm tryingto remember if it changes every
year or you know, just kind ofevery second or whatever, but it
is often a different color.
That central section, I just.
I mean, I love Casina'sproducts and they definitely
push the colour boundaries inthe showroom, so you sort of get
(26:03):
to experience that sort ofdynamic feeling.
It's a big showroom on multiplelevels, but it's not big and
airy and minimalist.
It feels quite kind of cosy andspecific and a design story is
told in each space.
So I find that to be a greatone to make sure you visit.
And my other favorite would beDe More and they would do
(26:23):
something different every year.
This year they didn't have itin their actual apartment space
that they usually do it in.
They had it in an old theater.
Some people kind of criticizethe long lines for and this is
something you will experience,without a doubt, during design
week, unless you come with usunless you come with us, yeah,
the wait time can be quite longas well.
(26:45):
We do skip the lines.
The start of our tour and webasically some of the top places
we went to, we found out thelines were hours and hours long
afterwards during the rest ofthe week.
So I think we were veryfortunate to be able to get in
ahead of those lines and alsohave, you know, actual tours
(27:06):
with the designers and havethose conversations, which is
what we do when we go through.
But De More is always a popularone, but I would recommend
making sure you look that upbeforehand.
You can book times.
They usually have like a littlebooking system so you can
actually book a time and thenwhen you go and stand in the
line, you might be in the linefor half an hour.
So that wasn't so bad.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Well, you know, I think that is going to be the
future of the Milan Fair.
Really, yeah it should be.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
I think that's how they have to do it, because it
is pretty ridiculous to bestanding in a line to see one
thing and hope that that's thething that you, you love and
want to experience, based onprobably other people's photos
of it or hearsay.
But there were what?
Three hour waits for the mostpopular places.
I think um, el Decor and uh,apartmento were the sort of big
(27:55):
ones that had the longest lines,and Demore didn't have those of
big ones that had the longestlines and Domore didn't have
those long waits because theyhad the booking system.
So it actually worked quitewell.
Yeah, really clever.
And then what would be my nexttip?
So I guess the fare?
So Milan Design Week is reallycentred around Salone, which is
out in Raffaera, which isoutside of the city, so it's not
(28:18):
part of the satelliteinstallations within Milan.
You have to get on a differenttrain system and so it's kind of
like, I guess, if you're inAustralia, we have metro trains,
so they have the metro system,and then we have kind of rural
trains and it's a little bitlike one of those that goes to
the outer suburbs, so adifferent zone, I guess.
So you need to jump on thetrain out to there.
You need to have a ticket forthe fair.
(28:39):
So make sure you actually lookall of that up and register
beforehand and pay for thatticket.
And then you need a plan.
So the fair is and I'veforgotten the stats that I
usually know off the top of myhead, but if you know the
Melbourne Exhibition Centre, forinstance, it's about 10 of
those, I think you know theMelbourne Exhibition Centre, for
instance, it's about 10 ofthose, I think maybe even more.
Not every hall is worth visiting.
(29:01):
You kind of need to know whyyou're there.
So you're just going to kind ofcheck it out.
Then there's probably, like Idon't know, three main halls
that you might want to go andsee and, depending on what year
it is next year will be Eureka,china, which is bathroom and
kitchen you obviously want to goand see that.
I guess the best bit about whenwe take you is we already know
exactly where we're going to go.
We don't spend a lot of timethere on the tour, but you have
(29:24):
the option to go back.
We just give you a taster andwe'll take you to the main halls
and the main places and brandsthat we think are worth seeing,
and then, if you want to go backthere, I can also give you a
list of the other places,because if you start just
wandering through halls, you'llfind yourself there literally
for days and you will see awhole heap of crap Because it's
(29:47):
you can imagine, it is the mainfurniture fair of the world.
So it's not just all the goodstuff, it's everything.
It's like beds and bed basesand office furniture and all the
basic stuff.
So there's halls full of thosethings and unless you're a buyer
for a store that you stock thatstuff and you want to go and do
the deals, you don't need tovisit those ones.
You just want to visit thosemain halls that have the good
(30:09):
brands and the fun stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I guess what about if you were going to Milan for the
first time and you realized, oh, this is where the fair is, and
would you recommend to stay outthere?
Speaker 2 (30:23):
No, well, only if that was your, if you were like
I'm going to spend three days atthe fair or the whole week at
the fair, and that is my maingoal, and I think the only
people doing that are peoplethat are dealing with the brands
there and spending time on thestands to meet clients, or
you're literally a buyer andyou're there because this is why
the fair exists.
It's for people to go and do thedeals of buying the furniture
(30:45):
to put into their showrooms allover the world.
Then, of course, stay in one ofthe you know conference type
hotels out there, but it's notclose by to Milan, so don't look
at that as being somewhere tostay.
Otherwise, you're going to beon that long train commuting in
and you're not going to be closeby.
If you're going out for dinneror drinks or any of the parties
(31:08):
that are on, you'll be milesaway.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
And it's probably.
Was it 40 or so minutes?
Yeah, it's not crazy, it isabout that.
Look out for pickpockets too.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
It's fine, but it's like commuting.
If you lived in sort of theouter suburbs of Melbourne or
Sydney or, I'm going to guess,brisbane, because I haven't
commuted there and you have to,like you know, go into work each
day.
It's like that.
It's like living in an outersuburb and there's not a lot
around.
It's quite sort of industrial.
It's not sort of the prettyarea or anything like that, yeah
(31:38):
.
So I guess that's the main tips.
The food isn't great out there.
If you know some brands, maybehit them up for lunch, or just
be prepared to be standing inlong lines to get your lunch, if
you're there for the day, oryour coffee and sort of standing
and eating.
There are sort of cafeteriasyou can go to as well, but it's
(31:59):
quite busy, it's very busy.
