European Charm Abounds in Fishtown’s Hôtel Anna & Bel 

STAY
European Charm Abounds in Fishtown’s Quaint Hôtel Anna & Bel

An 19th-century women’s boarding house in Fishtown, Philly’s industrial neighborhood turned artist enclave, has once more opened its doors to guests. No longer the Penn Asylum for Indigent Widows and Single Women, it’s been reborn as the 50-key boutique Hôtel Anna & Bel. In keeping with its high summer opening, a Mediterranean sensibility runs through its landscaped courtyard, where guests can slip into the pool or, in the colder months, the adjacent wellness center’s infrared sauna. 

Inside, an assortment of contemporary art from local talents was curated by Paradigm Art Advisory and bridges the 18th-century building with the neighborhood’s present. Bastia, a nascent daytime cafe and after-hours restaurant from chef-partner Tyler Akin, will proffer a seafood-forward menu inspired by Corsican and Sardinian fare. After a day spent out and about in the City of Brotherly Love, guests can savor Le Labo bath amenities and Frette linens, and take refuge in plush rooms designed by Foyer Project and B. March. —Jenna Adrian-Diaz

SHOP
An Airy Saint-Germain Flagship for L’Uniform

In its debut boutique, tucked along the Seine in Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, L’Uniform captures the ease and utility of Japandi style. Interiors by Swedish firm Halleroed combine touches like Noguchi pendant lighting and Nakashima chairs, with a spirit of easy Scandinavian minimalism. The firm’s approach reflects that of L’Uniform: a canvas accessories brand founded by Jeanne Signoles, who sought to realize practical silhouettes suited to everyday life in heritage-quality materials like cotton canvas and leather. —J.A.D.

OBSESS
Montblanc: Collection Fragrances

As the leather and writing instrument maison prepares to celebrate the centenary of its renowned Meisterstück pen, it seems to have turned to fragrance as a storytelling medium. The lineup of four scents in its Montblanc Collection—Black Meisterstück, Patchouli Ink, Extreme Leather, and Vetiver Glacier—launches later this month and pays homage to the brand’s deep roots in writing culture and leatherworking. For proof, look no further than the bottles themselves, which are shaped like ink vessels. From $140. —J.A.D.

SOURCE
A Vintage Design Gallery Sets Out to Do Something Different

Trevor Cheney may have began his career as an industrial designer for the likes of Muji and Vitra, but over time he sparked an interest in 18th-century antiques and vintage furniture. That led him to a stint as creative director at Galerie Half in Los Angeles, working as an independent design advisor for clients like Jennifer Aniston, and launching Seventh House, a design gallery in the home of Frank Gehry’s understated Danziger Studio, where his meticulous curation of early 20th-century furniture and contemporary pieces by the likes of Giancarlo Valle and Green River Project engage in a rigorous dialogue with the architecture.

In response to the intrigue generated by Seventh House, Cheney was pushed to launch an even more daring venture. This summer, he debuted an eponymous gallery near his old stomping ground on Melrose Avenue that hosts a thoughtful selection of antique design marked by rich textures, pristine craftsmanship, and old-world materials. The tightly edited collection (his new storefront clocks in at a compact 800 square feet) comprises mostly vintage one-offs chosen specifically for their provenance and historical weight: a Madagascar opalescent glass chandelier by René Lalique, for example, neighbors a 1960s Okimono bronze crab sculpture from Japan. He aims to cement his adopted hometown as a sincere backdrop for experimental curation—and position the vintage design he loves in a hopeful light. —Ryan Waddoups

SAVOR
Art Deco Decadence Shines at the Dover Mayfair

Behind an unassuming velvet-curtained entrance in London’s posh Mayfair neighborhood, a labyrinthine series of cozy alcoves hosts the Art Deco–inspired bar and restaurant The Dover. The Italian haunt, launched by former Soho House executive Martin Kuczmarski, is a lavish take on a bygone era of wood-paneled and white-tablecloth dining rooms. Kuczmarski enlisted Quincoces-Dragò & Partners to craft its moody ambiance, for which the firm then turned to Murano glass pendants and chandeliers, classic checkerboard flooring, and a plethora of floor-to-ceiling walnut wall paneling. On the menu, classic Italian savory fare like Branzino filets and a considerable pasta lineup are complemented by an inventive dessert cocktail selection. Highlights there include an Irish cream shakerato and an affogato martini. —J.A.D

VISIT
A Dream House of Delightfully Surreal Ceramics

Housed in Adolph Gottlieb’s former East Hampton studio, a group show of nearly 30 ceramics opening this weekend veers into the dreamlike and delightfully surreal. “Dream House,” organized by the Los Angeles gallery Stroll Garden, conjures an atmosphere where domestic objects defy their traditional roles and creep into the fantastical. Works range from the avant-garde with masterful manipulation of scale, as seen in Lindsay Lou Howard’s towering Plant Based burger to the utterly uncanny, as with Amiee Byrne’s lifelike Teddy bear. The hyperrealistic Purple Carrot by Ryan Flores could’ve been plucked from an illusory garden, its leafy tendrils reaching skyward. Throughout, reality gently disconnects as one meanders through a summer daze. —J.A.D.

PLAY
A Tokyo-Style Cocktail Bar Plants Roots in Detroit

The Aladdin Sane, a new cocktail lounge in Downtown Detroit’s newly restored Book Tower, channels Tokyo’s whisky bars with a statement-making live edge mahogany bar and a captivating mural by Reverend Michael Allen. The moody ambiance, cultivated by Stokes Architecture and Design and Method Co, is complemented by a cocktail program from Natasha David, an alumnus of New York institutions like Maison Premiere and Nitecap. Her program includes highlights like the Sake & Strange Divine—made with sake, shiso, rice whisky, and caviar. True to its inspirational roots, The Aladdin Sane also has serious whiskey chops, with extremely rare editions of Yamazaki 18 and Glenfiddich 29 on offer. —J.A.D.