Unusual places to stay: Bert's barge in London

Holiday planning in our family usually begins with the search words 'unusual places to stay' - we love to find places which are just a little bit off the wall - houseboats, the world's smallest luxury home, tree houses, ski pods - you name it! (What are your usual search words?). We're heading to London to attend the Amara interior blog awards soon (exciting!) and I was so excited to discover Bert & May's latest project - a barge hotel. Moored up on Regent's Canal in Hackney, east London, Bert's barge has been decorated using all the panache you might expect from a company that specialises in fab handmade and reclaimed tiles, wood flooring/ cladding and paint. Combine this with a distinct Scandinavian touch and...well, I'll leave that up to you to decide...

 

Oh how I'd love to stay here! How about you?

You'll need to book early though - it's unbelievably popular. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on their site for future trips though. Who knows - maybe this could be a project for the canals of Malmö too?!

If being afloat is not for you, I was also excited to discover Bert's Boxes -  a pre-fab mobile home that can pop up on your land within 14 weeks....

 

Which do you think you'd prefer?

They had me at the tiles and the wood burning stove, so hey, I'll take either, I'm not fussy!

Other examples of oh so cool houseboats include this playful Dutch family space and a dream holiday home on lake Eildon. 

I have a dream to build a little outhouse somewhere like Bert's box and hoping it will look like one of these.

More holiday inspiration in the 'design hotels' archive...

On the opposite scale....for the student...here's some fab inspiration for a college or university room. 

I think it's time to celebrate the weekend don't you? How much would you love to hit this bar straight after work today? See you there?!

Have a great weekend and see you Monday!