So I guess just be prepared forthat, be prepared for lots of
walking.
So much walking, yeah.
So good.
Comfortable flat shoes, reallyin general, the whole of design
week, to be honest, which Iguess is the other bonus, if you
find a combination that's inthat sort of central area and
you're walking all day and youhave time, which generally I
(32:20):
don't, but every now and thenyou might want to go back, have
a refresh and then maybe you'llput on a nice pair of shoes to
go out to dinner or somethinglike that, but that rarely
happens it's too much to see?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
go, go there's no time to relax, it's just yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
You don't have a lot of time for that.
We pretty much go.
I mean, it's not early, earlystarts generally Like.
Italy is not a early morningcity.
It's like most things don'topen till 10, sometimes later,
but then it's a late night city,so then you might be out until
who knows what time, dependingon who you are.
(32:59):
Me time depending on who you areMe out late, lauren in bed, me
snoring, bree still working, Iknow me tapping away on my
laptop.
And then the last tip would bethis is unrelated to Design Week
, sort of is if you do want toallocate a day, go out to the
outlets at Serra Valley, so it'slike a town that was built
(33:19):
specifically for outlets.
So most of the big brands arethere, you know, like the
Gucci's and the Prada's and allof that.
So if you have a little bit ofmoney to spend and you want to
go and invest out there, I dorecommend it.
Invest.
I went for the day Totally.
I love it.
I probably could have spent twodays.
(33:41):
You can get a shuttle fromMilan.
It is an outer suburb, it's notlike around the corner, so you
book the shuttle bus beforehand.
Make sure you do book itbeforehand.
They do book out.
You go I think it was Centrale,the main station.
Jump on the bus there, I thinkit was Centrale, the main
station jump on the bus thereand then it brings you back at
(34:02):
the end of the day.
So I easily spent the day thereand I was with other people.
So you get invested in theirpurchases as well and you're
looking around and it was good.
So if you do like that sort ofthing the designer brands it is
worthwhile and you do save a bitof money.
Or well, you spend a bit butyou save a bit right, it's not
what you spend exactly, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Maybe we should look into that.
If there's um, you know the thefinal numbers that we get for
the tour, we could say if youwant to do this as an after
thing yeah, we could do it as anofficial, as a bonus.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Yeah, come along, because it is.
It is a lot of fun too.
It's a lot of fun even if otherpeople are spending money and
you're not.
I think that's fun too, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
I think I was flying out that day, so I didn't I
couldn't join you.
Yeah, you were, that's rightyou do need to come.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
You need to come next year, yeah, um, and then if I'm
going to talk about somethingthat's overrated, that I fight.
I fight really hard because Iguess Paris is very much a
tourist.
It's a destination city Totally.
Milan's not really.
If you were just going to Italy, you know, to do a beautiful
Italian tour, milan probablywouldn't be high on the list of
(35:06):
a tourist city to visit.
Milan is really on the mapbecause of its industry in
design, so fashion and interiors.
So if you were in that frame ofmind, you might go to Milan
because there are a lot of greatbrands there and maybe you'd
organize to do some even likefactory tours and things like
that with some of the brands.
But it's it's sort of just akind of an ordinary city.
(35:28):
It's beautiful because it'sEurope and it's Italy and
there's still amazing things tosee and there are a few kind of
touristy things like the LastSupper is there.
I've gone to see that, that wasworthwhile.
And, ps, if you do want to seethat, you do have to book that
months and months ahead.
That actually does completelybook out.
Yeah, you can't just kind of gothat week.
Oh, maybe I'll go see this andbook it, it'll be booked, so
(35:51):
make sure you book that.
It's only a really small church.
It's like quite an intimatespace.
I thought it would be this kindof big grand thing like the
Sistine Chapel, but it's not atall.
It's quite little.
It's worth seeing.
But yeah, so Milan in itself, Iguess I wouldn't say it's an.
(36:12):
I think it's kind of anunderrated city, but I guess it
could feel overrated if you weregoing there thinking it's this
sort of touristy city.
It's.
It's very much.
Not that it's good for shopping, it's good for the outlet if
you want to go out there.
Yeah, and it's unbelievableduring design week it, the city
is transformed, the energy isamazing.
Such a good buzz, yeah.
So outside of that it would bequite a different city yeah,
(36:33):
it's not's not a shiny, polishedplace.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
I think when we were in Paris and they had just
cleaned up the city for theOlympics it was almost like
walking through a movie set.
It was actually on the verge ofbeing a bit too perfect, if
that's even a thing.
But Milan it was such acontrast.
It's where actual regularpeople live.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
It is.
It's a real city.
It's a actual, regular peoplelive.
It is.
Yeah, it's a real city.
It's a working city.
Yeah, yeah, it's a real city.
It's not pretend, it's not fake.
But I guess, to wrap it up, youknow, really we would love I
mean obviously we love to sharethese tips with you, but what we
would really love is for you tojoin us on the tour, because we
(37:13):
know it's going to be amazing.
It absolutely exceeded ourexpectations this year, so we
can only think that it's goingto be even better in 2026.
We'd love to have you with us.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Come.
I guess what we say next isfind the link in the show notes.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yes, or check your inbox if you were on the
waitlist, and hopefully were.
If you weren't on the waitlist,absolutely find the link in the
show notes.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yeah, get in touch with us and we'll give you the
details.
Yeah Great, We'll shortlist you.
So exciting Brie.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
I think it'll be a long list of people wanting to
come next year.
So getting quick, I know.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
I think we've got quite a long wait list already.
But yeah, it's very exciting,it is fun, all right.
Thanks for that, brie.
Oh, it's good to reminiscethanks, lauren.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Ah, that's so nice.
