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      Kelly Wearstler's “fiercely local” Santa Monica Proper Hotel named AHEAD Americas Hotel of the Year

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      American designer Kelly Wearstler describes how she worked with local artisans and artists on the Santa Monica Proper Hotel in this video produced by Dezeen for the AHEAD Awards.Wearstler is the designer of Santa Monica Proper Hotel, a 271-room boutique hotel seven blocks away from the beach in Santa Monica, California.

      American interior designer Kelly Wearstler designed the Santa Monica Proper Hotel
      The project was named Hotel of the Year at the 2020 AHEAD Americas hospitality awards, as well as winner of the Guestrooms and Lobby & Public Spaces categories.

      The Californian interior designer, who has appeared as a judge on the Bravo reality show Top Design and designed homes for celebrities including Cameron Diaz and Gwen Stefani, described the hotel as “fiercely local” in an exclusive interview filmed by Dezeen.

      Santa Monica Proper Hotel was named Hotel of the Year at the AHEAD Americas awards 2020
      “We wanted to design a hotel where it felt like you’re in Santa Monica,” she said. “The inspiration came from everything that surrounds the hotel, the palm trees, the organic nature of the architecture, everything that you would find at the beach.”
      Natural and heavily textured materials, neutral colours and vintage furniture are used throughout the hotel to create a sensory experience that references Santa Monica’s beachside identity.

      Kelly Wearstler designs relaxed and beachy Santa Monica Proper hotel

      “There is a connection of materiality that speaks to the location” said Wearstler. “Organic materials, neutral colour stories, everything has a texture.”
      “There’s a patina, there’s a hand, there’s something that feels very warm.”

      The hotel also won in the Guestrooms and Lobby & Public Spaces categories
      Santa Monica Proper Hotel is filled with artworks and furniture pieces created specifically for the property by local artists and artisans.
      “Everything’s connected to somebody that is local in the city,” Wearstler said. “We’re so lucky to be in Los Angeles, the talent pool here is extraordinary.”

      The site comprises an historic 1920s building and a new curvilinear extension
      The site consists of the 1920s Santa Monica Professional Building, to which an extension by local firm Howard Laks Architects was added.
      “There’s an historic building that was built in 1928, in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, and then there’s a new contemporary building,” explained Wearstler. “We had to connect these two buildings with one voice.”

      Kelly Wearstler furnishes San Francisco Proper hotel with vintage European design

      “The atmosphere is something that’s just very relaxed,” the designer asserted. “When you come to California, it’s just super relaxed and it’s friendly, and there is a sense of style – it’s just cool. We can connect you to that coming to Santa Monica Proper.”
      The hotel is the latest in the Proper brand, which was founded by Wearstler’s developer husband Brad Korzen alongside hotelier Brian De Lowe, following the San Francisco Proper which Wearstler also designed.

      Wearstler collaborated with local artists and artisans to furnish Santa Monica Proper Hotel
      Previous hospitality collaborations from Wearstler and Korzen include the Tides hotel in South Beach, Florida, the Avalon and Maison 140 hotels in Beverly Hills, and hotels for the Viceroy brand in Miami, Palm Springs and Santa Monica.
      This year’s AHEAD Americas awards were shown in a video ceremony as part of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival after the event was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Previous winners of the Hotel of the Year award include the opulent Siren Hotel in Detroit and the Calistoga Motor Lodge and Spa, a renovated motel in California.

      Natural materials and neutral colours reference the hotel’s beachside location
      This video was produced by Dezeen for AHEAD. Photography is by The Ingalls and Matthieu Salvaing.

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      The Nest at Sossus guesthouse in Namibia features a thatched facade

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      South African designer Porky Hefer took cues from the amorphous shape of bird nests to create this off-grid guesthouse on a wildlife reserve in Namibia.The Nest at Sossus guesthouse is situated on the Namib Tsaris Conservancy, a 24,000-hectare reserve nestled between the Nubib and Zaris Mountains in Namibia’s Namib desert.

      It’s been designed by Porky Hefer to emulate the habitat of sociable weavers – a species of bird found in southern Africa known for building huge, bulging nests that are able to accommodate hundreds of birds at a time.

      The four-room guesthouse is an evolution of the nest-like seating nooks that Hefer has created in the past by weaving plant stalks across metal skeletons.

