Summer may be coming to an end soon, but we’re going to continue celebrating seasonal fun with a look at some newly completed hospitality projects and their standout products, plus a crop of recent products for making getaways, lounges and recreational venues more welcoming, stylish and comfortable.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Bronte Restaurant
We recently raved about new project and product designs by Tom Dixon, among them this restaurant located by London’s Trafalgar Square. Dixon led the design team, which took inspiration from Victorian explorers and cabinets of curiosities, resulting in an eclectic mix of intriguing found and purchased objects and Dixon’s own furnishings and lighting.
Bronte Restaurant
Among the latter are gold Fade pendants over dining booths, Plane wall lights in ceiling cove zones, a combination of his Scoop and Wingback Dining upholstered chairs throughout, Tube Tables and Fan Dining chairs in black.
Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel
Recently renovated by Indidesign, the property’s 17,200-square-foot lobby proudly showcases the city’s engineering and arts heritage through elements and details: A ceiling luminaire that anchors the space sports a geometric, structural form, for example. A custom artwork behind the reception desk echoes that same engineering sentiment with angles, lines and other geometric forms. Metallic elements ranging from decorative hardware to furniture details and accents emphasize the structural engineering discipline even further still.
Hilton San Francisco Union Square Hotel; photography by Taggart Sorensen
In terms of the color palette, the firm looked to the surrounding landscape, referencing a “City on the Bay” with gray and amber hues as well as steel and deep blues.
Jumeirah Burj Al Arab Hotel
The Dubai resort’s 100,000-square-foot terrace, recently completed by Sigge and Kudos, boasts a restaurant and bar, its own manmade sand beach, freshwater pool, saltwater infinity pool, cabana space and stunning views of the Arabian Gulf into which it stretches.
Jumeirah Burj Al Arab Hotel
© sean conboy
Complementing these luxurious amenities are more than 700 pieces from stylish outdoor-furniture brand Dedon. These include Swingrest loungers, Rayne beach chairs, Tribeca armchairs and side chairs, Seashell barstools and various parasol products.
Ludlow House
Exclusive private-club brand Soho House & Co transformed a former gold-leaf factory on New York City’s Lower East Side into this new club, offering dining and meeting spaces, lounges and a screening room. Exposed brick or paneled walls and classic parquet wood floors are paired with plush upholstered furnishings and Nathan Allan’s Jewel textured glass.
Ludlow House
Part of the Josiah J Collection, Jewel sports a dimensional diamond-pattern relief that begs to be touched. Working with the in-house design team of Soho House, Nathan Allan produced the panels in ¼-inch-thick clear, tempered glass combined with Pilkington’s Pyrostop fire-rated IGUs, in formats ranging from 12 by 36 inches to 30 by 60 inches.
BATH
American Standard: One-Pint Decorum Urinal
Part of the Decorum upscale commercial fixture line, this minimalist and compact wall-mounted urinal is environmentally friendly, meeting the stringent 2016 California water regulations thanks to an updated hydraulic system. It uses only one pint of water per flush. That’s 87-percent less water than a standard 1.0 GPF urinal. The unit is also ADA-compliant for universal accessibility.
American Standard
Bradley Corporation: Verge LVS-Series
For those heavy-traffic commercial restrooms, this lavatory system offers a durable wash station in a modern, open-concept design. The single-piece, gently curved sink is made with Bradley’s exclusive Evero natural quartz surface material, which comes in a variety of colors, and is deck-mounted with sensor faucets.
Bradley Corporation
DuPont Corian: New Commercial Sinks
The solid surfacing company expanded its range of readymade sinks that are suitable for commercial spaces — from hospitality settings to healthcare facilities — with new shapes and sizes. Among the five new introductions are a round sink and ADA-compliant rectangular sink, which can be ideal in public lavatories or hotel guest-room baths. Corian sinks are nonporous and easy to clean.
DuPont Corian
Watermark Designs: Sutton
Brooklyn-based bath fitting manufacturer Watermark Designs has an edge about it, creating taps and handles that exude industrial urbanism without getting too steampunkesque. Its latest introduction was born out of a collaboration with INC Architecture & Design. Dubbed Sutton, the collection is inspired by, of all things, antique cappuccino handles spotted in a salvage yard. It features hexagonal nut-style details and linear knurling on the levers as well as on the spouts.
Watermark Designs
FLOORING
Cosentino: Dekton Large-Format Flooring
Cosentino launched large-format tiles of its Dekton ultracompact surfacing material earlier this year but is currently in the process of rolling out even larger sizes with superior flatness, making them particularly ideal for both interior and exterior flooring applications. What’s more, the tiles outperform porcelain products with regard to absorption level, traffic and pressure (Dekton can withstand approximately 3,700 pounds above industry standard) and impact resistance. Dekton comes in a variety of designs and finishes, from neutral solids with smooth finish to textured styles that mimic materials such as stone and metal.