Now I'm really excited and I'mhungry one of those, those fried
sandwich things.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
That was the most perfect.
The pencil art yes, all I'lltalk to you next time, Bree.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
See you later.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
Bye.
We've got the utmost respectfor the Wurundjeri people of the
Kulin Nation.
They're the OG custodians ofthis unceded land and its waters
, where we set up shop, createand call home and come to you.
From this podcast today, a bigshout out to all of the amazing
elders who have walked before us, those leading the way in the
(38:39):
present and the emerging leaderswho will carry the torch into
the future.
We're just lucky to be on thisjourney together.
Welcome to Design Anatomy, the interior design
podcast hosted by friends andfellow designers.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Me, lauren Lee and me , Brie Banfield, with some
amazing guest appearances alongthe way.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
We're here to break down everything from current
trends to timeless style.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
With a shared passion for joyful, colour-filled and
lived-in spaces.
We're excited to share ourinsights and inspiration with
you spaces.
We're excited to share ourinsights and inspiration with
you.
Now places are open for ourParis and Milan design tour 2026
, and do we have an incredibledesign experience in store for
you?
We're taking a small group ofdesign lovers on a
(00:39):
once-in-a-lifetime tour throughParis and Milan, and this is not
your average design itinerary.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Oh my gosh, brie.
It's so exciting.
It was the best, wasn't it?
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I can't wait to do it all again.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I know I think, with writing my book the New French
Look, it introduced me to sometruly inspiring designers,
artists and makers and on thistour I'll be opening their
studio doors to you.
It's exclusive home tours,private viewings and an invite
only experience to see theseamazing showrooms that you know,
(01:13):
even spaces that were featuredin my book we get access to, so
amazing.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I think that was almost the best part was seeing
those places in real life.
It was incredible and for me,after more than a decade of
attending Milan Design Week,I've really come to know exactly
where the magic happens andwhat not to see.
So you'll get early access tothe best events, private
Milanese home tours and acurated path through Salone to
(01:40):
avoid all the overwhelm.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
And together we have designed this tour to immerse
you in beauty, creativity andconnection, from intimate
dinners in Parisian bistros tobehind-the-scenes visits during
Milan Design Week.
Your heart may skip a beat.
The beauty might even move youto tears and I have to say,
embarrassingly enough, I wascrying walking down the street
(02:02):
of Paris when I first landedthere.
So embarrassing, I always cry.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I always cry at some moment.
Yeah, of course it's sobeautiful and also, you know, it
is really about connection.
One of the things that we bothrealised on this tour you know
within a couple of days and howamazing our group was and
something I just didn't eventhink about is how great it was
to connect with all thesebeautiful, like-minded people,
(02:30):
and we had these moments atlunches where everyone's sharing
their amazing stories.
Where I went oh my God, this isactually one of the best parts.
It's not all the stuff we spentall the time curating and, of
course, those experiences areamazing, but it was those
personal connections that weremade on the trip that made it so
special, I think.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
I agree, and I also didn't think about how much joy
that I got from seeing peopleexperience some of these spaces
as well for the first time andone of our friends, mel, on the
trip.
Her camera, her phone, I don'tthink left her hand.
She takes the best photos, butseeing the joy that she got for
experiencing Paris for the firsttime, I found that just such a
(03:12):
cool thing.
It just was beautiful.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yeah, I think we're both people who absolutely love
to share things that we love andget so much joy when we see
other people feel the same wayabout them.
So the spaces are reallylimited.
We only take eight people.
We won't take any more thanthat.
We really like to keep it small, um and special.
So if you are dreaming of adesign tour that goes beyond,
(03:36):
just like the surface itinerary,this is your invitation.
You can check your inbox.
We will have released thattoday and that's the 7th of
september, correct?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
we're actually august .
Is it the year's flying by we?
Speaker 2 (03:52):
don't know where we, we will know what date is when
we leave to go there.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
So I think between the both of us.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Hopefully we'll figure it out sorry, I hope so,
um, but so we thought today, um,in today's episode, that we
would talk about the top 10things we think you need to know
when visiting paris and milanand some of our tips.
So good.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
so I wanted to start with aris, if that's okay, brie,
of course.
Okay, brie, of course.
I have got sort of five topthings that I would recommend
you go and check out or comewith us on the tour.
The first one is the Left Bankand more specifically, the
showrooms in the 6tharrondissement.
(04:38):
If you're there, time it to thepad fair number three are the
fee flea markets.
You must visit the flea markets.
And number four is generally lemarais area and a few places
there, um, like pierreyovanovitch showroom.
And number five would be Ithink it's what we were sort of
talking about brie.
It's when you can be um, yourinspiration cup is filled,
(05:03):
you're sitting around a table,or in this case I was thinking
about Hotel Costas.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
We just swanned in there.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
We did.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
We were seated in this beautiful banquette seating
area with these, you know,fringed lounges.
It's very opulent but it's sortof quite minimalist.
At the same time it's sublimeand it's a real people watching,
like a celebrity peoplewatching kind of place.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
And we were quite exhausted.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
It was the last, very last activity, but we all just
sat in these comfortable lounges, we had a drink and we just
hung out and relaxed and I thinkthat's something that again, I
guess we had a plan on ouritinerary.
It was there, but actually beingthere with a group of women and
(05:52):
I guess we're open to men aswell coming along, of course,
yes, of course, but there was acouple of people that were sort
of almost like a bit of the gluein the trip that just were
talked to everyone reallyeffortlessly, really easily.
There was a few that were a ofalmost like a bit of the glue in
the trip that just were talkedto everyone really effortlessly,
really easily.
There was a few that were alittle quieter and I think that
was that lunch that you spokeabout, before sitting around a
(06:13):
table and we were having thismost opulent lunch served by
waiters in tuxedos andeverything, and it was hearing
almost like a life story told ina really beautiful but yet sort
of casual way, and it was.
