Cassandra LaValle

Hence the very chic and sunny mood of our May Editor's Picks! It's got that vacation vibe that we're going for down there! Here's why I dig it: It's perfect for a bathroom. It is also of course, perfect as an actual bar cart because unlike most of them, it's truly petite enough to wheel around to anywhere in the house to offer up a little cocktail moment.

We often think of color as the first way to tie a home together, but in this modern Parisian apartment you'll find that the materials used are what really do the trick. A totally custom office area sits just off the living room, and a very clever built-in bar opens to the kitchen. The deco style very much reminds me of some of my favorite Parisian hotels, and I love seeing it in someone's actual home! The bedroom is divided by a long row of closets from the bathroom, in the same woven cane that appeared in the kitchen before opening into this massive, gorgeous bathroom.

(I discovered that we had like 5 umbrellas! ), and making responsible decisions on what to donate (a lot of it! ) or throw away (only what's necessary, like broken items that aren't suitable for donation). I sorted through it all, down to the last nubby pencil and stray spare change, then put things back in the closet to see what kind of space we were working with. This closet required a spot for some 'office' type of organization, plenty of bins for all kinds of storage, and a toolbox for items that I use a lot around the house (because I'm lazy and don't like to run downstairs every time I need a hammer! ). I used small toy storage bins for items like light bulbs, and the bamboo bins you see here for garden tools and dog accessories.

My top choice would be Casa Mãe. Blocks from the beach, the hotel welcomes visitors with terracotta floors, a palette of blue and white, and a mix of historic and modern. The main house - renovated from the ground up - hosts larger suites, while a newly-constructed building offers more minimal rooms. The hotel cooks with locally sourced items from its own gardens and surrounding farms, feeds scraps from the kitchen to their chickens, and even offers its own organic skincare line guests. And finally, the cabana rooms (of which there are only three! ) have a serious beach vibe to them with their own large ground-level patios that open up to the gardens.