      “I was convinced that my smaller nests were bigger than a chair or a design piece,” said Hefer.
      “I designed these camps with nests all over them and then I tried the idea for three years, changing forms and materials according to the locations I was pitching them,” he continued.
      “People didn’t really get it and preferred four walls and a roof…but I kept on trucking.”

      When Hefer’s unusual accommodation concept was ultimately accepted by the owner of Namib Tsaris Conservancy, Swen Bachran, the designer did a series of hand-drawn sketches to consolidate what The Nest at Sossus would look like.

      Shipwreck Lodge’s wooden cabins evoke ships washed up on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast

      The three-storey guesthouse is completely off-grid and operates off its own supply of water and electricity. Like the nest of a sociable weaver, it swells at different points to form bulbous protrusions.

      Most of the facade is thatched with strands of reed harvested from northern Namibia, supported underneath by a hand-bent steel framework.
      Some walls have been built using rough chunks of granite that have been carefully arranged to emulate the bark of camelthorn trees, which populate the surrounding landscape.

      Walls inside the guesthouse are also thatched, but in some rooms have been set slightly apart from the external shell to allow for the insulation required during the colder months.
      Flooring and joinery throughout are crafted from Rhodesian teak wood.

      Hefer worked alongside his wife, Yelda Bayraktar, and creative consultant Maybe Corpaci to decorate the interiors.
      The trio opted to have the majority of the furniture built-in, much like components are in a nest, and relied on a handful of striking pieces to “bring in the modernism” – for example, the living area is anchored by a sunken Chesterfield-style sofa upholstered in oxblood-coloured leather.

      Outside, a swimming pool for guests has been created in the same space where there was once a dust bath for zebras.
      “The zebras have been known to join guests at the house’s outdoor movie theatre to enjoy the odd movie,” added Hefer, “and surprisingly the local troop of baboons have resorted to observing with interest rather than destroying out of curiosity.”

      Porky Hefer’s self-titled studio has been established since 2011. Prior to that he was running his own creative consultancy,  named Animal Farm. The Nest at Sossus is the designer’s first architectural project, and joins a growing number of design-focused spots to stay at in Namibia.
      Others include Shipwreck Lodge by Nina Maritz Architects, which comprises 10 rooms that are each meant to resemble ruined boats strewn along the sands of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast.
      Photography is by Katinka Bester.

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      Studio Collective revitalises modernist LA tower for Hotel June

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      Los Angles practice Studio Collective has renovated a mid-century building in the city designed by modernist architect Welton Becket in the 1960s to create a laid-back hotel.Hotel June is a 250-room property in a white, 12-storey tower designed by Los Angeles architect Welton Becket in 1968.

      Becket built a number of modernist buildings in the city, including the rounded Capitol Records Building, Koreatown’s Equitable Life Building skyscraper and the Los Angeles Music Center’s Ahmanson Theater near Frank Gehry’s metallic Walt Disney Concert Hall.

      This building, which is in Los Angeles’ beachside community of Playa Del Rey on Lincoln Boulevard, was previously another hotel before it was overhauled by Studio Collective.
      While the exterior was left intact, the interiors are refreshed with many built-in oak pieces, terrazzo floors and woven accents. Pink and green details add a pop of colour.

      The interiors have “a sense of the new and dynamic through coastal influences and a true California spirit” said the studio. The hotel features a pared-back feeling with natural materials and subtle use of colour.

      A lobby has cream terrazzo floors, a wood-clad ceiling and a bright painting on a wall designed by Brooklyn artist Alex Proba. Becket’s granddaughter, Alexandra Becket, also created wallpapers for other areas of the hotel.
      Hotel rooms have white walls, woven carpeting and a mixture of modernist and more contemporary furniture pieces, including Hem sofas. Bright blue and grey are integrated into the suites for visual contrast.

      “Hotel June is at once airy and cosy, blending clean lines and warm natural woods, earthy finishes, and custom furnishings,” the studio said.

      Lush courtyards surround 1 Hotel West Hollywood in Los Angeles

      White oak closets, custom platform beds and wooden daybeds are intended to evoke mid‐century designs, like those by Charles and Ray Eames and relate to the building’s history.

      “Guestrooms and corridors play with colour-blocking geometries (that recall the work of local mid-century industrial designers Charles and Ray Eames),” Studio Collective said.
      Bathrooms have black fixtures and showers are clad in small, square tiles in grey with dark grout.

