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Picasso Said It Best

Kelly Wearstler talks about hotel room design.

One design challenge, not two but three days to complete it, and the four elements utilized as themes for this week's test, to create a stylish hotel suite for today's busy traveler. "If you know exactly what you are going to do, what is the point of doing it?" -- Pablo Picasso For the designer presented with a challenge you are not immediately comfortable with, Picasso's quote encourages us to take heart. Few designers are lucky enough to receive those mythical flashes of inspiration where an idea appears whole in your mind. This means your job is to simply recreate that flash of inspiration as faithfully as possible. The rest of us may have to do what I usually do, start layering out the job, one layer at a time.
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Matt, whose chic interpretation of water won this week's Top Design, is a self-professed "floor snob." His chic interpretation of water felt tight, confident, and was easy to feel comfortable in. Goil, as usual, had a different take on fire than what one might have expected. While he was thinking sunset, I might've thought sunrise. I was astonished that he felt insecure with his element choice. Goil, who has described himself as "saucy," certainly radiates fiery energy. His choices were unique, but perhaps developed a little late in the game so that time got the better of him. It's hard to stop when you feel your room is not ready. No investor is going to see one of my model rooms until I know it's as close to ready as it can be. I feel for you, Goil!
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Carisa and Andrea both applied their theme literally and liberally, with varying degrees of success. Carisa's strong, confident voice came through loud and clear. I thought her screens were vibrant, clever, and boldly marched down the center of this week's guidelines. kelly_108_02_320x240.jpg

Andrea's room, on the other hand, did not demonstrate her best work thus far. If anything, it looked a bit like one of Michael's rooms, where the color choices actually drain energy instead of the other way around. The grass was an imaginative but awkward choice, and the banquet zapped the room of any warmth a few comfortable chairs might have lent it.
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I have designed many a hotel room. Budgets aside, there are so many obstacles inherent to designing for the hotel occupant. Today's busy traveler expects luxury, ease, and that feeling of being in a room you wish you never had to check out of. That's the affect Matt's room had over me. Congratulations on your upcoming Metropolitan Home magazine spread, Matt!

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