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Category / Inspiration Vault

Treehouses are Having a Moment in Travel. Here are the Most Epic.

It’s the crown jewel of any kid’s backyard, park, and middle school daydreams: Treehouses. For being something so utterly simple – it’s just a house with legs, amiright? – never cease to spark a sense of wonder in us, and luckily, we’re not alone. From the far reaches of a tribe in Indonesia, to a…

Stop Everything, it’s a Historic Bookshop For Sale with Everything Inside it

Every once in a while, the Internet gods deliver us a property listing that hits every MessyNessy sweet spot. Quaint antique architecture? Check. Unexpected links to remarkable figures and inventions throughout history? Double check. Make it a library, and you’ve dreamt up our perfect spot, aka Clough’s Bookshop in Cherry Valley, New York. The 178-year-old…

Camping in a 1920s Tram Lost in the Forest

I stumbled on a photo of this weathered and whimsical train car on Pinterest and went digging frantically for the location, to see if it really existed. And my efforts were not in vain, for soon enough, I found that not only does this place exist, but you can actually stay here and make yourself at home. Welcome…

The Prettiest Pissoirs of Bygone Paris

Paris has always had a knack for making the ordinary and the mundane somehow look infinitely more charming, and even the city’s public toilets were once a thing of beauty… In the 1860s, French photographer Charles Marville was named the official photographer of Paris. Until his death in 1879, he documented the richness and diversity…

The Tik Tok Generation Needs a Movie about The Abernathy Kids

In 1910, two boys, Louis and Temple Abernathy decided to cross America by horseback without adult supervision, from Oklahoma to Manhattan. They were just 10 and 6 years old. To get back home, they bought a car and drove it while their horses returned by train. This true but forgotten little adventure story struck me…

He was Meant to Be Bigger than Bowie

He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label, declaring himself “glam rock’s truest fairy” to slack-jawed media critics and listeners alike. Touted as America’s successor to David Bowie, he was signed to Elektra Records for $500K and for a brief New York minute in the early 1970s,…

How to Celebrate Native Americans this Thanksgiving

It’s 2020, which means it’s as good a time as any to recalibrate Thanksgiving. Not just by taking precautions to socially distance ourselves with loved ones at risk during these Strange and Uncertain Times, but also, by giving more thought about what we’re celebrating – and more importantly, who we’re giving thanks to. In lieu…

Dream Home du Jour: Live like a Victorian Shopkeeper

A charming slice of London history in the heart of Spitalfields Market has recently hit the market and stolen our hearts. The three-bedroom property includes a Grade II-listed shop on the ground floor, which retains the original Victorian signage, advertising the services of a milliner by the name of A. Gold, which operated at 42…

The Art of Homemaking in a World War Dugout

It all started with one photograph that caught my interest, and then through the course of today, I think I’ve easily gone through about 10,000 photographs, searching through various archives for another glimpse into how soldiers made a home for themselves on the front line. Above: A French WWI dugout called “The Chalet” (c) Denise…

An Ode to what they call “Duck Architecture”

Now I know. Did you? There’s an official name for all those kitschy roadside buildings shaped like the merchandise they’re selling. Most popular in the 1920s and 30s, giant coffee pots, hot dogs, ice cream cones, beer barrels, farm animals and other eye-catching buildings sprang up along the roadside, competing for the attention of passing…

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