Underrated Luxuries: Why Everything Is Better in Green

Luxury has long been defined by exclusion. By velvet ropes, price tags, and the quiet understanding of who is and is not invited in. That definition never sat right, and a growing generation of travelers is no longer buying it. Literally.

In the years following COVID, amid economic whiplash and cultural reckoning, people began questioning not just how they travel, but why they value what they value. More importantly, they started asking who taught them those definitions in the first place.

James Baldwin once said, “The paradox of education is precisely this — that as one begins to become conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.”

That is where we're at.

Luxury used to mean excess. More space. More things. More spectacle. But today, people are speaking with their wallets and choosing something else entirely.

The most powerful luxuries now are not loud. They are felt. And increasingly, they are green.

The Green Aesthetic Is Not About Decor. It Is About Regulation.

The rise of green in interiors, travel, and lifestyle branding is not accidental. Green has long been associated with balance, restoration, and focus. It is the color the eye rests on most naturally, the one that does not demand attention but earns it.

In a world optimized for stimulation, green represents relief. That is why green villas feel quieter, why meals taste better when eaten outdoors, why long drives through landscapes slow the mind before the body even realizes it needs rest.

Green is not decoration. It is permission.

Why Green Spaces Make Group Travel Feel Richer

Group travel only works when there is room to breathe, and green environments naturally support that. They soften interactions, lower tension, and give people places to step away and return grounded: a courtyard, a terrace, a long table under trees, a kitchen filled with daylight.

This is why villas surrounded by nature feel more generous than hotels, even when they are simpler. They allow connection without pressure.

A Different Way Into Luxury

This philosophy is the foundation of how we think about travel at Autre & Part. Luxury is not about proving you can afford something. It is about choosing environments that let you feel human again.

If this resonates, you may want to read "A Different Way Into Luxury," where we explore how thoughtful group travel, slower rhythms, and intentional spaces are reshaping what luxury actually means.

Green is not the point. How you feel inside it is. 

Find yourself a green space. You deserve it.

XO,

Brittany

Co-founder, Autre & Part

Autre & Part is pronounced “oh-truh and par.”Meaning: the other parts — of the world, of ourselves, of what’s possible.