17 pictures and videos that take you inside Beyoncé and Jay-Zs luxurious mansion in Bel Air, California

Table Of Content

• Beyoncé's living room
• $250 Million NYC Penthouse (PHOTOS + FLOOR PLANS)
• pictures and videos that take you inside Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s luxurious mansion in Bel Air, California
• The Dark Chalet – An Architectural Masterpiece In Utah
• Check Out Ludacris’ Hollywood Residence
• A peek at Beyoncé and Jay-Z's Tadao Ando-designed mansion – the 'priciest home' in Californian history

The Los Angeles Times Hot Property section confirmed this news on August 18th of 2017. Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s $88 million offer was accepted and the purchase was official. The pair began building their joint real estate empire in 2008, when they were married.

Double Feature: Beyoncé’s ‘My House’ Premieres in Top 10 on Rap & Dance Charts - Billboard

Double Feature: Beyoncé’s ‘My House’ Premieres in Top 10 on Rap & Dance Charts.

Posted: Thu, 14 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Beyoncé's living room

Instead, it was the residence and setting for Beyoncé's "Halo" music video, as per Refinery 29. In this YouTube clip about making the music video, we see Beyoncé and her on-screen love interest Michael Ealy lounge in the bedroom as the videographers work out the perfect angle for the shot. A whole year passed before the couple successfully purchased their dream home in 2017.

$250 Million NYC Penthouse (PHOTOS + FLOOR PLANS)

According to The Brooklyn Ink, Jay-Z's early childhood was spent in unit 524 of the Marcy Housing Projects. They began to work together on each other's projects, further cementing their bond. A joint album was produced, joint tours were executed, and they grew Tidal together, as per Us Weekly. Their empire skyrocketed, with Forbes naming them as a billionaire duo in 2018.

pictures and videos that take you inside Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s luxurious mansion in Bel Air, California

Per TMZ, Beyoncé and Jay-Z recently paid $200 million for a Malibu mansion, which makes it the most expensive home to ever be sold in California. According to the Los Angeles Times, their new L-shaped property is a minimalist combination of concrete and glass designed by award-winning architect Tadao Ando. The mansion reportedly spans almost 40,000 square feet, and the Carters will be able to enjoy outdoor patios that lead to a swimming pool, cabana, and a lawn with a cliff view of the Pacific Ocean.

The Dark Chalet – An Architectural Masterpiece In Utah

Beyoncé's childhood Houston home catches fire on Christmas - KHOU.com

Beyoncé's childhood Houston home catches fire on Christmas.

Posted: Mon, 25 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Around age four, he became fascinated with houses; at his local and school library he discovered Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler, and Richard Neutra as well as Frank Israel. Couple all that with “sleek and sexy exteriors,” and it’s a recipe for record prices. The couple have their own terrace, with white wooden decking and railing. It overlooks the grounds of their property, including their four outdoor swimming pools.

000 Square Foot Stone Home In Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Its rise in the rankings of the favorite spots of the super-rich was solidified again in past weeks, with reports that Beyoncé and Jay-Z purchased a 40,000 sq ft oceanfront mansion in the coastal enclave. “[It] came on the market right around the same time that Lehmann Brothers crashed, and it sold for a lot of money,” McClean says. The address sold in 2005 for $2.6 million; in 2009, after McClean’s work, it went for $10 million. “That made people take notice of the house.” A slew of requests for projects in the area began, and they’ve never really stopped. His office of no more than a dozen people is still based in Orange County, in the retro downtown of the city of Orange, and now designs around a dozen homes a year. Nearly all are in Southern California, most between 4,000 and 12,000 square feet.

While the above photo isn't of her exact condo, it's of a similarly sized and priced unit in the building. According to Us Weekly, that same year, after ending their world tour, Destiny's Child announced they were splitting up, and Bey launched her solo career. News obtained exclusive images of the property, which was in its final stages of a four-year construction project at the time they were taken.

She does this a lot through her music, like when she appeared in a pageant contest representing the Third Ward in her "Pretty Hurts" music video. For those unfamiliar with Queen Bey's stomping yard, Third Ward is one of Houston's six historic wards (via PopSugar). While giving a house tour to the crew of the Fox News network, she talked about the ambiance of the neighborhood. The main thing that stands out once you step inside is the spectacular view from the floor-to-ceiling windows. We imagine this is where the couple enjoys some downtime with their kids on a lazy afternoon…if they have such a thing as a lazy afternoon. The two have been “crazy in love” since 2001 and now have three kids together, Blue Ivy, Rumi, and Sir Carter.

My next stop with McClean is a secluded stretch known as Billionaire’s Row, in the hillside Beverly Hills micro-neighborhood of Trousdale. Here, one is as likely to see a vintage Thunderbird or a house with a crest—or, for that matter, a McClean—as a human being. But homeowners in exclusive enclaves like these don’t like change, especially 30,000 square feet of it.

The main building features floor-to-ceiling glass windows across the entire ground floor. Beyonce showed a tiny glimpse inside the family kitchen when she posted a photo of herself after arranging a bunch of flowers. It has dark wooden floors (which run throughout the property), and large patio doors with white frames leading out onto the terrace. Perhaps understandably, Beyoncé keeps many of her home's decorating ideas private – however, there are some exceptions. The singer sometimes shares her home's interiors via Instagram, and rare interviews similarly paint a picture of the residence.

The birth of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's twins in 2017 may have warranted a change of space for the couple. Just one week after Sir and Rumi Carter came into the world, the family temporarily moved into the 6.3-acre Malibu residence known as La Villa Contenta, as per Dirt. According to The Sun, the couple rented the home for approximately $400,000 a month. This was 10 times more than Jay-Z paid in the past for his Time Warner rental, which further signaled the growth that the "Young Forever" rap artist has achieved over the years. According to StreetEasy, another rental in which the entertainment king and queen lived on the East Coast was this Bridgehampton home, which cost them $400,000 per month. Following their 2008 nuptials, the Carters bought a swanky villa in Biscayne Bay, Miami, as per StreetEasy.

