Tag Archives: Ace Hotel

Saar Zafrif

Saar Zafrir Talks About Hotel Elements to Bring Home

Amsterdam-based interior designer Saar Zafrir has designed hotels all over Europe from Provocateur Berlin to Brown Beach House Croatia. It’s always in boutique hotels that traveler feels even more comfortable than at home with their focus on meticulous detail. In fact, it is always the bedroom that we’d love to replicate at home but with clutter and the regular human obsession with sentimental items, our bedrooms are often not the clean haven of dreams.  We spoke with the designer to learn more about creating a magical hotel setting in our own homes.

 

 

How has your design sense changed working with boutique hotels in Europe?

 

Boutique Hotels require a great deal of attention to detail, from the overall concept to the interior design, material selection, and furniture design. In order to make them unique, creativity becomes the main player. Normally speaking, a boutique hotel has no branded guidelines/standards as a starting base and therefore the designer needs to get deeply involved in the details in order to create a new essence/feeling/vibe.

 

Saar Zafrif

 

 

What are some of the most important elements of interior design in a hotel? What do people pay attention to most and don’t even realize that they do so?

 

The three most important elements in any guest room are the lighting, bathroom, and bed. Lighting is one of the most crucial, yet overlooked elements. The light in one’s bedroom must be strong and encompass the entire space. I recommend adding a light dimmer to adjust a bedroom to serve various functions from morning to night and to allow a warm and soft atmosphere when needed. Bathroom lighting is also very important and needs to be just right to allow guests to get ready, check out their outfit and handle all their grooming needs. Proper and strong water pressure in the shower needs to be ensured as well.  In all my design projects, it’s important for me to create a bed so comfortable that the hotel guests will find it very difficult to leave. I usually use Egyptian cotton sheets, a mattress topper is a must and four extremely cosy pillows.

 

What kind of elements are people afraid to include in their homes but appreciate in hotels?

 

Home is an everyday location, which is why you shouldn’t go with extreme design. For example, your home shouldn’t be too ‘dark’ / too sexy / too futuristic and so on and forth. Home should be warm, comfortable and practical. Hotels, on the other hand, can be less practical and more daring. In the end, as a guest, you’ll only be spending a few days in it.

 

Hotel rooms are usually very clean-cut, uncluttered. Is this something that we should try to include in our own homes as well?

 

While I believe de-cluttering to be beneficial, a home can have a bit more expression and clutter than a hotel room. While a hotel’s design is meant to welcome every type of guest, you can really personalize your home and bedroom to be your own haven. Make your bed every morning before leaving, keep your nightstand clean-cut and incorporate the design elements I mentioned above (lighting and bedding).

 

Saar Zafrif

 

Many of your designs included velvet elements. What other interior design trends have you recently encountered?

 

Velvet is timeless – I wouldn’t necessarily categorize it as a trend. I love velvet because it’s a very warm fabric. Recently, I have really enjoyed using white/off-white as a recurrent color and mixing it with small details such as books, pillows, and art with warmer colors that bring a room to life and create a cozy feeling.

 

Finally, what are three things people can do to bring hotel elements into their home?

 

Adding small decorative details can really make the difference and bring a home to life. For example, I would suggest investing in a great coffee table, curating a selection of books that interest you, adding rugs, decorative pillows to furniture and so forth.

HyperFocal: 0

Caldera House is the Height of Luxury Comfort

fireplacePhoto: Courtesy of Douglas Friedman

Skiing is a favorite luxury past time, and while we’re past the golden age of the jetset in St. Moritz, the newly opened Caldera House in Jackson Hole is revamping the fashion of the winter sport at their new elevated ski lodge.

Memberships for the Caldera House ski club are over $100,000 to start, which sets it apart from the spaces in the area. As it only has around 100 members, it’s a fairly exclusive establishment, thus attracting guests who seek the best slopes and lodging, combined with exquisite personal service.

