Expect all your favourite minimalist Instagrammers to suddenly start holidaying in Singapore. The City in a Garden’s chicest new destination is Hotel Mono, an entirely black and white boutique hotel that needs no filter to cause a stir on your feed.

Set in six historical shop houses on Chinatown’s Mosque Street, Hotel Mono opened its doors in March 2017. Local studio Spacedge Designs opted to mix the striking modern colour palette with the building’s original Rococo windows and characteristic airwells, seamlessly interweaving the culture of traditional Singapore with the city’s urban bustle.

Each of the hotel’s 46 rooms is slightly different, due to the peculiarities of the original floor plan, but nothing about Hotel Mono feels disjointed. The high contrast monochrome theme fills every nook and cranny of the space, down to Eero Arnio’s red-lined ‘Ball’ chair that has been reupholstered in black fabric. A black metal bar loops through each room – one part graphic installation, one part light fixture and coat hanger – further tying the space together.

Hotel Mono’s accommodations range from single rooms to family rooms to studios, all relatively affordable and ready to take a starring role in your vacation selfies. Amenities include flat screen TVs, free high-speed Wi-Fi, luxury spring beds with micro-gel fibre pillows, and even a complimentary mobile phone to use during your stay. Book your visit here.

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There’s no better way to immerse one’s self into another’s culture than through living it. 

And right on cue, we’ve decided to take on this challenge the best way we know how. Welcome to the most spectacular waterfront homes Spain has to offer. From the Island of Ibiza to the sands of Majorca, Spain offers no shortage of humble abodes with a view any will weep for. 

One key thing most will notice about these waterfront homes is the apparent design language which can only be described as Mediterranean minimalism. Think immaculate white sandstone, floor to ceiling windows, minimal clutter and blue skies and you’re on track for a understanding the Espanol way. 

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After dining on sushi shaped like your favourite sneakers, here’s what’s on the menu for dessert: streetwear-themed luxury chocolates.

Texas-based luxury chocolatier CocoAndré collaborated with Black Market USA on these drool-worthy treats. Streetwear fans will instantly recognise Supreme’s classic box logo and BAPE’s iconic Ape head. The Chanel logo and the GucciGhost also make appearances, as does the Comme des Garçons love heart. Another chocolate simply says “BAE.”

Unfortunately, there’s a bittersweet end to this story of sweets. CocoAndré’s hypebeast-approved confections sold out earlier this year, but if the sartorial gods are on our side, perhaps the chocolatier will bring them back for round two in the not-so-distant future.

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Apple knows a thing or two about design. The famously sleek tech company revealed the 2017 winners of its prestigious Design Awards in a small ceremony at its annual conference last Wednesday.

The Apple Design Awards celebrate the talent, artistry, and creativity of developers who set the standard for ideal app design. Now in its 20th year, the Awards recognise excellence in design, innovation, and technology in apps and games across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

The 2017 honorees represent eight countries around the world: Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, Singapore, Slovenia, and the United States. Though the thirteen winners – five games and seven apps – may not be famous yet, their fortunes could soon change. The Apple Design Awards are highly prestigious, and Apple has even been known to buy the companies behind the winning apps.

Get to know this year’s winners below.

Blackbox

Think you’re clever? Blackbox’s 50+ unique puzzles may make you reconsider. Use visual cues to expand your creative thinking and solve puzzles by turning, shouting, clicking, snapping, and travelling while discovering secrets along the way. With ample satisfying “a-ha!” moments and puzzles as artful and clever as they are challenging, Blackbox is as delightful to play as it is to look at and hold. Think outside the box. Turn on all the lights.

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Splitter Critters

Split the world with a swipe of your finger, then rearrange it to guide critters back to their spaceship. Explore colourful planets full of danger, challenging puzzles, and innovative mechanics that will make you think in new ways. The immersive soundscapes of each world, best experienced with headphones, set the tone for your Splitter Critters journey.

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Mushroom 11

As life struggles to gain a foothold in a devastated world, a new lifeform emerges from the rubble. Mold yourself into any form by destroying your cells, and traverse a devastated landscape filled with brain-twisting puzzles and bizarre mutations. Mushroom 11’s eerily beautiful visuals are complemented by the ethereal music of electronica legend The Future Sound of London. Are you ready to break the mold?