You're laughing, you're crying,you're feeling really connected
, you're just in this moment.
You're like, is this real?
(06:34):
Like it was just one of thosereally special moments, and I
think you know, brie and I kindof looked at each other.
We're like, oh wow, this isreally cool.
Like look at this beautifulgroup of women that we've
brought together, and you can'tscript that.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
It was the unexpected things on the trip, whether
that was like just kind of going, hey, let's go in here and have
a drink or hey, let's justthrow this into the itinerary
because we have time andsometimes those little things
are the best surprises, but itwas that unexpected moment of
like.
I still.
I'll always remember thatmoment of like, glancing over at
you when that was happening andgoing hang on, this isn't.
(07:09):
I didn't think about this.
I didn't think about the factthat we would love all of these
people.
I mean, we obviously we'repeople, people like we.
We enjoy being around peopleand and getting to know new
people.
But I just didn't realize howmuch of a connection you would
make with someone.
I guess when you're traveling.
It's a, it's a differentexperience.
You're away from home, it's alot more intimate and you're
(07:30):
right, there was lots ofdifferent, I guess, characters,
but everybody sort of got alongand you find your people as well
.
But also, only being eightguests means that we sort of
stay as one group and you don'tsort of tend to, you know, break
off into smaller groups.
Everyone gets along really well.
We can give everyone theattention they deserve too in
the smaller groups.
(07:50):
So I think it's that intimacythat's created is why it was so
easy to make connections as wellwith the people that were there
.
And also, we're all like-minded, we're all there for the same
reason.
We're, all, you know, taking inthe most beautiful, beautiful
things, so that puts you in apretty good mood.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
A glass of wine and a cocktail doesn't hurt either it
does not hurt, but I think it'syet to your point.
You know, when you're overseasand you're experiencing
something so beautiful and youwant to turn around to someone
and say, oh my god, did you seethat light over there?
Look at that light, look atthat chair.
Like you want to share it withsomeone.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, and you don't ever get really that opportunity
to do that with someone that'sthat excited as you are About
the same thing right yeah, Likeyou know, you might be traveling
with your partner or a friendthat's not in the industry and
say that and they'll be like, oh, yeah, yeah.
Whereas you know, on the tourthey're all like, oh, it's
amazing.
Or you know, you'll talk aboutwhat it is or why it is, or
(08:51):
whether you maybe don't like it.
Oh no, I don't like it becauseit's like those discussions are
kind of what makes it special.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
So true.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Yeah, not just like you know the amazing itinerary
that we have curated for you,not just like the amazing
itinerary that we have curatedfor you, so I guess, yeah, that
would be my first one.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Like Hotel Costas was just a really beautiful place
and having that experience toshare with a small group.
Number two would be the LeftBank and specifically the 6th
arrondissement, which has awhole host of showrooms, and
that was our.
I think that was our firstactivity, actually our first day
, and it was just we did notwaste a minute.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
No, we definitely didn't.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It was so great.
I think the first place we wentto was the Invisible Collection
and I have sort of worked withthem a little bit in my book and
we obviously they anticipatedus.
That's, I guess, what I'mtrying to say.
It was really lovely and again,that was something I have to
say.
I kind of you don't know, youdon't know the vibe You're going
(09:58):
by emails, really friendlyemails, very responsive, but
when we got there they were justreally happy to see us and I
think they were impressed.
Obviously, we've come all theway from Australia.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
People do get impressed by that.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, the hospitality she was gorgeous, the woman
that worked there and theInvisible Collection.
If you're not familiar, I wouldencourage you to just jump on
their website because it hostsfurniture from all of these
different designers from aroundthe world, specifically, I guess
, europe, and it's a reallygorgeous eclectic mix.
(10:34):
It's about handcrafted piecesand quite limited edition, so
that was really fun.
We hopped over there and thisleft bank area.
It's known for being a veryartistic area.
The universities were set upthere and I remember when we got
there Brie, we were walkingalong the streets and we smelled
(10:56):
this like French onion soupsmell.
And I was like, oh my gosh, Ijust read that in one of the
guidebooks that was where Frenchonion soup originated from,
because it was such a affordablebut uh, you know hearty kind of
meal.
So it's just like all of theselayers of history.
I just absolutely love it allyou do love that.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
I love it all we did rely on you for all the little
historian moments of telling meabout oh and because this is,
this statue was blah, blah, blah, whereas I'm like oh yeah, this
is where everybody's head wasrolling, where the guillotine
was set up.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I just think it's so amazing it was pretty amazing,
all these prisoners were held inthis palace here and all of
these cool things, um, but trynot to bore everyone with all of
that.
But, um, we checked out a bunchof showrooms around there, so
around that area you've gotIndia Madhavi as well.
So she's known for her use ofcolour and gorgeous, quite
(11:52):
playful furniture that I thinkwe really love in Australia as
well.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, I do.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
That was a nice visit .
And then there's a few fabrichouses in that area as well,
data.
I think we finished off brickhouses in that area as well,
data, I think we finished off.
We actually had lunch at LeDeux Magots, which is like a
really famous French bistro andthey had just finished some
renovations, and it was justreally special to be sitting
sort of in this outdoorsemi-covered area.
(12:19):
The sun was shining, thechampagne was pouring.
It's just magic, um.
So that would be one of thefirst places I would recommend
to check out, and we also.
I think one of the last placeswe went to was gallery amelie de
schulard.
So she is a it's an art galleryand it's beautiful contemporary
(12:41):
pieces that that are just a bitleft of center so she was great
too.
I suppose my number three wouldbe the Pad Fair.
So, I feel like it's more of anunderrated furniture fair.
Obviously, Milan is huge.