Here are 20 photos of Beyonce and Jay Z’s Bel Air mansion so that you can see for yourself. Beyoncé and Jay Z’s private collection is extensive, including works from Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Mark Rothko, and a Tiffany-blue Basquiat. Beyoncé and Jay-Z reportedly just bought a house that—between the price, the size, and the world-class architectural pedigree—would break any design lover’s soul.

That same neighbor liked my older son and always said ‘Hola Denis’ even though my son’s name is not remotely close to Denis. My wife got a new job that compelled us to move to a new town, so our time at the Italian house was pretty short. The obvious highlight of the mudslide house was the mudslide provoked from Tropical Storm Nate. Hours of an unceasing deluge of pounding rain caused a significant portion of the small mountain behind our house to pour into our kitchen.

Case Study House #8

Table Of Content

• The Eames House: A Living Laboratory for Design Exploration
• From the Ground Up: Mid Century Modern Design
• Country With the Most Tallest Buildings – The Most Skyscrapers
• The Design of the House
• Partnering with the Getty

Charles and Ray Eames were a husband-and-wife design team who became icons of mid-20th-century modern design. Working primarily in the United States, they gained prominence for their contributions across multiple disciplines, including architecture, furniture design, industrial design, film, and exhibitions. Perhaps best known for their innovative furniture pieces, like the Eames Lounge Chair and Molded Plastic Chairs, they also left a lasting impact on architecture, most notably with the Eames House, also known as Case Study House No. 8. Their work is characterized by a playful yet disciplined approach, with a focus on functional design, innovative use of materials, and the importance of user experience.

The Eames House: A Living Laboratory for Design Exploration

The problem was that to respect the wishes of Charles and Ray Eames, the house could not be sealed off like typical museums. The idea was for living things like plants and flowers to still be very evident in the house and for visitors to use the house as Charles and Ray intended it to be used. This meant that live plants had to be included and windows and doors had to be in working condition. The bedroom has a sliding wood panel in the middle, that when closed, clearly divides the Eames House bedroom into a separate master bedroom and a guest bedroom when needed. The Eames House bedroom overlooks the double-volume living area and acts as a mezzanine level.

From the Ground Up: Mid Century Modern Design

Eames Office X Globe Silhouette Series Are Decked Out in Iconic Designs - Design Milk

Eames Office X Globe Silhouette Series Are Decked Out in Iconic Designs.

Posted: Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Today, the Eames House functions as a house museum, preserving the everyday workings of the husband-and-wife design team. Founded in 2004 by Charles’s daughter, Lucia Eames, the Eames Foundation makes the residence accessible to visitors, students, and conservators alike. The house is situated on a three-acre site on top of an 150-foot cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The site is a flat parcel on otherwise steep land that creates a retaining wall to the west.

Country With the Most Tallest Buildings – The Most Skyscrapers

The Eames House, Case Study House 8, was one of roughly two-dozen homes built as part of The Case Study House Program. John Entenza, the publisher of Arts & Architecture magazine, spearheaded the program in the mid-1940s, and it continued through the early 1960s. In a challenge to the architectural community, the magazine announced that it would be the client for a series of homes designed to express man's life in the modern world. These houses were to be built and furnished using materials and techniques derived from the experiences of the Second World War.

The Eames House had a large impact on interior design as a concept and is overall very inspirational to architects and interior designers alike. Charles and Ray Eames were pioneers of combining human-centered design with warmth and comfort to create a perfect living and working space for them, their family, and guests. John Entenza had the 5 acre clifftop meadow and decided to sell the Eames’ a plot and also have Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen design him a small home next door.

There is, however, a corrugated glass screen that conceals the utility area behind the kitchen, where food was prepared in copious amounts by Ray on a regular basis. This was because they loved hosting others but also believed that the mess of daily life should be hidden in some way from your guests to make their experience as pleasurable as possible. They did this by merging the two buildings while still making use of the same amounts of materials, with the addition of a single steel segment.

The Eames’ published their plans for an elevated house, but revised the plans after some of the materials had already arrived on site. Charles then had the additional constraint of using the ordered steel, the resulting house having much thinner steel columns than contemporary steel houses, by Mies van der Rohe and Raphael Soriano. The Eames House is an icon of Los Angeles modern architecture designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1949.

A mezzanine level was added, making use of a prefabricated spiral stair that was to have been the lower entrance. The 17 foot (5.1 m) tall facade is broken down into a rigidly geometric, almost Mondrianesque composition of brightly colored panels between thin steel columns and braces, painted black. An existing row of eucalyptus trees was preserved along the exposed wall of the house, providing some shading and a visual contrast with the house's bold facade. As for the interior design, the Eameses' collection includes, among others, Isamu Noguchi floor lamps, Japanese kokeshi dolls, Chinese lacquered pillows, a Native American basket full of woven grass stems. The Eames House (also known as Case Study House No. 8) is a landmark of mid-20th century modern architecture located at 203 North Chautauqua Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was constructed in 1949, by husband-and-wife design pioneers Charles and Ray Eames, to serve as their home and studio.

Partnering with the Getty

Books, fabrics, folk art, prisms, shells, rocks and straw baskets….groupings unified by each element’s careful selection and the overall curation. This may be a modern structure, but it is filled with, as one writer intimated, a wonderful Victorian clutter. While these objects have, for the most part, nominal value as individual pieces, they have a huge value as part of the carefully-placed collection.

There, as at Eames’ House, the architecture alternated between the role of sculptural object, floating in the landscape, and frame for the view of the landscape itself. Privacy was a third concern, and one that trailed so badly that Johnson ultimately moved from the house in order to live in the guest house—the constant sense of exhibitionism imposed by the glass walls had begun to rattle his nerves. Eames’ film was so successful in setting the tone for the interpretation of the house that it still dominates readings today. Everything about the film conceals the structure, and focuses on the circulating collection of tchotchkes and keepsakes, flashes of detail rather than spatial relations. Perhaps even more significant is the way that the Eames’ exploit the paradoxical capacity of still photography to capture transience. As well as textures, they sought out shadows, the temporary play of light through leaves, and reflections on polished glass.