      In the hotel’s restaurant and sitting area, glass walls are shaded by slatted oak wood screens to help filter natural sunlight. A white, curved sofa and a large woven light fixture decorate the lounge, while the dining area has dark terrazzo floors and wood furniture.

      Hotel June is complete with an outdoor swimming pool, patio, an outdoor bar and restaurant, a fire pit and indoor gym.
      The property, which is called Hotel June to reflect new beginnings and California’s year-round summer sensibility, is the brainchild of Proper Hospitality co-founders Brian De Lowe and Brad Korzen.

      The Proper hotels in California, which are designed by Kelly Wearstler, include Santa Monica Proper with a similarly relaxed style and San Francisco Proper overflowing with colourful art and furniture.
      Hotel June joins a number of hotels recently completed in Los Angeles, like Ace Hotel, the West Hollywood Edition Hotel by Ian Schrager and John Pawson, Arts District Firehouse Hotel and 1 Hotel West Hollywood.
      Photography is by The Ingalls.

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      Stéphanie Livée's interiors for Hotel Le Sud are an homage to the south of France

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      White walls, stripey furnishings and colourful ceramics feature in this hotel on France’s Côte d’Azur, which interior architect Stéphanie Livée has designed to reflect the region’s laid-back ambience.Hotel Le Sud is situated in Juan Les Pins, a charming town on the Côte d’Azur recognised for its sandy beaches and seafront promenades lined with eateries and boutiques.
      This setting became a key point of reference for Paris-based interior architect Stéphanie Lizée, who was tasked with designing the hotel’s 29 guest rooms, bar and terrace.

      “I am native to the region, southern blood runs in my veins,” Livée told Dezeen.

      “We have revisited the stylistic codes of the south with subtlety: the sandstone, the terracotta, the stripes, the rattan, interact with objects found in the surroundings and custom-designed furniture, mostly made by local craftsmen,” she continued.
      “The spirit of the South is here both revisited and modernized, without ostentation or caricature.”

      Paved flooring inlaid with jagged offcuts of stone has been paired with white-painted walls in the hotel’s bar.
      Wicker chairs run down one side of the room, while on the other is a series of ornate wire-frame seats dressed with floral yellow seat cushions.

      A stripey orange seating banquette has been set against one peripheral wall, where French artist Franck Lebraly has created a small mural.
      It depicts a trio of arched windows looking out across the ocean, with summer-themed paraphernalia like lemons, wine bottles and plant pots nestled on their ledges.

      Hoy hotel is designed to be a calming refuge at the heart of Paris

      Other surfaces in the bar have been punctuated with rounded niches which display an array of second-hand ceramics found in the local area.

      Stripey and cane furnishings appear again on the hotel’s outdoor terrace, where guests can sit and enjoy their breakfasts.
      A pair of chunky, orange-striped chairs also feature in the lobby, which is anchored by a grooved timber concierge counter.

      The colours applied in the guest rooms upstairs take cues from the wider cultural context of southern France.
      Stéphanie Livée became particularly interested in hues used by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, who spent several summers creating portraits and ceramics in French Riviera towns like Juan Les Pins, Antibes and Cannes.

      “The series of plates exhibited at the Picasso museum in Antibes guided me in choosing and matching the colours of the rooms – terracotta, Klein blue, pine green, yellow,” explained Livée.
      “The spirits of Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Jean Cocteau, Matisse and the ceramists of Vallauris are still very much present in this radiant and amazing part of the country, which has so inspired grand artists in the mid 20th century.”

      Bands of yellow, orange, emerald and pine-green paint have been created just beneath the rooms’ ceilings, matching the stripey throws that have been laid across the beds.
      Terracotta tiles have then been used to line the vaulted doorways that lead through to the rooms’ showers, which are screened off by blue-striped curtains.

      Paint-splattered or fish-print plates have been used as decor, as well as earth-toned vases. Some of the pieces in the rooms were designed by Livée herself, including the wavy-edged wooden side tables.
      More illustrative details by Franck Lebraly also pop up – streaks of paint have been applied around the curvy headboards and the signs that denote room numbers have also been hand-painted.

      Stéphanie Lizée set up her eponymous studio in 2017. Her Hotel Le Sud project joins a roster of design-focused hotels across France – others include Hoy, which is designed to be a calming “hideaway” from the hustle and bustle of Paris’ city streets, and Le Coucou, a ski-in-ski-out hotel nestled amongst the snow-capped peaks of Meribel.

