words Al Woods
If during the isolation you became tired of the look of your home walls and are looking for ideas for interior renovation, take a look at unusual housing options from different parts of the world. Here is a list of destinations and properties that will inspire you to make a makeover with new design elements and high quality furniture, like the collections of vig furniture, and, of course, new trips when they are safe again.
A hotel with a sky instead of a ceiling, a hotel with bag-shaped cakes, an Alice in Wonderland-style hotel and other design ideas! Let’s dive in!
But first a bit of history… A grand event in the fashion world is planned for 2011: the one-of-a-kind Fashion Island (Isla Moda) in Dubai was ready to receive its first visitors. Fashion Island is one of the 300 man-made islands of the artificially created archipelago, the outlines of which from a bird’s eye view are added to the geographical map of the world. In order to justify the name, the management company Dubai Infinity Holdings has signed a contract with five luminaries of the modern fashion industry – Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Gianfranco Ferre, Fendi and Elie Saab – according to which they must all create their own hotel on the island according to their taste and discretion.
For the first time, the idea of creating a fashion hotel came to the head of Gianni Versace. However, he himself did not have time to implement this project, leaving it to his younger sister Donatella. After that, it became clear that if before the designers were invited only to decorate the interior of the hotel, now the giants of the fashion industry themselves are actively involved in a new business for them.
All fashion hotels in the world have the same essence: the fashion house tries to reflect the lifestyle of its potential client. This is what you should try to implement at home.
Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà, 5 * (Verona, Italy)
In 2005, Byblos’ owner Dino Facchini teamed up with Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini to transform an old 15th century Venetian mansion into a “hotel of contemporary art” – that’s how they decided to name their work.
Late Renaissance, mature avant-garde and vintage classics peacefully coexist here with pop art and disco eras, in the light of which even classical baroque seems to be something new, smoothly flowing into modern art deco.
The hotel’s interiors are decorated with works of art from the personal collection of Dino Facchini, including works by the Italian performance queen Vanessa Beecroft, Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor, founder of the neo-geo style Peter Helly, Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, known for his unique approach to geometric shapes, and many other famous artists (by the way, they are all part of the Byblos Art Gallery).
It is important to remember: it is in this hotel that you can feel like a real collector of contemporary art: all the works you like can be purchased for your private collection.
More details:
www.byblosarthotel.com
Blanket Bay, 5 * (Glenorchy, New Zealand)
It turns out that the haute couture eco-lodge also exists! Confirmation of this is a small hotel owned by the former head of Levi Strauss, Thomas Tusher.
Blanket Bay is located in one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand – on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, in a small province called Glenorchy, teeming with amazing golden meadows, turquoise rivers and majestic mountains, which became famous around the world thanks to the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
When creating Blanket Bay, Thomas Thascher followed his own understanding of the right way of life: only natural materials and respect for nature. By the way, the hotel has an operating deer farm and a stable, so guests can always use live and, most importantly, environmentally friendly transport to explore the surroundings. And there is something to look at here, take at least Milford Sound – one of the most famous fjords in New Zealand, which is part of the Fiordlands National Park.
More details:
www.blanketbay.com
Armani Hotel, 5 * (Dubai, UAE)
A breathtaking panoramic view of the city and the Arabian Gulf from the windows of the tallest building in the world – such is the understanding of the ideal hotel from Giorgio Armani.
According to Armani’s philosophy, a luxury hotel is the embodiment of minimalism and the perfect combination of elegance and convenience. Glossy panels and platinum textures, calm colors of cold pastel tones, walls with marble trim, pleated silk fabrics, as well as an abundance of glass and metal – all this does not allow you to forget about the corporate style of the company for a minute.
The integrity of the interior is reinforced by a specially developed aroma for the hotel, and each room is served by a personal concierge who is ready to fulfill any client’s request around the clock.
More details:
www.armanihotels.com
Maison Moschino, 4 * (Milan, Italy)
The well-known and beloved European fairy tales inspired the Moschino design team led by Rossella Giardini to create a fabulous – in the most literal sense of the word – hotel.
The rooms do not have serial numbers here, they are replaced by fabulous names: “Alice in Wonderland”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Mysterious Forest”, “Shadow World”, “Wanderer Clouds” and so on. In Alice’s room, for example, there are tables-cups and pillows-cakes; in the room “Little Red Riding Hood” there is a soft wolf on the bed, designed by the designers of Moschino; a bed, dressed in an airy dress, awaits its guests in the Sleeping Beauty room, and trees grow predictably in the Mysterious Forest.
The hotel’s shared interiors are also replete with whimsical décor, such as cookie chandeliers, handbag floor lamps, booted chairs and more, allegedly embodying Moschino’s passion for surrealism. In addition, the hotel is located in a former railway station from the 1840s, which also gives it a unique charm of the past. This is what its guests testify to.
More details:
www.maisonmoschino.com
The G, 5 * (Galway, Ireland)
Philip Treacy, who has long earned the fame of the “Mad Hatter” for his headdresses, fantastic in shape and idea, did not deviate from the eccentric style when creating a hotel designed based on the book “Alice in Wonderland“.
As in the book, the laws of physics, geometry and a number of other exact sciences have no power within the walls of the hotel: a crimson corridor, endless, like the Rabbit’s Hole, into which little Alice falls; a floor in black and white stripes in the form of a hypnotic funnel, whirlpool mirrors, upside-down rooms, painted chairs and many other interior items that can amaze even the most sophisticated imagination with their shapes and colors.
But The G is interesting not only for its “mentally unbalanced” design. Some of the rooms and halls of this hotel are real galleries: on the walls and even on furniture you can see drawings by Andy Warhol, the work of fashion illustrator David Downton, the famous series of Bordello Wee Spears photographs, provocative photographs of nude fashion icons Patrick Demarchelier and, of course, the same an April 1950 Vogue cover featuring Jean Patchett, which Treacy bought at Christie’s in 2008.
More information: www.theghotel.ie
Hôtel du Petit Moulin, 4 * (Paris, France)
French fashion designer Christian Lacroix has a special passion for theater. Everyone knows this. Therefore, in the hotel, which he designed, the imposing atmosphere of an artistic and bohemian Parisian theater reigns.
There are only 17 rooms in the Hôtel du Petit Moulin, and the walls of each of them were personally painted by Lacroix with sketches of theatrical performances in all colors and shades of the rainbow – extremely bright and juicy, as an imposing couturier loves. On the canvases of the “theater hotel” images of burning Carmen, mysterious Scheherazade, voluptuous Don Juan, brave musketeers, as well as scenes from “Othello”, “The Marriage of Figaro”, “Marianne’s Whim” and other works appear.
More information: www.paris-hotel-petitmoulin.com