Unusually for such an avant-garde design, the Eames publicized the house as a thoroughly lived-in, usable, and well-loved home. SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. The current building was initially designed as the “Bridge House” by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen. Early sketches were published in the Arts & Architecture magazine in 1945, however war-related shortages delayed construction.

In fact, it has changed little from when Charles was also alive, and even from 1958 when the team consolidated their creative work at the Eames Office located in Venice, California. "All of these things have kind of signaled either a certain kind of middle-classness, white liberal Democrat, to just be frank, or this HENRY — high earner, not rich yet — lifestyle," Guy said. None of the men I talked to could pinpoint exactly why they wanted the chair — it's aspirational, it's nice, it's comfortable, though not as comfortable as the couch or a La-Z-Boy. The Eames chair seems eco-friendly, too — they're not going to be tossing it out in two years. Many of them had gotten the chairs during or after the pandemic, at a moment when a lot of people had money to spend and nowhere to spend it and were spending an extra-large amount of time at home. He compares it to a Rolex or a Porsche, where some people want it because it looks cool or is a status symbol, while others are "purists and absolute nut jobs" who obsess over the details.

I’ve seen photos of the Eames house a million times, but to see it in person was simply fantastic. We offer you extensive information about the history of art, analyses of famous artworks, artist biopics, information on architecture, literature, photography, painting, and drawing. She received her B-tech degree in interior design from the University of Johannesburg in 2018 and has worked at various interior design firms since and had a few of her own freelance interior design clients under her company name binnekant. The Eames House is an almost perfect example of the De Stijl movement that originated outside of Europe. The most obvious characteristics are the versatility and openness of the interior space. After the Eameses passed, the house also remained mostly unchanged and very well preserved throughout the years.

New Status Symbol for Rich Young Men: a $7,000 Herman Miller Chair

Table Of Content

• Jens Risom: Master Furniture Maker
• This Is Only An Exterior Tour
• How Much Does It Cost to Visit the Eames House?
• Art Periods – A Detailed Look at the Art History Timeline
• Country With the Most Tallest Buildings – The Most Skyscrapers
• Guided Exterior Tour

The mezzanine was originally used only for storage, but also served occasionally as the guest quarters. The underside of the ribbed ceiling of the Ferrobord roof decking was painted white, which makes the colorful primary painted exposed web joists stand out against it and makes it a design feature in its own right. The interior of the house is a completely free-flowing space with no evident divisions between spaces, even private and public areas are blurred. For example, the bedroom on the top floor overlooks the public living area on the bottom floor, with only a short terrace that joins the two rooms.

Case study conservation on the Eames' Case Study House - Los Angeles Times

Case study conservation on the Eames' Case Study House.

Posted: Sat, 18 May 2013 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Jens Risom: Master Furniture Maker

Charles's daughter, Lucia Eames, inherited the home and created the non-profit organization, the Eames Foundation, in 2004. Still a historic house museum maintained by the Eames Foundation, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006[2] and serves as a pilgrimage site for nearly 20,000 visitors a year (reservations are required). The Eames House embraced new materials, technology, and a bright palette of primary colors on the exterior. More significantly, the original plans included spaces typical of most nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century houses, while the built plan does not. The Eameses omitted the fireplace from the final version of the house, a gesture towards technological advances in heating systems like radiant floor heating.

This Is Only An Exterior Tour

Solely making use of the off-the-shelf parts that were ordered, along with one extra steel beam, a two double-story structure with two parts was erected and designed into the landscape, instead of just enforcing the building on top of it. A concrete retaining wall that is 8 feet tall and 200 feet long acts as a support for the steel frame. The steel frame of the house consists of two rows of four-inch I-beams that were placed 20 feet apart.

How Much Does It Cost to Visit the Eames House?

The Eameses moved in Christmas of that year, and remained in the house until their death. Their 2-part home was originally going to sit across the meadow like a bridge, but after the couple came to love the space, they realized they wanted their home to be more integrated with the landscape, instead of dominating it. I feel so lucky I could get reservations for this tour and participate in this experience. One of the craziest facts I learned on this trip is that Ray and Charles Eames purchased this site before they designed any of their iconic pieces or were famous. It’s hard to imagine a time when designers could afford to buy oceanfront property near Santa Monica so early in their careers. As soon as you check in and walk through the gate, you are hit by what a unique and inspirational place Charles and Ray Eames created.

The parts were ordered and the Bridge House design was published in the December 1945 issue of the magazine, but due to a war-driven shortage, the steel did not arrive until late 1948. The Eames House doesn’t just make a statement from the outside; the interiors are equally compelling. The house is a melting pot of the Eameses’ diverse interests and design sensibilities—featuring Isamu Noguchi lamps, Thonet chairs, Native American baskets, and more. The living spaces are meticulously designed to serve multiple functions—a living room that transforms into a workspace, alcoves that turn into intimate conversation spots, and hallways lined with functional storage closets. It was constructed in 1949 by husband-and-wife design pioneers Charles and Ray Eames, to serve as their home and studio. The house is a living laboratory of the Eameses’ ideas and creativity, illuminating their approaches to life and work in a multi-layered, visceral manner.

Between the steel frames are a variety of transparent and solid-colored panels that are made from glass, fiberglass-like “pylon”, asbestos, plywood, and plaster. These panels were arranged specifically according to the changing sunlight inside the house throughout the day. Charles strongly believed in the architectural design principles of Frank Lloyd Wright, which unfortunately resulted in him being expelled from Washington University’s architecture program. In terms of his architecture career, he designed three houses in St. Louis as well as two churches in Arkansas without an architecture license. The iconic Eames House, or Case Study House #8, is a must see for any fan of modern architecture.

Art Periods – A Detailed Look at the Art History Timeline

Charles and Ray met in 1940 at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where Charles was first a scholar of an industrial design fellowship, but later became an instructor. Ray enrolled in multiple courses at the academy in order to expand upon her preceding education in abstract painting. The objective of the house was for it to be built entirely from prefabricated materials that would not in any way disturb the site and surrounding nature while demonstrating a modern style that is economical and easy to build. The Eames weren’t the only ones to realize that the house of the architect had to be a theatre for architecture.

