Designer Hotels : Worldwide
Bindella, Tel Aviv, Israel
Shanghai in the 1930s: “lust, women, style, dimmed lights, sensual music, and erotica”. Sounds damn good to us, but with time travel still in the pipeline (someone chivvy that along please) why not swing by Spiler Shanghai in Budapest for an atmospheric facsimile? That alluring description of the Chinese city comes from Roy Zsidai, the Hungarian entrepreneur who wowed us with his first Spiler venue and has done the same with this Asian sequel.
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HOTEL NOT HOTEL is a hotel with quite a difference. Collaboration-o, a group of designers form the Design Academy Eindhoven, have let their imaginations run amok within the spacious walls of Piri Reisplein 34, taking the concept of individually-designed boutique rooms several stages further than simply varying the colour scheme or sticking in some mismatched chairs.
The rooms at HNH sit inside the building’s superstructure like stand-alone cottages, and bear almost no relation to each other in their layouts or furnishings. Take for example the little semi-detached rooms that make up the Crisis Free Zone. One red, one blue, both bedecked in busy wallpaper, enough room for the bed and nothing else, and fronted by a wonderful carved wooden archway of hearts and skulls, the facade of the rooms themselves equally ornate with an almost church-like window/steeple arrangement. Then there’s the Crow’s Nest, which offers an unusual vantage point of the rest of the hotel through its scaffolding platform on the room’s roof. A secret room hidden behind a bookcase, another fashioned from an antique tram trolley… what will you discover next? Great fun.
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Urban Outfitters opened its newest location in Herald Square. At 57,000 square feet, this outpost is the company’s biggest store yet. And with all that space, you’ll find much more than the usual offerings of music-fest–ready clothing, novelty books and home-decor goods. This location also features a hair salon, an expanded makeup department, an in-store shop from eyewear company Tortoise & Blonde, a large record department with more than 800 vinyl titles curated by Amoeba Records and a coffeeshop powered by Intelligentsia Coffee.
You’ll also find a booth that prints out your own Instagram photos, a huge department dedicated to workout clothes and a large department-store-worthy shoe section. It’s all part of the latest trend in retail, where stores are offering extras that encourage hanging out.
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Conceived as a starting point for urban explorers and comfort zone for stressed out city dwellers, The Line Hotel, a full on luxury boutique hotel by the Sydell Group. Located alongside the area’s famous 1940-prebrick colonial revival buildings, it provides an oasis of raw luxury and design right in the middle of L.A.’s never ending urban sprawl. Displaying full sensitivity to its exciting location, designer Sean Knibb has achieved much much more than merely refurbishing and restyling this former middle range hotel dating from the 60s.
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Hipsters and Business-folk alike, the Ace Hotel Downtown is open for business. The beautifully ornate United Artists building, originally built in 1927 as a film studio, theatre and tower, has been lovingly restored and is the newest addition to the Ace Hotel familia. A rooftop pool, restaurant, 3 bars and the retained theatre are all available to guests staying within their 166 rooms and 16 suites. Check out the pics, and I’m sure you’ll want to check in yourself.
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The Australian Interior Design Awards recognise and celebrate Interior Design excellence via a credible, industry-based program, which is backed by the Design Institute of Australia, the professional body representing Australian designers.
This post features nominees in the Public Design category. *all photos courtesy of the Australian Interior Design Awards.
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Dutch Designer Piet Boon has transformed the interior of a former military hospital chapel, into a bright, airy and contemporary restaurant.
Antwerp’s newest addition The Jane is a cohesive blend of old and new. The ‘piece de resistance’ of the latter category is an oversized starburst-like chandelier, hung from the preserved original ceiling. The sculptural chandelier weighing in at a considerable 800 kilograms, was created for the space by lighting designers .PSLAB. It is made entirely from steel and hand blown crystal glass.
Piet Boon’s Amsterdam studio also collaborated with Studio Job artists on The Janes impressive interior. Paying tribute to it’s chapel origins, 500 colourful glass window panels were created to replace the former stained-glass. Inspired by “stories of good and evil, rich and poor, life and death” the replacement panels feature imagery of flowers, devils and skulls. Combining bold decor elements with the chapel’s high ceiling and restored patterned tiled floor, the restaurant is described by it’s creators as “fine dining meets rock ‘n roll”. Brilliant.
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West Chelsea NYC is home to a brand new luxury dining experience. New York hospitality innovators Eric Marx and Lisle Richards of The Metric Group recently unveiled their first restaurant endeavour called The Monarch Room. In collaboration with interior design firm Roman and Williams, a 1930’s industrial era warehouse in West 15th Street has been transformed into a sophisticated Fresh Market American restaurant with Chef Michael Citarella at the helm.
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