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Old Man’s Journey

Old Man’s Journey describes itself as “a story game about life’s precious moments, broken dreams, and changed plans.” Immerse yourself in a visual narrative as you uncover stories of the old man’s life told through beautiful vignettes of his memories. Interact with the serene, whimsical environment as you solve playful puzzles and shape the landscape around you, growing the hills to create the old man’s path forward.

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Severed

Take control of a one-armed warrior named Sasha, who wields a living sword on her journey through a nightmare world in search of her family. Players use swipe-based touch controls to solve puzzles, find secrets, and do battle with a host of disturbing monsters, including giant floating skull wizards and beasts made of crows. During the journey, players unlock new abilities, ascend an RPG-style upgrade tree, and uncover the mysteries of the dark fantasy universe Sasha finds herself in.

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Lake

De-stress with a vibrant collection of colouring books from Instagram artists, offered exclusively on Lake. The app’s colouring books come with 12 beautiful drawings that you can colour over and over, plus a custom colour palette. Choose from a wide variety of illustrations that spark your creativity, including calming mandalas, cute florals, quirky beings, whimsical patterns, beautiful European cities, friendly animals, and more. Lake is a unique opportunity to release your inner happy while supporting artists.

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Bear

Bear is a beautiful, flexible writing app for crafting notes, prose, code, and sketches. Bear’s simple tools take the effort out of writing, whether you need to hit specific word counts and reading times, or you need to convert your writing into PDF and Word docs. With Bear’s custom markup shortcuts, you can add style and links with just a tap or keystroke. A focus mode helps you concentrate, and advanced Markdown and other markup options are an online writer’s best friend. Full in-line image support brings your writing to life, and keep yourself on task by adding to-dos to individual notes.

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Kitchen Stories

Kitchen Stories aims to shape the digital food space with leading technology and content. The app brings the whole world of cooking to your pocket with easy to follow step-by-step photo instructions, recipe videos, and clever how-to videos – all available free of charge. Learn how to cook with executive chefs and expand your cooking wisdom by trying out new, mouth-watering dishes every week.

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Things 3

Things 3 is a complete rethinking of the original, award-winning task manager – with a perfect balance between simplicity and power, new features, delightful interactions, and a timeless new design. Start by collecting your thoughts and organising your goals into projects. Plan your timing using an events calendar and to-do lists, and start each day right with the Today list. Use tags to categorise your to-dos or add context to customise your workflow.

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Elk

Elk is the fastest way to convert currencies. The app knows where you are and automatically picks the right currency for your location, eliminating the need for cumbersome keypad entry. On the iPhone, Elk is a handy and interactive rates table. It picks a suitable starting value, and converts the next ten values to your home currency. Swipe left to increase these values; swipe right to decrease them. Tap on a value for more accuracy.

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Enlight

An addictive and creative photographic experience, Enlight is the only all-in-one iPhoneography app for creating masterpieces. Filters allow you to choose stylised presets inspired by classic camera and film, or experiment with light leaks and vignetting for a retro feel. Add trendy decals, apply painterly effects, and master the pro editing options for ultimate control. And that’s just the beginning of what you can do with this incredibly comprehensive app.

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AirMail 3

AirMail 3 is a new mail client designed with performance and intuitive interaction in mind, optimised for macOS Sierra. AirMail was designed from the ground up provide a quick, modern, and easy-to-use user experience for both single and multiple accounts. Switch between accounts like a breeze and quick reply to incoming messages within seconds. Striking, clean design allows you to get to your emails without interruption, taking usability and function to the next level. Email has never been so easy and productive.

The post Apple Honours The Best Apps Of 2017 With Prestigious Design Award appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

2017 has brought ‘fake news’ to the world and now sceptics can also add fake whisky to that list. 

Scientists from Germany have developed an ‘artificial tongue’ which can help novice drinkers determine the difference between a Scottish malt whisky and a Japanese blend. This so-called ‘artificial tongue’ is a series of glowing dyes which have been engineered to react with a unique fluorescent signature when it encounters different trace flavours and chemicals used in whiskies.

“If you buy a crate of expensive whiskies, you can test if they are actually what you think they are.”