What the film with its charms leaves strangely obscure is the pure structure of the Eames’ house itself. Help us share the Eameses’ joy and rigor with future visitors, so they mayhave a direct experience of Charles and Ray’s approach to life and work. No refunds or date exchanges will be issued, except when the site is closed in response to elevated fire or Covid-19 concerns. For the safety of the staff and others, please cancel your visit if you are sick or have been in contact with any person who has or may have contracted Covid-19 in the last 2 weeks, prior to the tour. Young men, especially those with higher incomes, have a good amount of purchasing power. As many of them are getting married later or foregoing buying houses, they've also got cash to spend.

Guided Exterior Tour

The design used pre-fabricated materials ordered from industrial and commercial catalogs. Materials were ordered for the Bridge House and the design was published in the December 1945 issue of the magazine, but due to a war-driven shortage, the steel did not arrive until late 1948. By then, according to Ray, she and Charles had “fallen in love with the meadow.” The nature of the site, and the Eameses themselves, yearned for a different solution.

Ice Cube Explains Why the Eames House, and L.A. as a Whole, Are So Damn Awesome - We Like L.A.

Ice Cube Explains Why the Eames House, and L.A. as a Whole, Are So Damn Awesome.

Posted: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 07:00:00 GMT [source]

In 2004, Charles's daughter, Lucia Eames, created a not-for-profit organization called the Eames Foundation to preserve and protect the Eames House and to provide educational experiences that celebrate the creative legacy of Charles and Ray Eames.

It was designed and constructed in 1949 by husband-and-wife Charles and Ray Eames to serve as their home and studio. Two distinct boxes make up the residence—one serves as the living quarters and the other as a studio. The house and studio are separated by a concrete retaining wall that integrates seamlessly with the existing landscape.

The lines were blurred between their living and working life, and as such their guests were usually the happy guinea pigs of their new inventions. Originally, the house was baptized the “Bridge House” and designs were published by Charles Eames and fellow architect Eero Saarinen. In 2004, Charles’s daughter, Lucia Eames, created a non-profit organization called the Eames Foundation to preserve and protect the Eames House and provide educational experiences that celebrate the creative legacy of Charles and Ray. The Eames Foundation was founded in 2004 to preserve and protect the Eames House as it faced several conservation challenges. In 2012, after consulting with a number of experts, the Foundation partnered with the Conservation Institute to create a long-term conservation strategy.

9 Best Photo Book Makers of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

Table Of Content

• As Chosen by Our Favorite Book Cover Designers
• Book Cover templates to edit online
• Typography
• Free eBook Cover generator with free templates
• Best Value Custom Photo Book Maker
• Multiple designers (who find you)

How many times have we purchased a product solely for its design? They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to selecting a book, we're drawn to original and captivating covers, even though the content remains the most crucial aspect. Create a cover for your book easily, quickly, and professionally with the Edit.org graphic editor.

As Chosen by Our Favorite Book Cover Designers

Double-check the alignment and spacing of all elements to achieve visual balance. Assess the color contrast and readability to guarantee that the text is legible against the chosen background. Simplicity and clarity are key here; a cluttered or confusing design can deter potential readers. On the other hand, cool tones like blues and greens evoke a sense of calm, making them suitable for genres like mystery, fantasy, or self-help. The right color scheme not only aligns with the book’s content and genre but also grabs attention amidst a myriad of other book covers, enhancing its visual appeal and memorability. The color palette of a book cover is akin to its emotional palette.

Book Cover templates to edit online

If you're looking for images to use on your cover, you can find just about anything you want on either free or paid sites. Although I don't recommend Fiverr, I believe the concepts from this article can be applied to working with any designer. In this article, whether you’re design-talented or a design-n0t-s0-inclined, I've got the steps that will work for you. If you want to know more about hiring the best designer for your unique needs, keep reading.

Typography

Is the design aligned with the book’s genre and theme? These insights will shed light on elements that may need tweaking or enhancement. Remember, the goal is not just to design a cover you like, but one that resonates with your potential readers. Begin by selecting the appropriate software, keeping in mind your comfort and proficiency levels. Start placing the crucial elements like title, author name, imagery, and any other specifics onto the canvas. Experiment with different layouts, fonts, colors, and imagery to see how they interact and contribute to the overall visual appeal.

Free eBook Cover generator with free templates

However, not everyone’s budget can stretch a few hundred dollars further, which is why a lot of authors will choose to dabble in design themselves. If you are considering a DIY cover, here are some essential resources to help you on your way. Learn the fundamentals of book design, from creating beautiful covers to formatting and typesetting professional-grade interiors. Antique Book Cover Template will save you time and money when you need just the right mockup to showcase your book cover design ideas.

Now that the front cover has been completed, all that’s left is to use the design to fit your various book formats. With the details locked in, it’s time to put a lick of paint on it. You’ll see this approach in a lot of nonfiction and literary fiction these days, where the focus of the design is a creative manipulation of the title text. If your genre’s design trends call for a character to feature on the cover, think about how much of their face you want to show.

Best Value Custom Photo Book Maker

She also has experience fact checking commerce articles and holds a B.A. In English and Italian Studies from Connecticut College. The slow reveal of the snake gets me every time I look at this jacket. There’s such a perfect balance of tension between the exuberant color palette and that lurking snake.

Leah Jacobs-Gordon on the artistry of book cover design - Creative Boom

Leah Jacobs-Gordon on the artistry of book cover design.

Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 12:00:00 GMT [source]

Complimentary colors (across from each other on the color wheel) tend to work well together, as do analogous colors (next to each other on the color wheel) of combined dark and light tints. This can include stock images that you obtain the rights to use or original photography that you either commission or take yourself. There are plenty of free or paid photographs available on the internet. You can use photographs for your book cover for a variety of reasons.

Experimentation allows you to gauge what works and what doesn’t, enabling you to make informed design decisions. It’s rare to get the perfect design on the first try, and this phase allows you to tweak and enhance elements, ensuring the final book cover design is polished and visually compelling. Utilize color schemes and imagery that encapsulate the mood of your story. Even if you plan to design your own book cover, creating a structured design brief can help you make sure that you’re incorporating all of the necessary elements based on your research. Book cover design is where artistry meets strategy in self-publishing. Your book cover acts as a powerful ambassador, inviting readers into your narrative world.