The renowned Los-Angeles based design studio, Commune, known for its esteemed work in architecture and various branches of design oversaw the elegant Caldera HouseCombining the styles of Alpine skiing through the elements of Switzerland’s 50s and Gstaad in the 60s, as well as the Italian intricacies of Cortina, Commune’s branding of the Caldera House logo  – a downhill skier – is quintessential to the style of the rest of the ski chalet.

bathroom

Photo: Courtesy of Douglas Frienman

Roman Alonso, one of the two principals of Commune (alongside Steven Johanknecht) said the project came about after the client had visited some of the projects Commune designed for Ace Hotel, and appreciated the way that they each maintained their own personality connected to their locations. “They were looking for design that was sophisticated and alpine in feel but connected in a nuanced way to Jackson Hole,” says Alonso. “They wanted the spaces to feel unique for the location but somehow remain integrated to the surroundings, elevated and yet casual.” This brief would then turn into a minimalist, Scandinavian-inspired space focused on the texture and overall feel of a traditional ski chalet, brought to life by CLB Architects. 

The resort was inspired by Charlotte Perriand’s Meribel Ski Resort in the Tarentaise Valley of the French Alps, Carlo Mollino’s Casa del Sole, as well as elements of mid-century modern Scandinavian design. The chalet incorporates ideas from the works of George Nakashima (American architect, woodworker, and one of the fathers of the American craft movement), Jean Prouvé (French metal worker, architect, and designer), as well as the work of local furniture and interior designer Thomas Molesworth. Other inspirations include 1950’s Sun Valley ski bums, and scenes from films such as Belle du Jour and Charade. Caldera House also features the craft of numerous contemporary artists and experts, such as Lindsey Adelman, BDDW, Nakashima Workshop, Axel Vervoordt, Michael Boyd, Caste and Heath Ceramics, among many others.

fireplace

Photo: Courtesy of Douglas Friedman

The inside is not only cozy, but was designed to exhibit a “new type of luxury, rooted in comfort.” The surfaces are complete with natural finishes of the highest quality, including claro walnut, American oak, travertine, and unlacquered metals that “will age well with time and patina beautifully,” Alonso explains. A separate layer of comfort was also added to the furnishings and fabrics by adding cashmere, shearling, mohair, and handwoven fabrics. “Everything had to feel special and luxurious but not fussy or precious….it’s a fine line,” says Alonso. “Nothing pretentious.”

“Caldera House offers a mix of European sophistication with the comfort and casual attitude of the West,” Alonso concludes.

Haspel

ACE Hotel x Haspel: The Summer Suit

Haspel for Ace Hotel New OrleansImage: ACE Hotel x Haspel.

Haspel enters summer with a special collaboration in partnership with the ACE Hotel. Outfitted on members of the staff, the ACE x Haspel suit was designed specifically for the boutique hotel’s new outpost in New Orleans, and brings with it both brands’ southern charm. First inspired by the heat-managing capabilities of seersucker on workers in India, the clothier’s signature puckered-and-flat cotton fabric has certified its style as quintessential for hot weather suiting. Blending Haspel’s NOLA flair with the ACE’s classical aesthetic, this black on navy design—with a three button detail and unconstructed fit—is a smart transition into the heat.

Vanstn

Vans x Ace Hotel Re-Imagines the Era Classic for Lucky No. 59

Ace29409_VANS sneaker 3 copy

Image: Ace Hotel.

Some shoe models just never go out of style. Vans’ signature Era—you know, the one you’ve been wearing year after year since middle school—is one such trend. Born out of Southern California, Vans’ history is steeped in skate culture, and in its 50 year lifetime the Era has become one of the brand’s most iconic offerings. But like most breakthrough products, the shoe has also grown to transcend its alternative roots, evolving to grace the feet of teenage hipsters and hip-hop stars alike (here’s Kanye in all-white Eras). Now, a new collaboration between Vans and Ace Hotel delivers a dressier (yes, dressier) version of the Era silhouette.

DTLA Vans Shoe

Image: Ace Hotel.

Spearheaded by the international hotel group’s creative head, Atelier Ace, the cooler-than-cool collaboration naturally finds a home at Ace’s SoCal outpost. Outfitted on the hip downtown staff at the Ace Hotel Downtown LA, the new all-black-everything version of Era #59 features a leather and canvas upper, rubber outsoles, and brass eyelets. Sleek and subtle, the new model exhibits all the qualities of a “dress sneaker,” making it suitable for a range of outfits.

DTLA Vans Shoe

Image: Ace Hotel.

Starting this Sunday, June 22, 2014 the Vans x Ace Hotel Era 59 will be available in limited quantities at Ace Hotel Downtown LA, and will subsequently launch online on the 23rd.