Cosentino
Kebony: Clear Decking
Most everyone in our industry has heard of Kebony by now, softwood that’s impregnated with a bio-based liquid to possess the properties of a tropical hardwood. The manufacturer continues to expand its portfolio of projects, particularly in the exterior cladding and decking arenas. Kebony’s clear decking is available in a range of finished products, as well as rough sawn, and develops a natural grayish or silvery patina over time when exposed to sun and rain.
Kebony
Nemo Tile: Chalk
This matte porcelain collection is offered in a soft pastel palette that’s at once colorful and neutral, making it ideal for whole floor and wall applications, but also as accent borders. The 9-inch-square units come in five geometric patterns that range from mini-chevron to semicircle. Coordinating elongated hexagons are also available in single colors.
Nemo Tile
New Ravenna: Tansu
A large-scale stone parquet mosaic, Tansu is made of an ancient material, Muyu Jade, which possesses a warm variegated palette that gives it a wood-like appearance. The mosaics are waterjet-cut into shapes to form an interlocking pattern reminiscent of modern Japanese Ikebana baskets.
New Ravenna
The Hudson Company: Reclaimed Heart Pine, Chalk Finish
Reclaimed from 19th-century factories throughout New York City and the state’s Hudson River Valley, then pre-finished with a custom low-VOC Chalk finish, longleaf heart pine is a timber full of character that was once the predominant wood along much of the eastern seaboard. The Hudson Company manufactures the timber in ¾-inch-thick planks that measure 4 to 8 inches wide by 12 feet long. The wood is also available unfinished.
The Hudson Company
FURNITURE
Arper: Catifa 46 Colors
We love this modern chair, which was redone this year in a variety of fun pastel color combinations including rosé, petrol, yellow, ivory and smoke. Not only are the new soft palettes timely (think 80s Memphis revival), but they’re well suited to a range of settings, from hospitality to residential. The chairs come in sled or caster bases with optional fabric for the seat and back interior.
Arper
Davis: Tre
This sophisticated stool collection is defined by its three molded-plywood legs that widen at the top before visually joining at the center of the seat. Offered in lounge, counter or bar height, Tre comes in an array of finishes and colors and with optional upholstery for added comfort. Matching bar tables are also available.
Davis
Iwona Kosicka Design: Swing 2
This elegant circle is actually an indoor swing that’s suspended from the ceiling and constructed of molded oak plywood. It measures 110 centimeters in diameter by 12.5 centimeters deep, while its seat is wider at 33.5 centimeters deep. Made to order by an independent designer in Poland, Swing 2 can be requested in a variety of color finishes and is produced in about 60 days.
Iwona Kosicka Design
Leland International: M2 Bar Table
Simple geometry informs the clean design of the M2 tabletops and bases. The tops, available in square, rectangular or round shapes, can be specified in wood, high-pressure laminate or solid surface material with a choice of three wood or vinyl edge options. The round top comes in five diameters, square in five formats and rectangular in a single size. M2 is also offered in a dining table height.
Leland International
Wilkhahn: Asienta
Beautiful and minimal, Asienta is a family of upholstered seating designed by award-winning Jehs + Laub. Its smart design is a combination of straight lines (in the form of skinny, stick-like aluminum legs and frames) and rounded curves of the seat, back and arm upholstery. The collection includes armchairs, love seats, three-seat sofas and two- or three-seat benches. Jehs + Laub also designed coordinating coffee and occasional tables with wood tops.
Wilkhahn
INTERIOR FINISHES
ALPI: Piaçava and Pirarucu
The natural wonders of the Amazon directly inspired the textures of two new composite-wood veneers designed by the Campana Brothers for ALPI. Piaçava, for instance, was stylized with a filament-like texture to mimic its namesake, a fibrous coconut palm that’s native to the rainforest region and typically used to build hut roofs. Meanwhile, the Pirarucu sports a fish scale–like texture as it’s named for the largest freshwater fish species found in the Amazon River.
ALPI
Graham & Green: Library Wallpaper
So you’d like to design a library bar, but the client doesn’t have the budget nor the space to create one. Consider creating a faux library simply using wallpaper. Graham & Green produces an elegant one in white monochromatic, ivory and white and multicolor palettes to suit a variety of interiors. The 53-centimeter-by-7.68-meter rolls are constructed of durable vinyl that is suitable for commercial applications, and the pattern repeat is approximately 21 centimeters.
Graham & Green
Maya Romanoff: Starlit Lattice
Building on the wall-covering brand’s Beadazzled glass-bead coverings family, this new design presents a ground of Beadazzled glass-bead “tiles” with a lattice-pattern overlay made of genuine seashell. The elegant design comes in Natural Pearl/Sylvie, Golden Pearl/Golda, Gunmetal Pearl/Metallic Taupe or Natural Pearl/Bianca colorways and in 18-inch-square tiles. It has a Class A fire rating and non-woven backing.