Poetry is all about engaging with a subject in a unique and subjective way, and poetry book covers are no different. The room for creative suggestion and the communication of mood is vast. This selection of covers from artists around the world is testimony to that.

It’s not just about art—it’s about visual storytelling. Next, it’s important to consider what your design direction will be and how it will fit the author’s vision of her book. There are lots of beautiful books out there—but not all designs will work for every book. Make a Pinterest board of comparable titles with successful covers and book packages.

And that weird lettering—a script-stencil hybrid—shouldn’t work, but of course, Thomas pulls it off and the result is this strange, poetic work of art. I really admire the overall effect of this art and particularly love how wonderful and idiosyncratic the type is. Just so minimal and beautiful with clear consideration over every detail.

Given the weight of the assignment, it’s perhaps no surprise that it took a lot of work. It’s restrained, if not elegant—yet hauntingly captures the story of Rushdie’s attack and his recovery in the wake of it. More and more, I feel myself drawn to super bold designs. I love the beautiful sky, elegant type and the little dots of sparkle on the print edition.

But that cover is also the first step in converting a curious reader into your customer. In other words, it’s not wasted time — if you do it right. Don’t put a dragon on your book cover if there are no dragons.

I love the colors, illustration style, and gradient background. I think it’s a sophisticated twist on the illustrated romance covers. In an age when big type dominates, I love seeing a design that begs you to look closer and examine it. Instead of broadcasting to the reader, this design makes you do the work. The delicate imagery and imperfect type work together beautifully—each element is a clue left for the reader to explore and ponder why it’s there. In a market that is saturated with illustrated covers, this illustrated cover feels totally fresh with its minimal color palette and fun interweaving of type and image.

How to Make a Book Cover in 2023: Complete Guide

Table Of Content

• Children's Book Cover Ideas
• Various Printable Book Cover Templates for You to Choose
• Personalize your template
• Choose a genre-fitting concept
• Where I can get more book cover design ideas?
• Free Online Book Cover Maker

Translating your vision into a tangible draft, seeking valuable feedback, and iterating based on insights helps fine-tune your design to perfection. Testing the final design among your target audience ensures it resonates effectively, offering the opportunity for further adjustments. Finally, integrating your book cover seamlessly into your publishing journey and promotional materials is the key to unlocking the door to a vast readership. Ensure the title and author name are prominently positioned and clearly visible at various scales.

Children's Book Cover Ideas

Your book cover acts as a powerful ambassador, inviting readers into your narrative world. However, not every author has the ability to invest in expensive graphic design. Using Visme’s free book cover maker you can design a book cover in 5 simple steps. We ensure that the Print book cover design is according to the content inside your paperback. For one low monthly fee, this subscription-based marketplace offers tons of graphic templates, fonts, logos, add-ons, and more. Let's take a look at a selection of the premium book cover templates and mockups from Elements.

Various Printable Book Cover Templates for You to Choose

After sending him our design brief, Raúl soon returned with a concept that showed our lead characters and science fiction setting, rendered with a sense of excitement and romance. In the past twenty-odd years, you’re likely to see this approach with literary novels, but with an increasingly digitally minded approach, it’s also become commonplace in genre fiction. Fiction readers, broadly speaking, can be enticed by a character they’d want to spend 300-odd pages with. To that end, you will see covers that feature a character from the book.

Personalize your template

Meet 30 of the best professional children’s book illustrators in the industry who you can hire today. With that, you can export your print cover files as a PDF, ready to upload to your print service. Visually, we wanted a dynamic treatment of the text that could provide expressiveness to the composition and enhance the “light science fiction” component of the novel.

We also consider the storyline, commercial viability, and genre of your book. For children ages 1 to 5, children's story book covers and fairy-tale book covers tend to use bright, joyful colours that children are attracted to rather than dark colours or pastels. The Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter book cover examples here target children who are a bit older, so they certainly break that rule. It’s best to start with the text, so you can set an appropriate size. Remember, it’s essential everything is easy to read while maintaining a logical hierarchy of the different elements. Check out our collection of free typography fonts that may fit your book cover project, or take a look at some free script fonts if you’re after something that resembles handwriting.

How to design engaging book cover art - Creative Bloq

How to design engaging book cover art.

Posted: Sat, 16 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Even professional designers who know what they’re doing start by throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. Now that you know the tools at your disposal to bring your cover to life, let’s get creative. In the next few sections, we’re going to show you what goes on in a professional designer’s mind when they’re working on a new project. You’ll get an insight into their process and hopefully be able to apply this methodology to your own design. If you’re confident in your abilities, let’s look at some of the most popular book cover design apps and see which one you’d be best suited to. In this post, we’ve teamed up with Reedsy’s designer, Raúl Gil, to show you how publishing professionals create their world-class cover designs.

Today, we'll share some terrific book cover examples and tips on how to make your cover stand out from the pack. Whether you’re the author or any other link in this long chain that brings books from an idea all the way to the bookshelves, today you can take book cover design into your own hands. Making a book design, just like any other creative work, starts with an idea. You don’t have to be a professional designer to have a good idea and to make a good book cover, but you also shouldn’t wait endless months for inspiration to hit you out of nowhere.

And with more than 2.2 million books published every year worldwide, we have our work cut out for us. They look for familiarity but simultaneously yearn for surprise—for something that is new and refreshing. They want a book they can be proud to hold on the subway or read on their e-reader. So many books are published each year—a good book design must communicate that the pages within are worth a reader’s time and attention.

Free Online Book Cover Maker

We also wanted the background to resemble the American Southwest a bit more. With this feedback, Raúl tweaked the design by changing out our hero’s weapon, removing the rocketship, and adding in some stunning Monument Valley-style buttes. In our discussion with Raúl, we talked about the humor of the story, but also the bristling romance of Classic Hollywood. The relationship between our two heroes is like Hepburn and Bogart in The African Queen; like Han and Leia in Star Wars.

Consider creating promotional materials such as banners, bookmarks, or postcards featuring your book cover. These tangible elements can be distributed at book fairs, author events, or local bookstores to grab the attention of potential readers. The final step is to seamlessly integrate your book cover design into the publishing and promotional phase to maximize book sales.

