A lifetime of looking closely.
Lisa’s blog · Culture, nature & design
The places, encounters and small details that have shaped the way I see a room.
A beautiful material catches your eye. A view draws you through a space. A welcome makes you feel instantly at ease. Over the years, I have carried moments like these home with me—and into our work.
Lisa Melvin Founder, Kuche & Bagno
23 October 2026 · 16 minute read
A personal collection of influences, gathered over many years.
The studio journal / 0101 Culture02 Nature03 Materials04 Wellbeing05 Atmosphere06 Looking ahead
01 / A curiosity about culture and place
It begins with culture.
In my early twenties, I worked hard and saved so that, when the opportunity came, I could experience another part of the world. Culture was always the first attraction: daily life, the welcome you receive and what makes a place feel entirely its own.
I sought out exceptional hotels and spas, but I was just as drawn to buildings with history and a strong connection to their surroundings. One stay that deserves its name here is Kasbah Tamadot, Sir Richard Branson’s retreat near Asni, in the High Atlas Mountains beyond Marrakech.
I have always associated it with his mother, Eve. The family story helps explain why: Eve and Ted Branson discovered the property and encouraged Richard to buy it and turn it into a retreat. It had been the home of antiques dealer and interior designer Luciano Tempo, whose collection helped furnish the hotel when it opened in 2005. That is a wonderful starting point for a conversation about interiors: a place shaped by objects gathered over a lifetime.
During that trip, I went into the mountains and was welcomed into local stone homes. I remember the beautiful teapots and the care taken over brewing and serving sweet mint tea. There were tagines and tangerines, and such a generous welcome. The ritual was as memorable as anything I saw in the hotel. I still love mint tea, although with rather less sugar!
For me, those experiences belong together: a remarkable place to stay and the opportunity to understand a little of the life around it. I came home remembering the hospitality, the materials and the way even a small everyday object could have such character.
The same is true of Boracay in the Philippines and the coast of Vietnam. On journeys through Vietnam, stopping for a meal on someone’s veranda was a wonderful experience. The setting could be simple; the welcome made it memorable.
A few things that stay
Peppermint tea. Tangerines. A generous welcome.
Kasbah Tamadot & the Atlas Mountains
Design notebook / Kasbah Tamadot
A design story that keeps evolving.
The collected interiors are part of Luciano Tempo’s legacy. Real Studios also records its work on the hotel’s tented suites and subsequent refurbishment of the restaurant, library, spa pool and several suites.
A distinct, later chapter is the 2024 expansion by GRAS Reynés Arquitectos, with interior design credited to Emma Savin. The new riads use courtyards, local craft and carefully framed mountain views. These are credits for that expansion, rather than the original house.
02 / Coastlines, mountains & a sense of home
Room to look outwards.
France, again and again.
I couldn’t talk about inspiration without talking about my love for France. Around Nice, I am especially drawn to Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cap Ferrat. Then there is the outdoors, up in the mountains—a part of France that feels like a second home. The Riviera and the mountains are both places I love returning to.
Cape Town’s extraordinary setting.
I stay out in Blouberg, and Cape Town has been another enormous source of inspiration. I love its mix of cultures, its history and the meeting of mountain and ocean. With countryside and nature reserves in the wider region, there is so much to experience. South Africa’s variety keeps drawing my curiosity beyond the city, too.
03 / Dubai → A lasting love of mosaic
When a material stops you in your tracks.
On an early trip to Dubai, in the early 2000s, the Burj Al Arab was already on my radar. I wanted to experience the architecture and interiors for myself. Staying there was beyond my budget, so I was based much further along the beach. One day, I set off on a long walk towards it, determined to see inside.
I visited, booked a spa treatment and returned the following day. In the lift, I met a butler who kindly showed me one of the two-storey suites. There was an extraordinary grand staircase rising through the middle of the space. Being able to see how those two floors worked together was an unexpected treat.
I remember the sheer scale, the gold surfaces and the columns shimmering with mosaic. I kept looking at how the materials caught the light. Those details made an enormous impression on me at a time when this kind of hotel design felt quite extraordinary.
That experience sparked a fascination with mosaic that grew into my long-standing love of Bisazza. What I brought home was the excitement of a material: the possibility of making a wall, a curve or a whole bathing space feel special through colour, texture and light.
Architecture & interiors / Opened 1999
Burj Al Arab
The sail-shaped building is by British architect Tom Wright, working with WS Atkins. The interiors were led by Khuan Chew of KCA International. Jumeirah also confirms the use of 24-carat gold leaf on interior surfaces—a detail behind that unforgettable glow.
