i’m still going through my photos from europe but i wanted to add some of my european design highlights. to be honest, i tried not to make the trip about design for me because i needed a little break from it all and well, ac was with me. can’t drag the poor guy to every shop in paris. to me, paris and amsterdam were about the little things: the smell of fresh bread, good wine, the blue skies in montmartre and the way the light floated through the trees in amsterdam. those stuck with me more than any chair, lamp or rug, but, since we’re talking design here, here were some of my favorite design stops along the way…

the most memorable design shop for me was french touche in montmartre. i’d read about it in lucky so for me it was my parisian mecca. some of the larger design shops in paris were great, but after living in ny a lot of the brands and designs were familiar. but, french touche was different. it felt local- it felt like the rare device of paris- i loved every square inch. tons of indie french designers and tiny cute accessories. since i couldn’t bring back anything too big, it was perfect for me. i picked up some great atelier lcz dish towels, a tiny french light and some tiny porcelain bowls with hand painted feathers on them. you can click here for a french touche slideshow. if you head to paris, it’s a MUST visit. cute, small and full of character.

amsterdam was full of great window shopping. one of the first things i did was visit the frozen fountain. lots of studio job, hella and vitra. gorgeous collection and a beautiful location, but it didn’t hit me like the simple window decorations i saw in real people’s homes. so many homes in amsterdam are right on the water near the prinsengracht and it was great to peek in and see the gorgeous houses. click here for some more amsterdam shots.

in amsterdam i stopped in a shop called noho on the rozengracht (hysterical) and loved a lot of the little accessories and storage pieces (like the wooden trash pail) and fun grass cushions. i also LOVED a store called jan, very, very cool (off the 4 line). but what i loved most was experiencing a new culture that was so different than my own.