This is a tiny little speckcompared to the Milan Fair, but
(13:02):
what it is, it's very curated.
So if you love vintagefurniture and have introduced
artwork as well into thecollection.
So it's really rare vintagepieces that you can see all in
the one place.
And I think Brie and I were thelast ones to leave because you
could hardly drag me out ofthere.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
I loved it, I could have spent longer probably.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
And it's tiny compared to even some of the
fairs we have here.
It's not a big fair but it wasvery like highly concentrated,
the kind of top tier suppliers,dealers, in sort of vintage with
some new, but it definitely hada vintage tone to it with some
(13:47):
new, but it definitely had avintage tone to it.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
It did um and it was a really great atmosphere in
terms of um.
Well, number one, againsurprisingly, how friendly
everybody was and wanting totalk to me, which I thought was
beautiful, and the peopleattending like they were the
real deal, like professionaldesigners, and it had a really
good atmosphere.
One of the stands that stoodout to me was like a design
(14:10):
collective from Russia.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
And it was just different.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
It was just so fun to see really contemporary,
gorgeous pieces.
So across town, in the otherdistrict called Le Marais again,
it's famous for havingbeautiful streets.
I mean all of Paris kind of is,but there may have been a tear
shed when I walked down thosestreets.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
And I don't really need to.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, you don't really need a huge itinerary
because it all kind of hits youin the face.
However, something like PierreYovanovitch, I would definitely
go and check that out, and thatis just off the main street and
nearby.
There we found a really greatcoffee place, and I have to say
Paris is not known for itscoffee.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
We drank some no, you have to sort of search that out
a bit.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Yeah, it was called Sevenly Heart or something like
that.
It was a really cute littlecoffee place.
Also, I want to mention anothershowroom that we saw going back
to the 6th arrondissement.
It was Christophe Delcourt.
Ah, yes that was a really greatshowroom and they were so
(15:17):
gorgeous, to us very friendly inthere as well.
The pieces were exquisite,amazing sort of similar to PA
Yovanovitch, I guess, in termsof handcrafted, quite unique
design, natural materials, youknow, chunky sort of oak sofas
with beautiful upholstery, likein these huge big modular shapes
(15:40):
.
And she was great because shetook us to their little studios
up the back and upstairs and wegot to see sort of a bit of a
behind the scenes, which wasgreat.
And then I think, lastly, it isjust something so basic, but it
just stands out for me and thatis really just walking around
(16:00):
the streets of somewhere like LeMarais and taking it all in and
taking photos and just lettingyourself wander.
I think I was wandering aroundLe Marais before we started the
tour and I just followed my noseand I walked into a museum of
decorative arts and it was justone of those unexpected,
(16:21):
mind-blowing things that you canplan so much.
But sometimes it is just niceto follow your nose as well.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
But I think one of the most overrated places is the
Champs-Élysées.
For me it's very commercialized.
It doesn't have that reallygreat atmosphere in some of
those little streets.
So you might want to check itout, but I would probably give
it a miss.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Yeah, I mean, I guess , if you've never been, go and
have a look.
But I agree, there's so muchmore to see of Paris and I think
it's easy to fall into the sortof tourist trap of what we
think is going to be.
You know where you want to go,but that's why you come along
with us and we'll take you tothe best places.
We won't take you to the shops,elise.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Another thing that you must see in Paris are the
famous flea markets, and thereare a few.
If you are design addicts likeus, there's only one flea market
that you want to go to, andthat is the Paul Burt Market.
So what it is?
It's made up of lots of littlestalls and it's high-end vintage
(17:25):
, so it's not the kind of thingthat you're just going to wander
through and pick up a littlesouvenir.
That's not what this market is.
Even calling it a marketdoesn't feel like the right word
, but it is just a lot ofdifferent vintage vendors all in
one outdoor market.
Some of it's covered as well,and you can find unique ceramics
(17:47):
.
I think that was one of myhighlights.
I found this really great storewith this woman who sources
these ceramics that are made inthe countryside in France
somewhere, and hearing the wholestory behind it.
It's just really fun as wellthat it's vintage French pieces
art deco, 1960s, 70s so much fun.
(18:08):
So it is open on Saturdays andSundays are the main days.
However, perhaps you might wantto avoid the crowds and go on a
Friday morning, which is whatwe did, so you don't really need
to get up at the crack of dawn.
You can wander through, speakto the vendors.
Again, I don't know.
I think there is thisstereotype of French people
(18:29):
feeling really snooty orsomething.
I did not experience that Well,maybe just once, but everyone
was so friendly and I thinkbecause we were so excited, they
were excited to see us excitedover their pieces.
It was just they were justwonderful.
So that is another thing.
I would definitely recommendthat you make the 40 or so
minute train trip out of suburbof Paris and enjoy a couple of
(18:53):
hours there.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
Okay so Milan?
Well, I think obviously I can't.
Milan is different every year.
It's a couple of hours there.
Okay so Milan?
Well, I think obviously I can't.
Milan is different every year.
It's a bit of a moving feastand we don't know where the
exhibitions are going to be andliterally you know there's
obviously a bit of a who's whoof generally who would be
exhibiting.
But what I thought I would do isgive you the tips more around.
If you're going A where to stay, that'd be number one.
(19:17):
So I find the hotels will bequite expensive and usually
booked out, and also the.
I guess to stay anywhere halfdecent in a hotel, you really do
need to spend a fair bit ofmoney.
There are some okay ones outthere, but your expectations
need to be lowered in terms ofthe style and that sort of thing
, particularly during that week,because they really push their
(19:40):
rates up.
I find the best thing to do ishopefully have a group of people
with you and you can find greatapartment accommodation
bookingcom, airbnb and there's afew others you can look at.
