Whether it’s an update on old-school formality or a hotel that’s just as cool before dawn as after dark, design’s hottest trends are all about letting guests try on a style for their lives.
Below is just one example of what’s hot in design this year. Each June, HOTELS highlights the hottest of the hot trends in design, F&B and technology, not to mention some of the industry’s most noteworthy individuals. For all the hot coverage, check out the June issue of HOTELS.
Rise and shine
Night owls still need all those sexy clubs and cool rooftop bars, but there’s a multimillion-dollar market of wellness-conscious travelers and earth warriors who want spaces that look just as good when they head for their 5:45 a.m. yoga or CrossFit session as they do when the sun goes down.
Barry Sternlicht’s 1 Hotels brand is in the vanguard of this pioneering “daylife” approach to design and experiences tailor-made for the multibillion-dollar market of wellness-conscious travelers and eco-committed guests. “What we are really offering is an evolution of the entire hotel experience, one that is more natural in regards to the way we arrive, sleep, eat, relax and do,” says Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the parent of SH Group, the lifestyle-hotel brand-management company that manages 1 Hotels.
This night-to-day shift is putting more emphasis on masterful mixes of subtle materials and clever touches guests will remember. For the recently opened 1 Hotel Central Park in New York, Avroko put a new twist on reclaimed wood by fashioning it into the accent wall in the guestrooms. Wood from the New York Water Tower resurfaces as signature headboards. There are also surprises — from the canvas-laminated doors to a window seat for daydreamers — that take the 229 rooms to the next level.
“A hotel room should be as pleasing with the shades closed and the nightlight on as it is with the shades open sitting next to the daylight of the window,” says Greg Bradshaw, partner, Avroko. “For 1 Hotel, we lobbied hard for the window seat. There is nothing like sitting in a comfy little nook with some linen pillows and staring at the world outside, especially in New York City. We opened up the shower to add natural light and to highlight the window and the window seat. It’s like a blast of fresh air walking off the purposefully dark corridor, and it makes the room all that more pleasant to be in.”
Public spaces also look different in the broad light of day. For the Central Park property, Avroko shelved the typical lounge in favor of a farm stand. Forget about stodgy art pieces. More lobbies will follow this lead with the garden-like feel created by hanging kokedamas with terrariums — a nice segue that complements the three-story living wall of English ivy on the building’s exterior and the indoor window planters in the guestrooms.
“The same tools apply, just in different ways,” says Kristina O’Neill, partner, Avroko. “A serene daytime environment might be about the wind blowing and leaves rustling or water elements and natural light. A nighttime environment might be more about the music and more focused lighting on interesting textures and objects.”
Editor’s note: For the complete list of hot design trends, click here.