Architecture / Opened 1997
Jumeirah Beach Hotel
The neighbouring “wave” hotel, which I also remember from that trip, was designed by WS Atkins. Seeing the wave and the sail together is a reminder that a building’s form can tell a story before you step through the door.
From inspiration to a home · Warm neutral Bisazza mosaics in the Stocks en suite.
From inspiration to a home · The blue Bisazza bathroom at Stocks.Explore the project →
The influence in our own work
That love of mosaic runs through our projects and our studio, from bathrooms to the heated wedi chaise longue and our spa setting. I love the way all those small pieces can bring depth, colour and movement to a surface.
04 / Looking beyond the finish
How a space makes you feel.
Wherever I travelled—including New York—I made a point of experiencing a high-end spa. I was constantly looking at the details: how something had been made, how the spaces connected and which materials had been chosen. The treatment was only part of what I took away.
I would notice the approach to a treatment room, the view from a bathroom and the way a material felt in the space. A memorable spa experience often began well before the treatment itself.
At Fortina Spa Resort in Sliema, Malta, I remember a cocoon-like treatment pod in the bathroom, with my head resting outside, and a Jacuzzi in the room. A therapist could come to the room for treatments, too. Some spa suites even had their own private rooftop pools. It was an incredible idea: the room itself became a private spa.
Those experiences still inform my interest in wellbeing at home: daylight, privacy, warmth, materials and the little rituals that make a space a pleasure to use. I hope something of what I have learned finds its way into the homes we create.
Continue the conversation: Kas Bordier, MAVI and the language of longevity architecture →
Closer to home Our Sunshower setting, with an AXOR shower and Bisazza mosaic. The story behind the shower →
Hong Kong / A different way to see a bathroom
Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.
At the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, I loved the generous window connecting the bathroom and bedroom. It changed the way the space felt: the bathroom became part of a much bigger room, with a view beyond its own walls.
It is the sort of detail I carry into a design conversation years later. Where does your eye travel? Could an opening make a room feel more generous? How do you balance that connection with privacy? A hotel stay can leave you with a whole new set of possibilities.
The original design / 1963
The original building was designed by Leigh & Orange, with interiors by Don Ashton, whose career also included film art direction. That connection between interiors and storytelling is fascinating. These are the original hotel’s credits; its rooms have evolved through subsequent renovations.
Bangkok / The experience begins with the journey
Mandarin Oriental & The Oriental Spa.
In Bangkok, I remember that same connection between bathroom and bedroom, with the outlook continuing towards the river. It made the view feel part of the bathing space.
Then there was the journey across the river to the spa. I remember taking off my shoes and entering a beautiful dark timber interior. The crossing, the arrival and that change of pace all became part of the experience. Even dinner left me with a tiny detail I have never forgotten: my handbag had its own little stool beside the table.
Later design chapters / 2017 & 2019
Chapman Taylor completed a renovation of The Oriental Spa in 2017, reworking its layout, treatment spaces and lighting. Jeffrey Wilkes led the River Wing’s 2019 interiors, with extensive use of Jim Thompson fabrics. These later chapters show how an established hotel can keep developing its design identity.
Saint Lucia / Wellbeing throughout a stay
LeSPORT, BodyHoliday.
LeSPORT, known today as BodyHoliday, was another memorable stay. Spa treatments became part of the rhythm of the day, and I was just as interested in the surroundings as I was in the treatment. The restaurant experience stayed with me, too.
What I took away was the feeling that wellbeing could run through an entire stay. That thought has stayed relevant to the way I look at a home: the bathroom matters, but so do the rooms around it and the everyday rituals they make possible.
A documented refurbishment / 2011
International Design Concepts, now Studio IDC, was appointed for the hotel’s 2011 refurbishment, including public spaces, dining areas and a penthouse suite. The studio’s portfolio shows its continuing relationship with the property. This credits a specific stage of the hotel’s development, rather than its original architecture.
Jordan / A setting that stays with you
Mövenpick Resort & Spa, Dead Sea.
In Jordan, I stayed at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa on the shores of the Dead Sea. Health and wellbeing were already things I was paying attention to early in my travels. Being in a place so closely associated with bathing and the landscape encouraged me to keep looking and learning.
Reading about the design adds another layer to that memory. The local materials, shade and sheltered routes are part of how the resort responds to its surroundings—details with a purpose beyond their appearance.