As a new technology the ‘artificial tongue’ could potentially change the whisky industry which has seen a meteoric rise in recent years. The only downside? Whisky lovers will need to sacrifice a single drop of their prized liquid gold to determine if they’re counterfeit or not. 

“You need to mix a drop of whisky with each polymer separately to obtain a useful signal,” he told the Daily Mail. “That is not an issue as we only need three different polymers. This could be used to look for counterfeit whiskies both on the mass market end and also at the super-high end.”

However, the reaction from professional tasters has been lukewarm. Leonardo Ciaccheri of the Italian National Research Council told Newscientist that the synthetic tongue needs to be exposed to many more whiskies in order to be reliable. 

The results from researchers showed that the dyes could distinguish between a Bowmore from a Poit Dhubh, but that still isn’t precise enough according to Ciaccheri.  

“One is a single malt and the other is blended,” told the publication. Instead Ciaccheri believes that the researchers need to try both single malt and blended whiskies from the same distillery. 

Bunz isn’t slowing down for anyone though. He’s already onto developing a synthetic tongue for tasting red wine. In the mean time the need for counterfeit whisky measures will continue to grow as prices skyrocket to as high as US$600,000 for a Japanese collection that recently went to auction. 

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The good people over at Stuttgart have been tinkering away again and this this time they’ve released their most powerful 911 model ever.

Dubbed the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series, the new Porsche packs a reworked version of the standard 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six engine to now produce 446kW of power and 750Nm of torque – eclipsing even the flagship GT3RS’ 368kW/480Nm output. With those specs the Turbo S is able to see away the 0-100km/h sprint in just 2.9 seconds.

On the aesthetic front Porsche have differentiated this model with big 20-inch wheels complete with a centre locking nut configuration (like the race-ready GT3RS) and paired it with an exclusive golden yellow metallic body colour with twin carbon racing stripes. Carbon fibre components also adorn the engine cover, door sills and rear wing with active aero in order provide a more aggressive demeanour. 

Stepping inside will reveal a similar colour combination with subtle yellow accents contrasted against dark Alcantara and leather splashed throughout the cockpit. And because this is an exclusive piece of kit from Porsche, they’ll also throw in a bespoke titanium Chronograph watch by Porsche Design for every owner.

Those keen to wrap their hands around the steering wheel will have to register their interest with Porsche Australia (and convince them that you’re not going to flip it for a profit) as only 500 examples of the Turbo S Exclusive Series will be built.

Local buyers can expect to fork out $590,700 if they want this car sitting in their garage. 

The post Porsche Unleash Their Most Powerful 911 Ever appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Anyone who has ever set foot inside Singapore’s Changi Airport will tell you that it’s more of a quasi-themepark of fun (unless you’re carrying narcotics) than a facility built for international transit. 

Adding to its already formidable list of leisure attractions which includes a shopping precinct, a butterfly garden, cinemas, a swimming pool and a hotel, Changi Airport will soon be welcoming the mother of all indoor waterfalls within its polished walls. The Jewel complex which is due for completion in 2019 will house a 40 metre indoor waterfall named the Rain Vortex – officially the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. 

RELATED: Skytrax Presents The World’s Best Airports Of 2017

The stunning visual feature will form part a striking architectural glass dome and span across multiple levels in Terminal 1 as part of the complex’s $1.63 billion price tag. Inside the climate-controlled dome will also be a five level garden to complement the water feature which recycles rain water collected from the dome’s roof. Come dusk and there’ll even be a light and sound show projected onto the waterfall for a dazzling display that’s sure to cause a many missed flights. 

For those who don’t fear heights, there’s a 50 metre bridge with transparent glass flooring which spans across the Rain Vortex so that you can Instagram until your heart’s content. Failing all of that, the Jewel will boast 300 shops complete with dining and beverage stops.

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In our hyper-interactive world where glaring screens rule the roost it can be tricky to nail down some quiet time. With winter upon us locally, the need to hibernate and rejuvenate intensifies. However, this inactivity inevitably leads to idle hours.

So, what’s a magnificent bastard to do when he’s devoured everything in his Netflix library? Curl up in your reading corner with a decent longform and feel the serenity of words on paper.