Book covers can feature a photograph, illustration or abstract design. They can feature everything from cartoonish doodles to stark, modern typography. Examples include author and publishing company logos, as well as barcodes so the book can be sold in stores. You can use sites like Canva or Placeit to do it yourself, or if you’re collaborating with a professional, make sure to discuss this additional service before starting the project.

A professional designer will be able to pull off those things — but if you’re doing it yourself, remember that less is almost always more. From your research, you should have a good idea of how covers in your niche communicate the tone of the book. If it’s a thriller novel, it may be dark and mysterious, like the design for A Flicker in the Dark.

According to a 2017 NPD BookScan report, about one in five books sold today is an eBook, and hardcovers are being sold online in increasing numbers as well. If the book is part of a series, or the author’s previous books already have an established visual identity, it could limit your artistic freedom to some degree. In this case, it’s worth sketching up several very different styles. Although not radically different, and that’s where the next point comes into play. This is relevant for the design notes mentioned above and also because print and web use different color spaces. When arranging the different design elements on the cover, remember to maintain sufficient margins and an extra area for bleeding, which is necessary for the printing and cutting process.

Renaissance Beyoncé album Wikipedia

Table Of Content

• A Terrace with a View
• Beyoncé's kitchen
• Beyoncé & Jay-Z's $90m megamansion is the epitome of luxury - best photos
• $250 Million NYC Penthouse (PHOTOS + FLOOR PLANS)
• The maternity Malibu rental
• Jay Z's childhood home

The gigantic soaking tub is an ideal place for Beyonce or Jay Z to relax and enjoy the view. Then, they can simply jump in the conveniently placed huge shower to rinse off any lingering bubble bath or oil. All of the bathroom faucets and fixtures used throughout the house were made by the Italian brand, Gessi. This aerial view of Jay Z and Beyonce’s new property gives you a chance to see just how large and impressive it is. There’s at least three houses on to the left, which is really surprising. Of course, the property is surrounded with woven metal security gates, so it’s not like anyone is really going to get that close.

A Terrace with a View

Beyoncé Drops New Song 'My House': What's it About? - TODAY

Beyoncé Drops New Song 'My House': What's it About?.

Posted: Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Long skinny pools are said to be a favorite of the architect, Paul McClean, who designed Jay Z and Beyonce’s new home. This is pretty obvious when you look at all four pools on the property, particularly the fourth pool, which sits on the second level. On the right side of the house, there appears to be an outdoor living space for the family to take advantage of. It’s not immediately clear what the red thing with the attached twisting bars is on the left of the photo.

Beyoncé's kitchen

It also marks another feather in the cap for the affluent enclave of Paradise Cove, which has emerged as one of the most valuable stretches of land in the entire country. Rumors about the property have swirled for years, with several Reddit users likening the monolithic design to a supervillain’s lair. It has a navy and white colour scheme, with floodlights for when the sun goes down. Beyonce often shares a look inside her walk-in wardrobe as she gets ready for red carpet events. It's decorated with wooden floors and cream walls and wardrobes, with an enormous floor-to-ceiling mirror framed with warm light bulbs. Beyoncé is wowing crowds with her much-anticipated Renaissance World Tour, after an opening performance in Cardiff, but once she's off the road, back home she has the most jaw-dropping megamansion in Bel Air.

Beyoncé & Jay-Z's $90m megamansion is the epitome of luxury - best photos

In addition to a two-lane bowling alley, the home also offered a rock climbing wall, a skateboard half-pipe, a full bar, a pool, a tennis court, and an outdoor kitchen. Fancy Pants Homes reported that Bel-Air was always a dream home location for the Carter family of five. However, the first two Bel-Air abodes they fell in love with didn't pan out, as the couple kept getting outbid. For example, in 2014, Markus Persson, creator of the tech game Minecraft, snagged the $70 million Beverly Hills mansion they had their eyes on. And two years later, multi-hyphenate designer Tom Ford (whose clothes Beyoncé and Jay-Z both love wearing, as per Fashionista) swooped in and outbid the couple for a 14,000 square feet mansion (via TMZ).

$250 Million NYC Penthouse (PHOTOS + FLOOR PLANS)

The room has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which are operated at the touch of a button. Beyonce previously shared a photo of Jay Z and P Diddy in their living room. Featuring an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a dedicated room for massages, a spa and a steam room, the amenities are like that of a 5-star resort.

Want to see more glimpses from Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s home in Los Angeles? Start scrolling now

It was later revealed that the pair had indeed picked up a former church turned ballet school turned residence through an LLC linked to the Renaissance singer. Though it’s unknown how much the couple paid for the unique 13,300-square-foot mansion, it was listed for $2.6 million at the time of their purchase. The place made headlines again in 2021 when a fire broke out at the property; several months later, TMZ reported that the couple was listing it for $3.5 million and then a more ambitious $4.45 million. Knowles and Jay-Z, who’s real name is Shawn Carter, purchased a sprawling $200 million Malibu, California estate. They reportedly got a discount, as the home was privately listed for $295 million.

The maternity Malibu rental

Here’s a better look at all those travertine stairs that will take the couple from one level of their home to another, at least when they are outdoors. In case you were wondering about travertine and its cost, here’s what you need to know. Travertine is a type of natural limestone that forms around mineral spring deposits.

At “Opus,” an $85-million slab of marble and gold on Hillcrest, in Trousdale, McClean shows me how he designed a full-size, subterranean swimming pool beneath a massive skylight. McClean tends to design long, skinny pools—multiple per property, despite the fact that California has been suffering from a severe drought since 2014—that take advantage of the jagged lots he builds on. They usually have the same proportions of a ruler, with an infinity runoff.

The couple's all-black court makes a cool backdrop for at-home snapshots too. Unlike the more formal sitting room seen above, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's casual family room channels a more relaxed vibe. Mahogany hardwood floors, cream-coloured curtains, an abstract rug in shades of yellow, blue and beige, and a comfy taupe couch bring this room to life. A large marble fireplace adds warmth to the space when needed, and a cute caricature sketch of Beyoncé sits atop, adding a fun finish.

