The South Beach Mondrian hotel, continued: the Dutch thing

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.

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.

Mr. Wanders, from the Netherlands, pays homage to the artist Piet Mondrian, ALSO from the Netherlands, not through primary colors and right angles, but by exploding a quintessential Dutch design element: delft tile.

I mean, the medallions behind the check-in desk clearly are a reference to these tiles…

but it REALLY hits you when you go upstairs.

The carpeting in the hallways is a custom-designed riff on Delft tiles, showing contemporary scenes instead of the usual agrarian/peasant hoo-ha:

(Can you believe that dingy gray wall color, btw? I think it’s a disaster – the only one in the place, though.)

Here’s our room number:

And – ready? – each room has its own kitchen, which is an explosion of tile:

If you haven’t gotten the joke by now, you’re just not gonna.

I don’t know whether Delft tiles originally were installed in such quantity, but putting this many next to the super-sleek white counter and cabinets looks fabulously modern, doesn’t it?

You know, now that I look at the original Delft tiles closely, I wonder whether that floral design is based on the corner motifs?

You know the pattern. The one that repeats itself on the black staircase, the pool deck, the spa wall/doors…

the elevator walls…

and the room’s wallpaper (which you’ll see tomorrow). Hmm.

I definitely think the horse mural at the back of each elevator is another reference to Delft tile, though – super huge and out of scale, just like the columns in the lobby.

Frankly, I think it’s all pretty funny. I’m sure Mr. Wanders had a chuckle or two as he was working out the design of the hotel. There are Mondrian hotels in L.A. and New York, also, but those are designed by Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, so no Dutch connection.

Tomorrow, the rest of our room.

*By the way, I have no idea whether there’s supposed to be a connection between the Mondrian hotel and the artist. Maybe it’s the owner’s dog’s name. There’s only so much research a girl can do between paying gigs.

Annie Elliott – aka bossy color – is an interior decorator and design blogger in Washington, D.C. She’s considered an expert on color, residential space planning, and telling people what to do in the nicest way possible.