What does it take to create award-winning hotel room designs? Just ask the team behind the latest Hotel Arts renovation.
Last October, CHIL Interior Design reinterpreted the guest rooms in the Hotel Arts luxury tower. Now they’ve won a major award for their work, too: The 2015 Robert Ledingham Award for Project of the Year from the Interior Designers Institute of British Columbia (IDIBC). Interior designer Adele Rankin — who worked on the renovation — took some time out to share the CHIL secrets: what they did at Hotel Arts and why.
First, think about the guest, says Rankin, a senior associate with CHIL Interior Design in Vancouver. What do people do when they first walk into a hotel room? Typically they first check out the bed and the bathroom. “We knew we wanted to create the ‘wow’ factor with the headboard wall behind each bed,” Rankin says. “That and the bathrooms — those are the biggest draws when people walk into a hotel room, so that’s where we really put our focus.”
Part of the challenge was to create “artful rooms” that matched the rest of the hotel and its restaurants, Rankin says. “Hotel Arts had this great restaurant renovation and a strong art program throughout the hotel’s public spaces,” she says. “The mandate was to bring the rooms up to that same level. How can we create rooms that are art unto themselves?” Choosing the right fabric was essential. “We selected a fabric that really felt like artwork on its own,” she says. And consider colour. “We went with a neutral warm grey and taupe background, with shots of citrus and bright pops of orange.”
The result is a cool, urban space that is both timeless and current — and extremely comfortable to stay in. “It has an edge to it, but it’s very comfortable. It’s fashion-forward but not trendy,” Rankin says. “It’s inspiring in a lot of ways, too. You can’t categorize it too easily, much like the rest of Hotel Arts.”
Perhaps you’ve stayed at Hotel Arts and you loved your room so much, you want to recreate that vibe at home. You’re not alone; guests often ask about particular art, fabrics and furniture found throughout the hotel. “It’s about having a big statement piece, whether it’s your headboard or original art,” Rankin says. “Don’t worry too much about if it matches everything else. But you have to love it. That’s the best advice I can give.”
Photo Credit: CHIL Interior Design and Brandon Barre Photography
