43 GoodWeekendGoodWeekend42

Living

I HAVE always felt distinctly uncomfortable with the offerings of luxury hotels. I certainly don’t want to climb into a spa bath with a bottle

of champagne and find myself baulking at the laundry bill and price of drinks from the minibar. But my unease goes deeper than the dollars – it’s also about the aesthetics. I am uncomfortable with the bling, the showiness and the often-fake nature of places meant to make us feel like we are Masters of the Universe.

So when I first visited Hotel Hotel in Canberra, which opened in 2013, I felt I had found a home away from home – only better. Even before I understood the highly tuned philosophy of the place, developed and executed by co-founder Nectar Efkarpidis, I identified with it. Hotel Hotel had me from the moment I stepped into the March Studio-designed lobby constructed from thousands of pieces of recycled timber.

Video director turned interior designer Don Cameron, who loves vintage furniture, worked with Sydney collector Ken Neale to curate the rooms and public spaces. “In many ways, a hotel room was never the starting point for any of the thinking around the rooms and this is why they tend to extend the vocabulary of hotel

design,” says Cameron. They’ve filled the rooms with items designed for comfort: quality bedding, linen, pillows, towels, bathing products, as well as woollen carpets, heated floors and the ability to dim the lighting. And they produced tableaux of art on walls – some naive or humorous, others intentionally provocative, still others serene – to ensure no two rooms are alike.

With a strong background in residential interiors, Sydney designers Arent&Pyke brought their flair for connecting people and spaces to another standout, Perth’s Alex Hotel (pictured left). “We hope that the familiar objects and elements within the hotel put guests at ease, allow them to connect with the spaces emotionally, and act as a backdrop to each unique experience of the hotel,” says Sarah-Jane Pyke.

Working within the design by spaceagency architects – with its off-form concrete and raw surfaces – Arent&Pyke sought to create an interior that doesn’t speak too loudly of any particular era and, just as importantly, can accept change and evolve naturally as the hotel ages. n

HOME

HOTEL AWAY FROM HOMEBling is not better and “luxury hotel” doesn’t have to

equal bland, wasteful or intimidating.

You’re never too old for a bit of hide and seek.

SHOP

Going L for leather

OBJECT OF DESIRE

$265 Gaia pendantILANEL.COM

$580 Bond swivel chairWESTELM.COM.AU

$850 DachshundJONATHANADLER.COM

$449 Jason Grant ottomanTOP3.COM.AU

Make no mistake: we want every single piece of the delectable Victoria Beckham Limited Edition Makeup Collection but, if we could only choose one, it would have to be the Eye Palette with its six perfectly honed shades that work on the eye dry or wet (as an eyeliner). “I was very specific about what I wanted,” says Beckham. “It was about the must-have items I felt everybody should have in their make-up bag, things that are really quite difficult to find because I know, I’ve searched.” Run, don’t walk: this collection won’t be around for long. Stephanie Darling

Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Eye Palette, $150 ESTEELAUDER.COM.AU

ST YLING TIP:

“The velvet sofas create a sheltered space in the centre of the room, where you can feel cocooned by their high sides and the plush comfort of velvet, which carries the rich raspberry and mustard colours so beautifully,” says Sarah-Jane Pyke.

STYLING BY Kathy McKinnon

BY Karen McCartney | PHOTOGRAPH BY Anson Smart

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