But in terms of where, if youlook at a map of Milan, you can
see it's sort of based on theold city, which would have had
the wall around it.
(20:01):
So it's sort of circular, sosort of stay inside that circle
as a general guide but and sortof close-ish to Duomo, which is
in the middle, so that's the bigchurch.
My favorite places are Brera.
If you can get accommodation inBrera, that's probably the
closest you're going to be tomost of the design areas, and a
(20:22):
lot of the great, I guess,exhibitions and showrooms are in
Brera.
Brera is kind of a design areain Milan.
But I also love Tortona.
I've stayed in Tortona for manyyears and we stayed in Tortona
again this year and we had areally great apartment.
It was easy to get around.
Nivelli I love, which is closeto the canals, and I guess the
(20:44):
biggest tip is, wherever youdecide to land, make sure you're
just walking distance to atrain station or a tram that can
take you to the train station.
So that's kind of the bigtakeaway in terms of
accommodation If you're lookingand you're not really sure where
to stay.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
And do you mean walking distance or running
distance, because I believe weran a few times.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
The other great thing for me.
I mean, paris has amazing food.
We had some fabulous food,great drinks, but for me, italy
is where the food is at.
It is my favorite kind of food.
I had the good coffee.
Yes, we were missing that.
One of my absolute favoritethings is gelato and I took this
(21:33):
was actually not during thetour, maybe we'll take the tour
there next year took uh, thiswas actually not during the tour
, maybe we'll take the tourthere next year.
Um, but I took our small littlefriend group, um, after we'd
finished the tour to my favoritegelato place, which is um
bastienalo, and uh, that's insan babila, I think it is um and
it's just the most.
(21:54):
That's like really old, it'sbeen there forever.
It's a patisserie as well, soit has like pastries and you can
get food and you can have wineand all that sort of stuff.
But we sat down inside thelittle kind of patio area and
had some gelato at kind ofafternoon, wasn't it?
It wasn't quite end of day, butwe were like ready to just sit
(22:15):
and relax and enjoy a moment.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
I have to say that was one of my favorite the best
timed gelato, because that wasafter we'd done the Paris tour,
the Milan tour, and then we hada day and I mean I'm an
introvert so I actually need abit of minute to recharge.
But we'd gone hard that morningand we were just quite well.
(22:41):
I was quite exhausted and wesat down and we took a leisurely
long gelato break.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
It was fantastic, wasn't it?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
And it was so yeah, I loved how traditional it was.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Yeah, it's.
You know the waiters in theirtuxes and all of that sort of
traditional beautiful Italianpatisserie style.
Machete is also.
We went there for breakfastwith the tour group.
That's another place which Iwould recommend you check out,
even just for the beautifulpistachio green interiors.
It's sort of got the Pradagreen.
(23:10):
I think the Prada groupactually own them now.
I don't know if they alwayshave, but that's a bit of an
experience as well and a bit ofan institution.
There's, I think, threedifferent places in Milan, three
different locations, but Iguess I think the coolest one
and the one you go and sit downat is inside the Galleria there,
(23:30):
right near Duomo, so in centralMilan.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
And that really is a place where you've got to know
it.
You could walk past it.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
You don't really see where it is upstairs in the
gallery, so you kind of have toknow where the entry is.
Yes, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Secret it was and when we were there.
I called my mum on FaceTime.
I'm like you've got to see thisplace, I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
And then the other food thing.
I mean there's so many foodthings, we could do a whole
podcast just about that.
But the other thing that um isgreat is just like a really
quick and easy snack, is um, thepenzorotti, which is like the
kind of it's like a, like afried sandwich that you can have
like cheese and all sorts ofthings inside.
And uh, luini is where you gofor that, which is, again, is in
(24:18):
that sort of central Milan area.
Yeah, so that those are my kindof top tips for the food.
Coffee you can pretty much goanywhere and the coffee's good.
You don't need to search thatout.
People do love the Starbucks.
I'm not a big fan of Starbucks,but the Starbucks in Milan is a
bit of an experience.
So if you are into kind of likecoffee, you might want to go
(24:40):
and have a look there.
It's not like any otherStarbucks, it's quite full on.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Yeah, people will be gasping, thinking what on earth
is Bree talking about in Milanto recommend Starbucks.
But when you see it, you willunderstand.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yeah, it is, and because of where it is, sort of
a bit central, a lot of peoplechoose that as kind of a meeting
place, an easy meeting place,because people can find it
easily and you can grab a coffee.
But I mean, I've been a fewtimes but, as I said, I'm not a
Starbucks fan Because we'reMelbournians quite different.
(25:18):
Okay.
So showrooms there areobviously some showrooms that
are there all year and it's hardto sort of point out what's the
thing to see during design weekexcept if it is a permanent
showroom.
So I would say Casina, for me,is probably my favorite
permanent showroom in Milan andit always is beautiful.
During design week they usuallydo new installations and colors
and things like that, and it'sgot that beautiful spiral
staircase that you would haveseen on Instagram probably a
(25:40):
million times and usually that'sin a different color each year.
Oh really, yeah, yeah, usually.
I mean I don't know, I'm tryingto remember if it changes every
year or you know, just kind ofevery second or whatever, but it
is often a different color.
That central section, I just.
I mean, I love Casina'sproducts and they definitely
push the colour boundaries inthe showroom, so you sort of get
(26:03):
to experience that sort ofdynamic feeling.
It's a big showroom on multiplelevels, but it's not big and
airy and minimalist.
It feels quite kind of cosy andspecific and a design story is
told in each space.
So I find that to be a greatone to make sure you visit.
And my other favorite would beDe More and they would do
(26:23):
something different every year.
This year they didn't have itin their actual apartment space
that they usually do it in.
They had it in an old theater.
