Some places are built, while others are dreamed into existence. When we first began shaping the Hazelnut Inn, architecture and story often found themselves occupying the same space. The North Star Suite — with its deep colours, private corners, and a ceiling that opens onto a sky of its own — was influenced by many of the fantasy worlds I’ve explored through the years.

I’ve always loved reading, and I’m particularly fond of Naomi Novik’s work. Her fierce, deeply empathetic characters and richly imagined worlds have stayed with me long after the final page.

If you are packing your bags for a stay beneath our stars, here are two of her books I’d recommend for the North Star Suite.

A Deadly Education

The North Star Suite, with its midnight tones and quiet private spaces, has a certain darkness that makes Novik’s A Deadly Education an easy companion.

The novel takes place in the Scholomance, a school that is actively trying to eat its students. Its enclosed, perilous world offers an interesting contrast to the quiet of the North Star. The room provides the sanctuary; the book provides the danger.

His Majesty’s Dragon

For something altogether different, I’d consider His Majesty’s Dragon.

The story trades the claustrophobic danger of the Scholomance for historical adventure and open skies. Captain Laurence and his dragon, Temeraire, feel like they belong beneath the suite’s sweeping celestial ceiling.

Perhaps the best books to bring with you are the ones that make the room around you feel a little different by the time you reach the final page.

Behold the Copper Crown, where a bridge crosses a quiet moat and leads into a private courtyard garden. Roses bloom beside bubbling water, with a place to sit beneath the open sky and let the world fall away.

Step inside, where timber, stone, and warm light shape a room that feels timeless and enchanted. Above, a tower bedchamber offers a peaceful place to rest, while a deep soaker tub awaits to wash away the dust of the road. Below, a galley stands stocked with food and drink for the evening or tomorrow’s adventures. Tucked away beyond a hidden passage, a quiet reading nook invites you to lose an hour or two among old books.

These spaces come together as one secluded retreat: part castle, part hideaway, and entirely your own for a night or two.

We’ve used a lot of different textures throughout the Hazelnut Inn: hand-carved wood, aged steel, sculpted stone, and plenty of surfaces with a little more character than you might expect. The idea behind it is simple. We wanted the rooms to give your eyes more to discover than a collection of smooth, uniform finishes. The wood has grain. The steel develops a patina as it ages. The stone is uneven.

We sometimes joke about this as “Eyeball ASMR.” We’re really just describing the pleasure of surfaces that invite a closer look. The way light catches a rough edge. The marks left by a carving tool. The texture of materials that aren’t perfectly polished or predictable.

It’s one of the little things that shaped how we approached the rooms — and one of the reasons there’s always something new for your eyes to notice.