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The biggest design trend of 2020 was “cottagecore,” an interior aesthetic movement that was all about maximalism with a heavy use of colors, patterns (especially floral), and chunky furniture that were all reminiscent of grandma’s country house. Since we spent most of last year inside our home pondering the past and the future, it made sense for us to want our interiors to be extra comfortable, filled with nostalgic beauty, and connected to nature in a reassuring, old-fashioned way. But in 2021, we’re moving on. To leave last year far behind, we’re making a 360-degree turn from granny chic and diving head first into this year’s new design trend: Japandi.

What is Japandi?

Japandi is a portmanteau of the words “Japanese” and “Scandinavian” to describe an interior design trend that is a fusion of both regions’ classic decor features.

Japanese and Scandinavian home decors share fundamental similarities: They are both minimalist aesthetics; they favor

That the Minnesota Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is one of the most spectacular locations in a continent filled with them is not the question. Sharing a 150-mile border with Canada in northern Minnesota, it spans more than a million acres filled with 1,100 lakes and 1,200 miles of canoe and kayak routes. Its abundant wildlife, from moose to dam-building beavers, can be seen in its pristine forests and clear lakes, which themselves teem with fish, while multiple bird species fly overhead.

So, no, the question isn’t whether to add the BWCAW to your bucket list. The question, rather, is how to tackle this immense, and immensely beautiful, place. The good news is that, despite its remote location, Boundary Waters can be enjoyed by even first-time paddlers.

What is Boundary Waters

Part of the Superior National Forest and managed by the National Forest Service, the BWCAW — or B-dub, as locals call it — area contains vast forests of pine, fir, and spruce trees, untouched by development. It’s been shaped over millennia by glaciers that have carved up its landscapes, leaving over a thousand lakes that cover one-fifth of the area.

The BWCAW has

The Hamptons or the Catskills? The choice New Yorkers make between the city’s top two weekend escapes is as telling as their choice between Manhattan and Brooklyn. It’s more than a destination; it’s an identity. You’re either the Hamptons — a Long Island refuge favored by wealthy Upper East Siders — or the Catskills — an affordable swath of upstate New York colonized by artsy-fartsy Brooklynites. There is no in-between.

But in recent years, these disparate destinations started looking eerily similar. Upstate hamlets like Kerhonksen are now synonymous with million-dollar homes like East Hampton. Nearby towns along the Hudson River are now chockablock with the same Soho-style boutiques found in Sag Harbor. Counties like Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Greene, and Columbia even earned a new nickname — the Camptons — and a recent surge in wealthy New Yorkers snatching up local real estate ensures the inevitability of their Hamptonsification.

This reality poses a quandary for New Yorkers who once identified with the Catskills. If the uber-rich rule both vacation destinations, where does everyone else go for a long weekend outside of the city?

The answer can be found in Sullivan County, where the Catskill Mountains end and the Delaware River begins.