Kelly Wearstler's work at the Viceroy Hotel, Miami. Blues are layered to oceanic depths.
Lately, as I've been plodding my way faithfully through HGTV's afternoon show round-up of real estate cum staging cum economic desperation, I've noticed a peculiar trend: the boutique hotel. In virtually every show, this phrase is ubiquitous. It costs $1,000, but it looks like a boutique hotel! We rented the furniture for this staging, and made it look like a boutique hotel! This strikes me as a rather odd choice of model. Most Americans have never stayed in anything like a real boutique hotel (this does not include bed and breakfasts, local hotels, quaint moldy inns, etc.). What most of us HAVE encountered is bland uniformity. I dearly love my Westin for its luxury bedding and faintly flowery scented soaps, but a paragon of originality it is not. I think what HGTV shows are really striving to convey to the unwashed masses is the sense of personalization, luxury, and SERVICE. Thus the hotel model. The newly decorated room (and accompanying plush-towel-scented-soap bathroom) are meant to give the impression of being cared for, ideally not by the owner. In an age without servants a hotel is really the last frontier of service without guilt. And gratified desire free of guilt really is the ultimate luxury.
Wearstler's work is true luxury; the attention to detail and complex palette are looks only a highly trained eye could create. Luckily, you don't need any special training to appreciate their beauty.
Form, color, pattern - nothing in this space is predictable. Yet, it's remarkably balanced. Spa interiors at the Viceroy by Philippe Starck.
A color saturated sitting area in a Wearstler room.
So what do you think readers? What constitutes true luxury in your home?
All images, Kelly Wearstler and the Viceroy Hotel via the hotel and nytimes.com.
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