Here’s how to create a cool mini library in any given man space. Because intelligence is damn sexy.

Enter The Nook

If you have an unused space, an awkward corner under the stairs, or even an empty closet, then you’ve got the bones for a cosy reading corner. Because reading corners take up such little square footage, any empty corner can double as a literature-loving nook. From the bedroom to the garage, you can put them anywhere. Whatever spot you decide on, first take into account the amount of noise and foot traffic the area experiences. A reading nook next to the fridge might not be the best spot. Likewise, a reading corner too close to the living room will see you contending with TV fodder as you try to read. And don’t even get us started with a reading corner right behind a toilet seat…unless you love the serenity of bowel movements set against Moby Dick.

Watch The Throne

Aside from reading material, a plush chair is the most important aspect of any successful home library. Nobody wants to read on a stool, so boost your relaxation with an oversized chair with armrests (and massage functions if you’re a total boss). It’s hard to go past leather, but other seating options we’re frothing over are daybeds, built-in window seats and egg chairs. We also love this traditional southern-style look with leather, wood and gilded mirrors.

Table Service

Side tables and dainty little bedside numbers are generally overlooked by dudes. But a reading corner without a table just doesn’t function properly. You’ll end up with your coffee on the floor, your ashtray on the armrest and books that become tripping hazards at your feet. Do yourself a favour a put a little table next to your chair. Don’t have room? Try a floating table attached to the wall, or find tiny round varieties that can fit almost anywhere. 

Throw Shade With A Lamp

Unless you’re a shift worker, a reading nook will see the most action after dark. Ceiling lights are too harsh, so a good lighting plan is important. Comfortable reading conditions demand light that is not too bright and not too dull; it needs to be just right. A combination of ambient and focused lighting works best – this could include a floor lamp with pendant lighting. Floor lamps perform better than table lamps, but if you can’t squeeze one in, a desk variety will suffice.

Look The Business With A Bookshelf

Books need a home, so your reading nook needs a bookshelf, or storage of some description. Depending on your collection, a few floating shelves or recessed nooks could be enough, but in general a dedicated built-in or stand-alone bookshelf is the ideal option. Some shelving solutions come with glass sliding shutters (perfect for leather-bound beauties) that keep your books on display and dust-free.

If you’re a stacker, you could use piles of books to outline the space and define your nook, but don’t use this system for you first editions or books you read on the regular. It’s like playing Jenga trying to fish out the book at the bottom of the pile.

Little Effort, Lots Of Flair

Depending on how much space you have to fill, consider the following extras when fitting out your reading corner.

Foot-rest: ‘Put your feet up’ is one of our top five favourite phrases. It’s like music to our ears. A foot-rest, a pouffe, an ottoman, whatever the heck you want to call it, just find one that matches the rest of the setting and put those puppies in the air.

Rug: A rug will define your reading space and add warmth underfoot.

Pillows & throws: Amp up the comfort with a couple of pillows and textured throws. For cool rug inspiration check out our guide.

Plants: Big ones, small ones, everything in between. A few potted plants will purify the air in your reading nook, and add to the tranquil atmosphere.

The post How To Turn Your Reading Corner Into A Mini Home Library appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The adult colouring books craze is still going strong, and Color Me Cool is responsible for some of the most on-trend options in the game. The Los Angeles-based brand recently released Book 3, an ode to some of the world’s most beloved footwear. It’s the perfect gift for the artistically-inclined sneakerhead in your life.

Book 3 was penned by Aylmer Abrea, aka stomper_haus on Instagram, who is a self-described creator of “shitty drawings of your favorite shoes.” Abrea’s illustrations play with proportion, warping recognisable sneakers to strip away the seriousness of shoe design and emphasise certain features. The result is a fun, carefree vibe that simultaneously instills a greater appreciation for the design of the shoe.

Book 3 is a follow-up to Book 2, which also features illustrations of popular sneakers from brands like Converse, Nike, Adidas, Alexander McQueen, and Buscemi. Book 1 focuses on fashion, with influential icons like Ronnie Fieg, Rick Owens, Virgil Abloh, Karl Lagerfeld, and Yohji Yamamoto recreated in simple line drawings courtesy of artist Matt Mckinley.

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