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      Casa Grande Hotel in Spain occupies 18th-century stone manor house

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      Grey stone walls and jet-black joinery meet to form the monochromatic interiors of this boutique hotel in northern Spain designed by Francesc Rifé Studio.Casa Grande Hotel is situated in Granon, a tiny village in Spain’s La Rioja region that’s populated by just a few hundred people.
      The hotel’s owners – a couple with two daughters – moved to the area from a busy tourist town on Spain’s Costa Brava, having grown tired of their hectic lifestyles.

      They had the idea to open Casa Grande Hotel when they came across a vacant 18th-century manor house. Barcelona-based Francesc Rifé Studio was tasked with creating the hotel’s 11 intimate guest rooms and communal spaces.

      The studio decided to work with a “sober” palette of colours and materials that would “coexist with the story of the building peacefully” and draw attention to its historic features.

      “I think dark tones are always quieter and calmer than light colours and this project is asking to pause and breathe,” Francesc Rifé told Dezeen. “The new materials had to offer this aesthetic vision.”
      “There is nothing more gratifying and beautiful than deconstructing a forgotten building to recover the history that underlies it.”

      One of the building’s key historic features is its ashlar walls – a style of masonry that uses large, square-cut stones.
      These walls have been left exposed throughout Casa Grande Hotel’s ground-floor interior, freshened up with a coat of light-grey paint.
      “This technique also aims to provide a certain luminosity to rooms where the thickness of the walls often does not help the entry of natural light,” the studio explained.

      In the hotel’s restaurant, which serves dishes inspired by La Rioja’s regional cuisine, the brick walls have been paired with natural oak floors. Wooden dining tables and chairs have been dotted across the room.
      Nearby is a moody drinks area, where almost every surface – including the bar counter – has been lined with jet-black poplar wood. One wall is punctuated with a dramatically backlit wine cabinet.

      Stone surfaces continue to appear in the five bedrooms on the hotel’s first floor, but sit alongside brick and concrete walls which the studio had to introduce during the restoration works on the building.
      Black poplar wood has also been used again to create headboards and wardrobes.

      Some of the rooms come with in-built window desks that overlook the tiled roof of San Juan Bautista church, which is located directly next to the hotel.
      The six suite-style rooms on the hotel’s second floor each come with their own small lounge area, and feature loft-like ceilings with exposed beams.

      Francesc Rifé Studio also updated the exterior of Casa Grande Hotel, describing it as “perhaps the most monumental part of the project”.

      Blackened wood appears throughout R Apartment by Francesc Rifé Studio

      Windows that were “chaotically” arranged across one elevation of the building have been left in place but updated with graphic black-iron frames.

      An iron fence wraps around the lower half of the building, merging into a huge pivoting door that opens onto the Casa Grade Hotel’s outdoor terrace.
      “This element has a double meaning,” said the studio. “On the one hand, it reinforces the aesthetic narrative of the metal that has been used to design the windows and balconies, but at the same time, it hides different lateral openings that house machinery and electrical wiring.”

      Dark tones pervade several of Francesc Rifé Studio’s projects. Earlier this year, the studio completed a house in Mexico City that features slate-grey walls and huge black-aluminium shutters.
      Back in 2019, the studio also inserted a series of blackened wood partitions in a Valencian apartment.
      Photography is by David Zarzoso.

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      Maison De La Luz hotel in New Orleans is “madcap and fun” says Pamela Shamshiri

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      Atelier Ace’s Kelly Sawdon and Studio Shamshiri co-founder Pamela Shamshiri explain their opulent design for New Orleans luxury guesthouse Maison De La Luz in this video produced by Dezeen for the AHEAD Awards Atelier Ace, the Ace Hotel’s in-house creative team, collaborated with Los Angeles design firm Studio Shamshiri to convert a historic New Orleans […] More

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      Seven Santorini island retreats by Kapsimalis Architects

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      From converted caves to underground pools, here are seven hotels and houses on the Greek island of Santorini designed by local studio Kapsimalis Architects. Saint Hotel, Odi Stepping down towards the sea from the cliffs of the village of Odi, Saint Hotel features terraced patios with bright blue pools and white walls. In total the hotel […] More