Maya Romanoff
Suite Plants: LivePanel
This living-wall system is green in more ways than one: Using a cotton-wick system, it wastes no water and thus requires no drainage. The panel systems consist of plant cassettes that can hold nine 4-inch plants and water-reservoir gutters from which the cotton draws to water plant roots via capillary action. Indoor and outdoor systems are both available, as are optional decorative frames.
Suite Plants
TerraMai Reclaimed Woods: Reclaimed Modern Classics Walnut Paneling
TerraMai sources this American black walnut from post-industrial recycled walnut salvaged from manufacturing facilities in the Midwest, applies the reclaimed walnut wear layer to FSC-certified plywood, then finishes it with natural oil — beautiful for wall paneling while also suitable for flooring. The panels measure 14 millimeters thick by 5 inches wide by 1 to 7 feet long.
TerraMai Reclaimed Woods
USG Corporation: Celebration Canopies
Celebration Canopies are decorative aluminum ceiling clouds that also serve an acoustical purpose, with sound absorption on both sides of the panels. The units come in custom sizes and in matte white or reflective finish and ship preassembled for quick installation.
USG
LIGHTING
Axo Light USA: U-Light
The Venetian manufacturer is perhaps best known for combining a touch of whimsy with architecturally informed shapes, lines and curves, and this 2016 introduction is yet another example of this. These minimalist pendants feature simple U-shaped metal frames that support glowing LED rings below them, resulting in a floating visual effect. U-Light comes in three sizes and Anthracite Grey or Corten Rust finish.
Axo Light USA
Foscarini: Grey Tartan
Designed by husband-and-wife architects Ludovica and Roberto Palomba, Grey Tartan references the plaid-like pattern of its namesake Scottish fabric but with much more subtlety: Instead of color, the pattern lines are rendered through relief. The shade is blown glass with acid etching that gives its surface a soft textile appearance in white or grey. It measures 40 centimeters in diameter by 35 centimeters high.
Foscarini
Simes: Wood
Award-winning architect Matteo Thun designed a collection of elegant, minimalist wall sconces and bollards that make for great hallway or path lighting, indoors or out. It gets its name from wood detailing on the exterior or interior of each fixture. The Look Wood sconces can be used for down- or up-lighting or specified with two-way illumination. The Look Wood bollard comes in two heights. The Cool Wood wall sconce has an open design, as does the Cool Wood bollard, available in two heights. And the Skill Wood vertical scoop light sports wood detailing on the lower face and comes in three sizes.
Simes
Studio Italia Design: Rain
This LED pendant looks fabulous installed in clusters and at varied drop heights to make a dramatic statement in a high-ceilinged room or stairwell. Each pendant’s diffuser is 3.34 inches in diameter and comes in a choice of rose gold, gold, copper-bronze or brushed chrome.
Studio Italia Design
OUTDOOR
Extremis: Anker
Who says picnic tables have to be rectangular or even round? This triangular site furnishing comfortable seats up to six persons while keeping them close enough for conversation. Anker, which received an honorable mention in this year’s Red Dot Awards, sports wood slats for the bench seats and portions of the tabletop and a steel frame that connects it all. The steel is available in a wide palette of colors, and a hole at the center of the tabletop accommodates an umbrella.
Extremis
Galanter & Jones: Pylos Bench
Who says you can’t dine alfresco when the air starts getting nippy? The naysayers clearly haven’t seen the stylish and sculptural heated benches by Galanter & Jones. The most recent version, Pylos Bench, was designed at dining height to fit comfortably with an outdoor dining table (though the piece is attractive enough to furnish an interior, as well). Like its predecessors, Pylos is constructed of a cast-stone surface in five colors and powder-coated stainless steel base in four finishes. It boasts energy-efficient heating and a variable control system.
Galanter & Jones
Kornegay Design: Cirque Series
Kornegay’s outdoor architectural planters are made of natural gray concrete but tinted in your choice of Davis Colors pigments. The Cirque design comes in three different sizes: 25.5 inches in diameter by 30 tall, 36 inches in diameter by 34.5 tall and 22 inches in diameter by 44 tall.
Kornegay
MDT-tex: Tensilation Type EV Series
Developed in collaboration with Grimshaw Architects and winner of an Architizer A+Award, Tensilation is an umbrella-canopy system composed of modules with square or diamond-shaped covers and central supporting drainage columns with aluminum spokes. The main fabric is 100-percent polyester with dual-sided acrylic coating; it comes in 11 colors and can also be digitally or screen printed with custom graphics. Tensilation installs onto a proprietary height-adjustable flooring system or permanently using ground anchors and steel plates or concrete ballasts.
MDT-tex
Weinor: PergoTex II
Winner of a 2016 Red Dot Award, PergoTex II creates an awning-like pergola by partially attaching to the building and holding a retractable waterproof-PVC roof. What makes this product more appealing than your average awning is integrated lighting: LED spotlights are incorporated into the transoms of the folding roof structure for nights when one wants to entertain or dine alfresco.
Weinor