Decorating Styles
Travel by Design
Hotel to Home: 7 Design Ideas From the Portland Ace
Get inspired by a Portland hotel that eschews tradition by mixing styles, supporting local artists and letting character lead the way
The Ace Hotel in Portland, Oregon, is onto something. With hotel rates on the rise and an increase in popularity of home-stay websites, the Ace team is intent on creating rooms that resemble a friend's comfy guest room instead of designing a room that looks and feels like a staid hotel. If you want to master the art of mixing design styles and creating a signature look that's based more on character, take a look at these images from the Ace Hotel in Portland. You might just learn a thing or two from their visionary design team.
Reconsider the bed placement. Gone is the standard hotel room format, with a bed and a traditional headboard holding court and looming large in the middle of the room. Instead, the Ace design team, spearheaded by Jeremy Pelley and Philip Iosca, has created "softboard beds" covered in vintage olive green canvas culled from recycled army ponchos. Beds are positioned in the corner of a room or right under a window, and hardly any of the furnishings are a perfect match.
Dare to mix it up. Thanks to countless articles on the artful mix of pillows, many of us have mastered how to casually throw cushions together. But the Ace design team pushes the envelope further by mixing in the texture and pattern of a Moroccan souk with kilim rugs and poufs, in colors that you're more likely to find in an army-navy store. The result is an eclectic match made in design heaven.
Go local for artwork. Sometimes the best work is right around the corner. Case in point: The Ace team looked right in its own backyard when deciding on accessories and decor. Murals and large and small accent pieces were sourced from local artists, suppliers and craftspeople for a mix of modern and vintage elements.
Curious about the cat mural? It's by artist Brent Wick, who's on a mission to make his cat, Larry (shown here) famous.
Curious about the cat mural? It's by artist Brent Wick, who's on a mission to make his cat, Larry (shown here) famous.
Go local for light fixtures. Radiate style with dramatic overhead lighting and up the ante by sourcing from local suppliers. Here, the Ace hotel looked to the 150-year-old Oregon company Schoolhouse Electric to create the anchoring piece for this lobby sitting area — a three-tiered chandelier that was custom made for the hotel.
Don't be afraid to display the TV. Flat-screen TVs come in all shapes and sizes, and in this room, the rectangular shape and scale of the appliance isn't incredibly offensive or too imposing. It's actually quite an honest placement and acknowledges how many people watch morning news stories over a bowl of cereal and a mug of hot coffee.
Bunk beds are for grown-ups, too. The hotel cleverly maximizes space (and lowers room rates) with the inclusion of bunk beds, or "band rooms," as it calls them. The neutral color motif of crisp whites, birch wood and gray wool, and the graphic art prints on the wall keep the space from teetering into tween territory, giving it an adult, barracks feel.
The wool blankets in this picture are a vintage revival from Pendleton Woolen Mills, a Portland firm that specializes in premier wool products. Pendleton used to create wool blankets for many hotels until the hotel industry opted for the more modern alternative of comforters.
The wool blankets in this picture are a vintage revival from Pendleton Woolen Mills, a Portland firm that specializes in premier wool products. Pendleton used to create wool blankets for many hotels until the hotel industry opted for the more modern alternative of comforters.
Retain, refurbish and rethink. Still using your vintage crates only as planters or retro apple bins just for junk storage? Place them in the bathroom as stepping stools or towel receptacles.
This photo shows many salvaged decor details, such as the deep cast iron rolltop tubs and sinks, which the design team refurbished and retained. The modern update comes in the bathroom draperies — luxurious and velvety charcoal curtains that add drama and an extra layer of privacy.
More:
Color Me Dazzled: The Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs
Design Lessons from a Nantucket Inn
This photo shows many salvaged decor details, such as the deep cast iron rolltop tubs and sinks, which the design team refurbished and retained. The modern update comes in the bathroom draperies — luxurious and velvety charcoal curtains that add drama and an extra layer of privacy.
More:
Color Me Dazzled: The Saguaro Hotel in Palm Springs
Design Lessons from a Nantucket Inn