Architecture, local knowledge & spa design
SIGMA Consulting Engineers with WATG are credited for expansion designs completed in 2000; WATG also lists Zara Spa in its wellness portfolio. Architect Stephen Albert describes how conversations with Jordanian architect Ammar Khammash informed the resort’s use of regional building traditions, including local stone screens and shaded passages.
05 / The details beyond the room
A place has its own rhythm.
Havana stays with me as a combination of architecture, classic cars, music and atmosphere. The hotel where I stayed had an old-world character that felt like stepping into another era. Out in the city, those older cars and buildings made such an impression.
I remember going through a red British telephone box and down into a basement jazz club, where a saxophonist was playing. That unexpected entrance was part of the magic: a small doorway leading to a completely different atmosphere. Even a mint-filled mojito and the glass it was served in became part of the memory.
In New York, I stayed in another older hotel and was fascinated by its architecture and sense of history. San Francisco gave me something entirely different: the tight bends of Lombard Street, winding down a steep residential hill. It was such a distinctive way for a street and its homes to meet the landscape.
Time in Kona, Hawaii, and years of travelling around Europe have all added to that collection. I am always looking—at nature as much as interiors, and at the ways a place becomes personal. Sometimes it is a grand staircase; sometimes it is a teapot or an unexpected entrance. The scale of the detail does not decide how long it stays with you.
“Travel, culture and nature continue to shape the way I see and design spaces.”
Lisa · On the influences behind her work
The thread through it all
What comes home with me.
06 / The chapter still to come
Japan. Still on my wish list.
A future journey. A curiosity already shaping the conversation.
I haven’t been to Japan yet, and I would absolutely love to go. Having worked with TOTO for many years, my interest in Japanese bathing and attention to detail has continued to grow. More recently, Japanese food has become part of my everyday life too.
I want to experience the culture for myself: the food, the communities, the relationship with nature and the way daily routines support a sense of wellbeing. Exploring by bicycle really appeals to me—the chance to notice a landscape at a different pace.
There is so much I would love to investigate firsthand and bring back into our design conversations. For now, it is a place I am looking towards, with a great deal of curiosity.
Read our long-standing TOTO story →An open invitation, from Lisa
“I would love to experience Japan’s bathing culture and TOTO’s approach to design in person.”
A design ambition
A hotel spa. A shared vision.
Another dream is to bring that lifetime of looking and learning into a hotel spa collaboration. I would love the opportunity to do more in this world, working alongside designers whose approach I admire.
Sparcstudio is one of those teams. I visited Cottonmill at Sopwell House in St Albans and thought the spa was extraordinary. Its design brings together architecture, interiors and a garden as one experience. That is exactly the kind of conversation I find exciting.
Opened in 2019, Cottonmill’s interiors and architectural design were developed by Sparcstudio, with ISA Architects assisting with the building’s delivery and Ann-Marie Powell designing the spa garden. The connection between the glazed spaces, the water and the garden is a lovely example of different disciplines working together.
It brings me back to what I love in our own studio: exchanging ideas, sketching, questioning a detail and letting a design develop through conversation. I would love to meet the Sparcstudio team, learn from them and, perhaps one day, contribute to a hotel spa together.
The ideas I’d love to develop
From an influence to a collaboration.
Some of the most exciting possibilities begin with a detail I can’t stop thinking about. Alongside a hotel spa, these are a few conversations I would love to take further.
AXOR / Water & daily rituals
A little of the spa, every day.
I would love to explore how beautifully designed fittings and thoughtfully specified water treatment could come together with the small pleasures of a spa: a warm face towel, a discreet cooling drawer and drinking water within easy reach in the bedroom suite.
Bisazza / A personal composition
My own story, in mosaic.
That fascination sparked in Dubai has become a long-standing love of Bisazza. The next dream is to develop a mosaic with them: a personal composition of colour and pattern, created around the atmosphere of a room.
Splinterworks / Art & a sense of play
Something wonderfully unexpected.
There is room for delight as well as calm. A sculptural pool slide by Splinterworks is an idea I keep coming back to—something that becomes part of the architecture and brings a little adventure into a home.
Your own collection of influences
What has stayed with you?
A view, a favourite hotel, a material or a daily ritual. Bring it into the conversation and we can explore what it might mean for your home.
Start a design conversation →The designers who inspire our work →More from Lisa’s blog →Places, sources & further reading +
Lisa’s memories are illustrated with photographs from our own studio and projects. The design notebooks link to the architects, studios and hotel histories; dates distinguish original designs from later refurbishments. Further reading:
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