Miami

Miami’s Royal Palm hotel, white and serene, is now a distant memory

Annie Elliott | January 24, 2012

We returned from Miami to freezing temps and aspirational snow on the ground. Sad any way you look at it.

As I Tweeted, the hotel itself, the Royal Palm, was lovely. A page out of old Miami: a tidy and tasteful room (I'm not a believer in big bedrooms, let alone big hotel rooms) and a sweeping view.

For this color-obsessed design maven, the white walls, drapes and bedding - and I mean WHITE, not ivory, cream, light taupe, or gray - made a big impression....

» Bedroom, Color + paint color

The Mondrian hotel, South Beach (final): myths challenged

Annie Elliott | January 24, 2011

Given that the temperature in D.C. dipped to 5 degrees last night - that's FIVE degrees, people; a single digit - Miami seems like a distant memory.

Nonetheless, I have a few more pictures of the Mondrian to show you, so I'll make this long on visuals, short on words....

» Kitchen + bath, Wallpaper

The South Beach Mondrian hotel, continued: the Dutch thing

Annie Elliott | January 20, 2011

When someone says, "Mondrian," what do you think of?

Me, too

But that couldn't be farther from Marcel Wanders' design for the Mondrian hotel in South Beach. You saw the white-on-white lobby in my last post - remember the overscale columns and the black staircase? Nary a grid nor a primary color in sight.

Apart from the fact that designing a hotel like a Mondrian painting* would be well, kind of dreadful, the designer gives us the Dutch connection - and a wink and a nod - in another way....

» Color + paint color, Kitchen + bath

The Mondrian hotel, South Beach, Miami: scale, edginess, and what it means to be Dutch

Annie Elliott | January 16, 2011

There's so much to say that I'll have to do this in several posts, but let me start first by talking about the DESIGN of the Mondrian hotel in South Beach, Miami. Creator: the products and interiors designer, Marcel Wanders.

In short, it's wacky. In a good way. Fresh, crazy, perspective-defying, and yes, a little bit indulgent, but it totally works, so who cares?...

» Color + paint color

Everything you need to know about stair runners

Annie Elliott | January 12, 2011

I know: it seems like we were just ON vacation, right? Or at least on "winter break;" it sure doesn't feel like vacation when you have small children and they don't have school....

So just for fun, I dug through the bossy color blog archives to see what posts might bear repeating. Here's one. I hope you enjoy it....

» Rugs

Final postcard from Miami: Light as design element at Grass

Annie Elliott | February 3, 2010

We woke up today to, what, about 5″ of snow? Believe it or not, that makes me feel better about not still being in Miami. If it’s going to be cold, then it might as well snow and be beautiful, too. Just a quick post about the minimal yet brilliant design elements at Grass Restaurant …

» Lighting

Miss Yip Chinese Cafe

Annie Elliott | February 4, 2009

I was sitting here watching American Idol and toying w/ my floor plan for the Design House, and there was a particularly action-packed ad for an upcoming movie called Push. Something about this actor getting hurled into a red and green wall reminded me… I forgot to post about Miss Yip Chinese Cafe in Miami …

» Wallpaper