CHECKING IN

Noteworthy hoteliers and restaurateurs pushing the proverbial design envelope.

SEATTLE Willmott’s Ghost

A SLICE OF ITALY HAS TAKEN UP RESIDENCE IN THE MOST UNLIKELY OF PLACES: SEATTLE’S FLORA- AND FAUNA-FILLED AMAZON SPHERES. In 2018, James Beard Award–winning chef Renee Erickson opened Willmott’s Ghost, a tranquil eatery named for 19th-century horticulturalist Ellen Willmott and offering Roman-style bites, on the ground floor of the tech giant’s experimental downtown space. The interior of the restaurant takes a cue from Rome’s golden hues and characteristic warmth: Price Erickson and Heliotrope Architects used natural materials to soften the originally industrial space. “We were given a shell that was steel, glass, and concrete,” says Jeremy Price, who cofounded the Price Erickson interior design firm with Renee Erickson in 2008. “We wanted to complement the shell of the building by using warm wood tones and natural leather.”

The curved glass walls are lined with concave turquoise booths, marble tabletops perched atop pastel-green bases, and natural oak chairs. With its blush-hued walls and asymmetrical chandeliers, the restaurant imparts a youthful and spirited energy. As Price says, “When thinking of the design, we wanted to share the experiences that we’ve had in Rome and Italy.”

—Annette Maxon with Claire Butwinick

NEW YORK Il Fiorista

The bloom of spring has arrived early in New York’s NoMad district with the opening of Il Fiorista, an 85-seat eatery dedicated to all things floral. It houses not only a café, bar, and restaurant, but also community educational spaces and a boutique devoted to flowers. The bright, organic-feeling space, designed by New York–based architect Elizabeth Roberts, is filled with ash-topped dining tables and floral-hued frescoes and graced with a selection of new and vintage light fixtures. Guests enter the restaurant through the glossy black storefront and continue through the boutique area, where floor-to-ceiling cedar shelving holds home goods for sale and a table full of colorful flower arrangements sets the tone.

—Annie Dahl with CB

KAULA LUMPUR MoMo’s Kuala Lumpur

EMILY HAWKES; ORMOND GROUP Combining equal parts play and relaxation, the recently opened MoMo’s Kuala Lumpur welcomes guests to unwind and let loose in whatever style they choose. Inspired by the vibrant energy that so often draws travelers to Kuala Lumpur, the design team at Sydney-based Akin Atelier dreamed up the Playground, a vibrant social space located on the hotel’s first floor and decked out with a taco bar, flamingo-colored chairs, and colorful geometric murals. When visitors are ready to crash, MoMo’s offers 99 sanctuary-like micro rooms that exhibit a tranquil, minimalist aesthetic with clean modular lines, snowy walls, and beds on raised tatami platforms. —AM, CB

LOS ANGELES The West Hollywood Edition

When real estate developer Ian Schrager first imagined the West Hollywood Edition, he envisioned a property evocative of the Sunset Strip’s golden age. Yet what the project’s architect, John Pawson, gave him was the exact opposite: an Italian travertine–clad lobby, guest rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and whitewashed wood headboards, and a lush restaurant atop a terraced deck with wood-bench seating. “I see my role at the West Hollywood Edition as creating spaces where the grit and the glamour of the Sunset Strip coexist and flourish,” Pawson says. “When someone walks into one of my buildings, it’s not the details of the architecture I want them to register first—it’s the life the architecture is making possible.”

While Pawson’s design might seem atypical for its West Hollywood location, it subtly nods to its California setting— native flora is planted along the drive and at the front entrance, and Los Angeles–based artist Sterling Ruby’s mobile installation Scale, topping off the lobby’s spare design, references the contradictions between the lush hotel and the gritty West Hollywood street. —CB

HARADS, SWEDEN Arctic Bath

When writing a packing list for Swedish Lapland, most people wouldn’t include a swimsuit. But if a stop at the Arctic Bath hotel is on your agenda, you’ll definitely want to add one. Opened in January 2020, the six-room floating hotel sits in Sweden’s Lule River, just south of the Arctic Circle. An additional six cabins sit on the riverbank. “The hotel is inspired by the timber-floating era, when felled trees were transported downriver for processing,” says Annkathrin Lundqvist, who designed the riverbank cabins.

At the center of the circular aquatic lodgings, designed by architects Bertil Harström and Johan Kauppi, is an openair cold-plunge bath that allows visitors to view the northern lights in wintertime and the midnight sun during the summer months.

“The idea for Arctic Bath came from one of the owners, Per-Anders Eriksson, who had asked for a floating sauna nine years ago with the opening of the nearby Treehotel,” notes Harström. “The project is based on a method called ‘dig where you stand,’ so most of the materials have a local connection.” Constructed from pine, a traditional building material in the region, both sections of the hotel feature a minimal Scandinavian aesthetic with décor from a number of Swedish design brands, including bespoke lighting by Ateljé Lyktan, beds from Carpe Diem, and additional furniture from Karl Andersson & Söner, Norrgavel, and Swedese. “The surrounding nature has been incorporated into the cabins and suites,” says Lundqvist. “We used natural, sustainable materials with a rich history, such as wood, stone, and leather, as well as luxurious textiles.” In addition to three saunas, a hot tub, and a treatment spa, guests can enjoy offsite experiences including a husky-drawn sled ride, a visit to nearby Harads, and a trip to a traditional Sámi village. —Rachel Gallaher

Designing Friendship

During Reykjavik’s Bicentennial Anniversary in 1986, Reykjavik and Seattle signed a sister city pact that charted course for 34 years of cultural and educational exchange. In the spirit of this partnership, the Seattle design community and the Icelandic Design Centre have organized Hæ/Hi: Designing Friendship, the fi rst collaborative design exhibition between Reykjavik and Seattle. Sixteen studios from various disciplines will exhibit their interpretation of how we express something about ourselves, our personality, and our culture upon meeting others. Hæ/Hi: Designing Friendship, a traveling exhibit, will be featured in Design March, Reykjavik’s annual design festival in March 2020, NYCxDesign in New York May 2020, and Seattle in October 2020. Participating designers include Hanna Dis Whitehead, Ragna Ragnarsdottir, Theodora Alfredsdottir, Ragnheidur Osp, Agustav, 1+1+1, Jonathan Junker, Fruitsuper, John Hogan, Grain, Amanda Ringstad, Thorunn Arnadottir, Fin, Gabriel Stromberg, and WKND Studio.