To set their hospitality projects apart from the rest, designers, architects, consultants and developers flock to one of the fastest-growing trade fairs dedicated to great hospitality design: Boutique Design New York (BDNY). The show’s seventh edition took over New York City’s Javits Center last week, where we roamed 100,000 square feet of exhibit space to see the latest in categories ranging from interior finishes, bath fixtures and lighting to furniture, textiles and equipment. After sifting through all the finds, we’ve narrowed down our top picks to these 10 must-know products of the moment.
Alape
Alape: 2step Basin
Conceived by Sieger Design for German manufacturer Alape, this elegant glazed steel basin sports a crisp, defining edge and, as its name suggests, a stepped interior. The latter is an interior ledge that holds toiletries and objects that may have gotten wet, keeping the surrounding countertop drier. A gentle slope in the step filters water downward to prevent pooling. Meanwhile, the perimeter edge — which is a mere 3 millimeters thick — can be installed flush-mount or 25 millimeters above the countertop. The tap can be mounted on the elevated step to the left or right or centered, parallel to the wall. Two model widths are available: 525 or 700 millimeters for the asymmetrical design; 500 or 600 millimeters for the symmetrical.
Alape
Architectural Systems Inc. (ASI): Bijou
Part of the manufacturer’s Embossed Woods Geometrix line, Bijou decorative wall panels boast striking dimensional patterns inspired by gemstone characteristics such as facets. Three designs are available: Jewel comes in natural or smoked oak, white or gold lacquer and in a 41-by-96-inch size; Gem in natural, smoked or gray oak in a 50-by-123.4-inch size; and Bauble in white or silver lacquer in a 41-by-96-inch size.
ASI
Artistic Tile: Molten
Michael Aram for Artistic Tile draws on the designer’s popular tabletop collections, translating some of their distinct details into luxurious ceramic tiles that are well suited to hospitality and residential spaces. Molten, for instance, features a beaded surface that references Aram’s Molten dinnerware collection handles and accents. The tiles measure 6 by 12 inches and come in metallic bronze, steel or gloss white finish.
Artistic Tile
Fantini: Icona Classic
Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen put his own spin on timeless bath fitting designs by experimenting with proportion. The result was Icona, his first collection for Fantini. Within the series, the Classic family combines a slim and graceful arched faucet with low-profile cross handles. The pieces are available in a range of finishes including chrome, nickel, gunmetal and copper bronze.
Fantini
Flavor Paper: Élan Vital
A wall covering line that doubles as a large-scale art mural series, Élan Vital is a photographic collection of still life composed with a modern eye by floral designer Ovando. Hip Brooklyn wall-covering company Flavor Paper worked with Ovando in both selecting the individual species and the photographing process before blowing up and reproducing the final compositions with amazing detail and resolution. The murals are made to order with water-based inks on a variety of eco-friendly substrates.
Flavor Paper
Hansgrohe: ShowerSelect Trims
No more guessing which levers and knobs to turn and in which direction to run the shower or switch between showerhead and hand shower. These latest Hansgrohe trims are beautifully minimal with easy-to-decipher graphics that identify each function on push buttons above the thermostatic valve. The trims are available in square or round models with one or two buttons and chrome or brushed nickel finish. For boutique or luxury hotel chains looking for more personalization, Hansgrohe can custom-etch logos into the faceplates.
Hansgrohe
Interface Hospitality: City of Angels
The home-away-from-home concept in hospitality continues to take off, leading some hotel properties to eschew typical guest room wall-to-wall carpet in favor of a mix of hard flooring and area rugs that recall warm and familiar residential interiors. Along those lines, Interface’s hospitality division has developed a number of modular carpet tiles that perfectly mimic contemporary area rugs while still offering the benefit of easy cleaning and replacement of individual tiles. Among them, City of Angels features a black-and-white abstracted, textural grid pattern based on a work by contemporary artist Agnes Martin. The tufted sheared carpet tiles are constructed with Aquafil’s 100-percent-recycled Type 6 nylon yarn and Interface’s GlasBac backing system. Complete the look with Interface’s new LVT products (also shown below), which boast realistic wood-grain pattern and feel but all the low maintenance and high durability of resilient flooring.
Interface
Maya Romanoff: Cozy
Celebrated designer and architect David Rockwell revisits his previous collaboration with the wall-covering brand, blending characteristics from his Blanket and Stitched designs for a new one called Cozy. At once both luxurious and homey, Cozy features the soft wool-felt hand of Blanket and the modern embroidery detailing of Stitched. Four large-scale stitch patterns are printed and engraved on any of six wool colorways.
Maya Romanoff
© Nathan Kirkman
MDC: Sextant
The first in a series of commercial-grade, wood-veneer wall coverings by interior designer Jamie Beckwith, Sextant is a modern take on the Moorish arabesque pattern, which she first encountered while visiting a 17th-century French church. Here she recreates the pattern large-scale with inlaid wood veneer made with a rapidly renewable Japanese species and finishes the design in seven sophisticated colorways. MDC has specially produced Sextant to be pliable enough to wrap columns and curved walls.
MDC
Star Fans
The stunning ceiling fans from this new-to-the-US family-owned brand boast handsome, sculptural blades carved of Belize wood and clear polycarbonate housing that exposes the motor to provide an industrial-chic twist. Suitable for both residential and commercial settings, the fans can be specified in any combination of five different blade finishes and four motor colors to complement a range of aesthetics indoors and out — even in damp locations. The Energy Star product offers three fan speeds that run at an efficient 12.2 to 59 watts.
© Amit Geron
Star Fans