Some people kind of criticizethe long lines for and this is
something you will experience,without a doubt, during design
week, unless you come with usunless you come with us, yeah,
the wait time can be quite longas well.
(26:45):
We do skip the lines.
The start of our tour and webasically some of the top places
we went to, we found out thelines were hours and hours long
afterwards during the rest ofthe week.
So I think we were veryfortunate to be able to get in
ahead of those lines and alsohave, you know, actual tours
(27:06):
with the designers and havethose conversations, which is
what we do when we go through.
But De More is always a popularone, but I would recommend
making sure you look that upbeforehand.
You can book times.
They usually have like a littlebooking system so you can
actually book a time and thenwhen you go and stand in the
line, you might be in the linefor half an hour.
So that wasn't so bad.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Well, you know, I think that is going to be the
future of the Milan Fair.
Really, yeah it should be.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
I think that's how they have to do it, because it
is pretty ridiculous to bestanding in a line to see one
thing and hope that that's thething that you, you love and
want to experience, based onprobably other people's photos
of it or hearsay.
But there were what?
Three hour waits for the mostpopular places.
I think um, el Decor and uh,apartmento were the sort of big
(27:55):
ones that had the longest lines,and Demore didn't have those of
big ones that had the longestlines and Domore didn't have
those long waits because theyhad the booking system.
So it actually worked quitewell.
Yeah, really clever.
And then what would be my nexttip?
So I guess the fare?
So Milan Design Week is reallycentred around Salone, which is
out in Raffaera, which isoutside of the city, so it's not
(28:18):
part of the satelliteinstallations within Milan.
You have to get on a differenttrain system and so it's kind of
like, I guess, if you're inAustralia, we have metro trains,
so they have the metro system,and then we have kind of rural
trains and it's a little bitlike one of those that goes to
the outer suburbs, so adifferent zone, I guess.
So you need to jump on thetrain out to there.
You need to have a ticket forthe fair.
(28:39):
So make sure you actually lookall of that up and register
beforehand and pay for thatticket.
And then you need a plan.
So the fair is and I'veforgotten the stats that I
usually know off the top of myhead, but if you know the
Melbourne Exhibition Centre, forinstance, it's about 10 of
those, I think you know theMelbourne Exhibition Centre, for
instance, it's about 10 ofthose, I think maybe even more.
Not every hall is worth visiting.
(29:01):
You kind of need to know whyyou're there.
So you're just going to kind ofcheck it out.
Then there's probably, like Idon't know, three main halls
that you might want to go andsee and, depending on what year
it is next year will be Eureka,china, which is bathroom and
kitchen you obviously want to goand see that.
I guess the best bit about whenwe take you is we already know
exactly where we're going to go.
We don't spend a lot of timethere on the tour, but you have
(29:24):
the option to go back.
We just give you a taster andwe'll take you to the main halls
and the main places and brandsthat we think are worth seeing,
and then, if you want to go backthere, I can also give you a
list of the other places,because if you start just
wandering through halls, you'llfind yourself there literally
for days and you will see awhole heap of crap Because it's
(29:47):
you can imagine, it is the mainfurniture fair of the world.
So it's not just all the goodstuff, it's everything.
It's like beds and bed basesand office furniture and all the
basic stuff.
So there's halls full of thosethings and unless you're a buyer
for a store that you stock thatstuff and you want to go and do
the deals, you don't need tovisit those ones.
You just want to visit thosemain halls that have the good
(30:09):
brands and the fun stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
I guess what about if you were going to Milan for the
first time and you realized, oh, this is where the fair is, and
would you recommend to stay outthere?
Speaker 2 (30:23):
No, well, only if that was your, if you were like
I'm going to spend three days atthe fair or the whole week at
the fair, and that is my maingoal, and I think the only
people doing that are peoplethat are dealing with the brands
there and spending time on thestands to meet clients, or
you're literally a buyer andyou're there because this is why
the fair exists.
It's for people to go and do thedeals of buying the furniture
(30:45):
to put into their showrooms allover the world.
Then, of course, stay in one ofthe you know conference type
hotels out there, but it's notclose by to Milan, so don't look
at that as being somewhere tostay.
Otherwise, you're going to beon that long train commuting in
and you're not going to be closeby.
If you're going out for dinneror drinks or any of the parties
(31:08):
that are on, you'll be milesaway.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
And it's probably.
Was it 40 or so minutes?
Yeah, it's not crazy, it isabout that.
Look out for pickpockets too.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
It's fine, but it's like commuting.
If you lived in sort of theouter suburbs of Melbourne or
Sydney or, I'm going to guess,brisbane, because I haven't
commuted there and you have to,like you know, go into work each
day.
It's like that.
It's like living in an outersuburb and there's not a lot
around.
It's quite sort of industrial.
It's not sort of the prettyarea or anything like that, yeah
(31:38):
.
So I guess that's the main tips.
The food isn't great out there.
If you know some brands, maybehit them up for lunch, or just
be prepared to be standing inlong lines to get your lunch, if
you're there for the day, oryour coffee and sort of standing
and eating.
There are sort of cafeteriasyou can go to as well, but it's
(31:59):
quite busy, it's very busy.
So I guess just be prepared forthat, be prepared for lots of
walking.
So much walking, yeah.
So good.
Comfortable flat shoes, reallyin general, the whole of design
week, to be honest, which Iguess is the other bonus, if you
find a combination that's inthat sort of central area and
you're walking all day and youhave time, which generally I
(32:20):
don't, but every now and thenyou might want to go back, have
a refresh and then maybe you'llput on a nice pair of shoes to
go out to dinner or somethinglike that, but that rarely
happens it's too much to see?
Speaker 1 (32:31):
go, go there's no time to relax, it's just yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
You don't have a lot of time for that.
We pretty much go.