When she's not finding better ways to use space in her house, she's interested in decorating, figuring out all the best DIY projects and giving her life the best curb appeal imaginable. Jay Z and Beyonce’s media room includes all of the latest state-of-the-art AV equipment, along with the perfect and ottomans to ensure their guests are more than comfortable while they enjoy the show. With its huge movie theater screen and recessed lighting, the room is similar to your average movie theater.

There's no way paparazzi or curious fans would be able to make it inside. TMZ first reported that the star couple had snapped up a modernist mansion designed by the celebrity Japanese architect Tadao Ando. With a sale tag of $200m, the acquisition appears to break the record for the most expensive home in California. With its steep green cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Malibu is a top contender in America’s ultra-luxury real estate market.

She and Jay-Z are known to also own works by David Hammons, Richard Prince and Laurie Simmons, among many others. Beyoncé and Jay-Z's backyard follows a clean aesthetic with ceramic tiles and glossy black marble walls that take over the space. The floor of the backyard has a rustic vibe with graded taupe-coloured stone detailing, and large windows spread across the area allow the California sun to brighten up their home on sunny days. On multiple occasions, Beyoncé has stepped out in her backyard after getting dressed for events for a quick shoot for her ’gram. Our neighbor to the left was a middle-aged single guy who enjoyed loud music and must have had allegories because he’d sneeze so loud that we’d say ‘salud’ from our living room.

Designed by renowned Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the mansion spans 30,000 square feet and reportedly took more than a decade and a half to finish. The seller is notable Los Angeles art collector Bill Bell, Jr., who is the heir to a soap opera fortune. His father, William J. Bell, created the iconic soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. Times, Bell purchased the property in the late 1990s for $14.5 million and enlisted Ando to create a modernist glass-and-concrete structure. He’s considered one of the biggest art collectors in the world, with numerous works of art by Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Marcel Duchamp, and many more. The couple continued their landmark year in 2017 with the purchase of a seven-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom mansion in East Hampton the following month.

Beyond the neutral color ideas, the modern estate exhibits large glass window panes that drench many rooms in sunlight (as seen below). The home overlooks the prestigious Bel Air area and overlooks West Los Angeles. The architectural jewel of a house was completed in 2017 – and comprises six separate structures with around 30,000 square feet of interior space. 'mega-mansion' set the standard for some of the world's best homes – complete with a media room, a host of wellness facilities, and four outdoor swimming pools, to name only a few of its assets. After having their previous rental sold out from under them, Beyoncé and Jay Z landed this massive estate in the heart of Beverly Hills for the same price.

The Pond House is a 12,000-square-foot behemoth designed by renowned architect Stanford White, situated just off Georgica Pond. The estate includes 203 feet of waterfront property and is adjacent to a massive 17-acre meadow preserve, ensuring that the Carters have the utmost privacy. Incredibly, the previous owner even rotated the house 90 degrees so that the living room now faces west toward the pond, meaning that the family of five gets views of both stunning sunrises in the east and picturesque sunsets in the west. The new Blue Jay Way home, at 8,000 square feet, is by no means the grandest of McClean’s designs, which can come with six-digit square footages and nine-digit price tags. The style is a take on the area’s iconic midcentury modern, metaphorically pumped up with steroids and silicone to a scale that would make Rudolph Schindler, a pioneer of the modernist Hollywood house, blush.

In a three-minute trailer on the Opus website, a woman wearing a VR headset writhes awake in the indoor-outdoor master bedroom, as glittery, gold-masked women join her for a bacchanalia of champagne, skinny dipping, and light foreplay. For developers selling a lifestyle, McClean’s designs offer the correct canvas to play with. Has passed several anti-“mansionization” ordinances, some which restrict a home’s size based on the percentage of its lot it occupies. Residents of Bel Air even formed a homeowners alliance to dissuade the development of mega-properties such as “The One,” which is three times the size of the Taj Mahal. And naturally, local realtors and architects have resorted to name-calling, many referring to McClean as the dreaded developer-architect. Nevertheless, developers continue to hunger for size, and McClean delivers a stealth blockbuster, appearing to effortlessly circumvent such rules.

Gary Shteyngart: Crying Myself to Sleep on the Icon of the Seas

Table Of Content

• Where to float on the biggest boats
• Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean
• The customizable Mediterranean-style wrap at the five-stall food hall
• Wonder of the Seas

There’s also the opportunity for polar kayaking, ice fishing, dogsledding, and snowshoeing, depending on the destination. A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further. This entire time, I had been living in the ship’s Disneyland, Surfside, the neighborhood full of screaming toddlers consuming milkshakes and candy. And as I leaned out over my balcony, I beheld a slight vista of the sea and surf that I thought I had been missing. The sea was frothy and infinite and blue-green beneath the span of a seagull’s wing. And though it had been trod hard by the world’s largest cruise ship, it remained.

Where to float on the biggest boats

Noted hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany had yachts in mind when he designed Seabourn’s ultra-luxe, 600-passenger Seabourn Ovation, as well as sister ships Seabourn Encore and Seabourn Odyssey. He likes to describe the ships as “sexy,” for their smooth corners and tactile fabrics. The ships have an at-home quality—if you happen to live in an art-filled modern mansion. Ovation’s collection comprises some 1,600 artworks from 120 emerging artists meant to serve as “windows to the world’s different climate zones, its flora, fauna, and habitat, and … impressions of the world we encounter as we travel,” according to Seabourn. Guests stay in oceanfront suites with walk-in closets and marble bathrooms, and if you spring for a Wintergarden suite, you get a glass-enclosed solarium with a soaking tub. The main pool is a plush lounging spot, but a floor above you may retreat to the Retreat, where you can rent a fancy cabana and have a private attendant deliver complimentary champagne and caviar and whatever else you’re craving.

Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean

This is the ship that helped push the cruise industry to new heights. Oasis of the Seas was the first of its kind when she arrived at the end of 2009. The groundbreaking vessel was built at the STX shipyard in Turku, Finland. Oasis of the Seas also boasts features like the Zip-line and the AquaTheater. Harmony of the Seas was the first in the class to feature the 10-Story Ultimate Abyss slide, which is located aft of the ship above the AquaTheater. The slide has since been a major feature on new Oasis-class vessels and added during refurbishments.

The Best New Cruise Ships of 2023 - Travel + Leisure

The Best New Cruise Ships of 2023.

Posted: Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:00:00 GMT [source]

The customizable Mediterranean-style wrap at the five-stall food hall

Here are the details about the biggest and grandest ships to sail on. One of the world’s most luxurious icebreakers is also one of the most eco-friendly ships afloat. French line Ponant’s 245-passenger Le Commandant Charcot is a hybrid electric ship that can sail for up to eight hours emissions-free, as it takes guests to destinations such as Greenland and the North Pole and, new in 2025, Quebec in winter. The other energy sources are liquified natural gas and low-sulfur gas oil, together cutting carbon emissions by 25 percent compared to more conventional ship fuel.

P&O Iona (P&O Cruises)

Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity. Still a giant among cruise ships, Oasis of the Seas was the first ship at sea to have a zip line. With a length of 82 feet, it has a great view of the Boardwalk 9 decks below. Arvia is the second Excel class cruise ship for British-based P&O Cruises.

MSC World Europa is the second largest cruise ship powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and takes the cruise line into a new era of sustainability, which it’s taking very seriously. The 7th world’s biggest cruise ship features more than 30 different dining venues and a new thrilling 250-foot Drop slide located aft of the ship. Wonder of the Seas, the fifth Oasis-class vessel, took the world’s largest cruise ship title from her sister Symphony of the Seas in 2022. However, since the arrival of the much-anticipated new-class Icon of the Seas, the vessel has now lost that crown. The ship was built at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France, and delivered to the cruise line on January 27, 2022.

Wonder of the Seas

As the most discerning, up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel, Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse, offering both inspiration and vital intel. We understand that time is the greatest luxury, which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal, a drink, or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world. At first glance, I had snubbed the dining and lounge area as a rip-off of a generic airport coffee shop. But during my three days on Icon, I returned to the centrally located space more often than expected.

Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs.

3 of the world's biggest cruise ships to battle for supremacy out of Miami - The Points Guy

3 of the world's biggest cruise ships to battle for supremacy out of Miami.

Posted: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 17:06:10 GMT [source]

Allure of the Seas

As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks. After the sun sets, in the far, dark distance, another circus-lit cruise ship ruptures the waves before us. We glance at it with pity, because it is by definition a smaller ship than our own. The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop.

While I would've preferred a quieter atmosphere (the DJ did not, in fact, play smooth jazz), the pool's views, day beds, and lack of screaming children were hard to beat. I spent my time there perched at one of its in-water loungers, contently splashing my legs around the water, wondering if I actually hated cruises. On the other hand, if you plan to spend most of your time exploring ports and partaking in onboard activities, the type and location of cabin might be of less importance. If you have more flexibility in your budget, consider what’s important to you in accommodation. If you plan to spend a lot of time in your cabin, you might value a balcony or a spacious room more. Families might look for cabins with connecting doors or extra bed options.

For scenic cruises, such as those in Alaska or the Norwegian fjords, a balcony might be worth the splurge to enjoy the magnificent views in relative peace. A balcony breakfast while sailing along a fjord will be an experience to remember. Before booking, read reviews of the ship and specific cabins on websites such as Cruise Critic or watching YouTube reviews. Previous travelers can offer invaluable insight into noise levels, views, and overall satisfaction. However, depending on the size of the ship, they could be farther from entertainment and dining areas.

It also features its own rum distillery onboard, meaning you can take home rum literally made on the ship. Kids will love the Altitude zone that features a ropes course, mini-golf, and more. There’s also Mission Control, a submarine-themed escape room. Following a refurbishment of Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas — which was the second ship in the class and built in 2010 — is actually now the smallest of the group based on tonnage. Still, that’s good enough for sixth largest in the world at “just” 225,000 gross tons. Wonder of the Seas is the latest edition of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class ships (until Utopia of the Seas arrives in 2024), which were the largest class in the world until the new Icon class took the torch.

On big ships, there may be 10 or even more flights of stairs between your cabin and the pool, sun deck, buffet, and other amenities found at the top of the ship. There will be elevators, of course, but you should expect queues at busy times. Some ships offer cabins with direct access to the promenade deck, while the largest ships, including MSC World Europa, offer balconies overlooking an internal courtyard or promenade. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care. This is a large, multichandeliered room where I attended my safety training (I was shown how to put on a flotation vest; it is a very simple procedure).

Visiting chefs come on board, and local product is featured. I suggest accompanying the head chef as they gather ingredients at local markets. The ship is slated for a two-part redesign of public spaces in 2024 and suite updates in 2026, which will likely make a good thing even better. When river cruise line Viking debuted its ocean ships with the 930-passenger Viking Star in 2015, it was with the goal of creating a better, value-packed cruise experience for adults aged 55 and up. Eight sister ships followed, all with the same profile of stunning Scandinavian decor, well-planned itineraries that linger in ports, and the promise of no nickel-and-diming. Everyone stays in a spacious veranda stateroom or suite; specialty restaurants, such as a fine Italian venue, and a chef’s tasting experience are complimentary, and so is the accompanying beer and wine.

The World Europa features some of the best rooms on a cruise ship, thanks to having the most cabins with a balcony. It also has the world’s longest dry slide at sea, taking adventurous cruisers down 12 decks in a shiny, twisting stainless steel tube, and bumper cars in a SportsPlex arena that also hosts rollerblading—not at the same time, however. People looking for something a little less dramatic will enjoy six pools, some surrounded by tropical greenery, 14 whirlpools and MSC’s first-ever department store at sea. Finally, you’ll never go hungry on this ship, given its 10 restaurants, including four main dining rooms and three buffets. A true wonder, the current biggest ship in the world delights guests every week with a feast of activities, shows, meals and memories. Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, an Oasis-class ship that is a city at sea, has 16 guest decks, 2,204 crew members from every corner of the planet and more than 10 bars and 20 dining destinations—nine of which are complimentary.