I mean, it's not early, earlystarts generally Like.
Italy is not a early morningcity.
It's like most things don'topen till 10, sometimes later,
but then it's a late night city,so then you might be out until
who knows what time, dependingon who you are.
(32:59):
Me time depending on who you areMe out late, lauren in bed, me
snoring, bree still working, Iknow me tapping away on my
laptop.
And then the last tip would bethis is unrelated to Design Week
, sort of is if you do want toallocate a day, go out to the
outlets at Serra Valley, so it'slike a town that was built
(33:19):
specifically for outlets.
So most of the big brands arethere, you know, like the
Gucci's and the Prada's and allof that.
So if you have a little bit ofmoney to spend and you want to
go and invest out there, I dorecommend it.
Invest.
I went for the day Totally.
I love it.
I probably could have spent twodays.
(33:41):
You can get a shuttle fromMilan.
It is an outer suburb, it's notlike around the corner, so you
book the shuttle bus beforehand.
Make sure you do book itbeforehand.
They do book out.
You go I think it was Centrale,the main station.
Jump on the bus there, I thinkit was Centrale, the main
station jump on the bus thereand then it brings you back at
(34:02):
the end of the day.
So I easily spent the day thereand I was with other people.
So you get invested in theirpurchases as well and you're
looking around and it was good.
So if you do like that sort ofthing the designer brands it is
worthwhile and you do save a bitof money.
Or well, you spend a bit butyou save a bit right, it's not
what you spend exactly, you know.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Maybe we should look into that.
If there's um, you know the thefinal numbers that we get for
the tour, we could say if youwant to do this as an after
thing yeah, we could do it as anofficial, as a bonus.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Yeah, come along, because it is.
It is a lot of fun too.
It's a lot of fun even if otherpeople are spending money and
you're not.
I think that's fun too, yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:40):
I think I was flying out that day, so I didn't I
couldn't join you.
Yeah, you were, that's rightyou do need to come.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
You need to come next year, yeah, um, and then if I'm
going to talk about somethingthat's overrated, that I fight.
I fight really hard because Iguess Paris is very much a
tourist.
It's a destination city Totally.
Milan's not really.
If you were just going to Italy, you know, to do a beautiful
Italian tour, milan probablywouldn't be high on the list of
(35:06):
a tourist city to visit.
Milan is really on the mapbecause of its industry in
design, so fashion and interiors.
So if you were in that frame ofmind, you might go to Milan
because there are a lot of greatbrands there and maybe you'd
organize to do some even likefactory tours and things like
that with some of the brands.
But it's it's sort of just akind of an ordinary city.
(35:28):
It's beautiful because it'sEurope and it's Italy and
there's still amazing things tosee and there are a few kind of
touristy things like the LastSupper is there.
I've gone to see that, that wasworthwhile.
And, ps, if you do want to seethat, you do have to book that
months and months ahead.
That actually does completelybook out.
Yeah, you can't just kind of gothat week.
Oh, maybe I'll go see this andbook it, it'll be booked, so
(35:51):
make sure you book that.
It's only a really small church.
It's like quite an intimatespace.
I thought it would be this kindof big grand thing like the
Sistine Chapel, but it's not atall.
It's quite little.
It's worth seeing.
But yeah, so Milan in itself, Iguess I wouldn't say it's an.
(36:12):
I think it's kind of anunderrated city, but I guess it
could feel overrated if you weregoing there thinking it's this
sort of touristy city.
It's.
It's very much.
Not that it's good for shopping, it's good for the outlet if
you want to go out there.
Yeah, and it's unbelievableduring design week it, the city
is transformed, the energy isamazing.
Such a good buzz, yeah.
So outside of that it would bequite a different city yeah,
(36:33):
it's not's not a shiny, polishedplace.
Speaker 1 (36:36):
I think when we were in Paris and they had just
cleaned up the city for theOlympics it was almost like
walking through a movie set.
It was actually on the verge ofbeing a bit too perfect, if
that's even a thing.
But Milan it was such acontrast.
It's where actual regularpeople live.
Speaker 2 (36:53):
It is.
It's a real city.
It's a actual, regular peoplelive.
It is.
Yeah, it's a real city.
It's a working city.
Yeah, yeah, it's a real city.
It's not pretend, it's not fake.
But I guess, to wrap it up, youknow, really we would love I
mean obviously we love to sharethese tips with you, but what we
would really love is for you tojoin us on the tour, because we
(37:13):
know it's going to be amazing.
It absolutely exceeded ourexpectations this year, so we
can only think that it's goingto be even better in 2026.
We'd love to have you with us.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Come.
I guess what we say next isfind the link in the show notes.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Yes, or check your inbox if you were on the
waitlist, and hopefully were.
If you weren't on the waitlist,absolutely find the link in the
show notes.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yeah, get in touch with us and we'll give you the
details.
Yeah Great, We'll shortlist you.
So exciting Brie.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
I think it'll be a long list of people wanting to
come next year.
So getting quick, I know.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
I think we've got quite a long wait list already.
But yeah, it's very exciting,it is fun, all right.
Thanks for that, brie.
Oh, it's good to reminiscethanks, lauren.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Ah, that's so nice.
Now I'm really excited and I'mhungry one of those, those fried
sandwich things.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
That was the most perfect.
The pencil art yes, all I'lltalk to you next time, Bree.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
See you later.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
Bye.
We've got the utmost respectfor the Wurundjeri people of the
Kulin Nation.
They're the OG custodians ofthis unceded land and its waters
, where we set up shop, createand call home and come to you.
From this podcast today, a bigshout out to all of the amazing
elders who have walked before us, those leading the way in the
(38:39):
present and the emerging leaderswho will carry the torch into
the future.
We're just lucky to be on thisjourney together.
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