I’ve got to hand it to Kelly Wearstler: the lobby of The Tides in South Beach is lovely.
I’ll confess that I don’t like the central chandelier much. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in, and although it’s airy, I think it overwhelms the room. I will say that the longer I was there, the less it bothered me – but that could have been the Cava talking.
I love the monochromatic palette: various shades of putties and taupes, with dashes of caramel and metallic gold (this is Miami, after all). Quite sophisticated. The furniture groupings are cleverly planned and intimate; each of the two main seating areas in the lobby is comfortable for two people or many more – I’d say up to nine.
See how the table lamps help create intimacy in a large, open space? They keep the focus low, on the furniture and the people.
Lots of emphasis on materials and texture: Flokati rug over smooth terrazzo, chairs made of heavily grained wood and ropey rattan, concrete planters, mirrored surfaces, patterned bronze (or brass?) screens behind the tufted leather sofas –
I like that the bar isn’t the focal point of the room. It’s centered on the back wall, but it seems to command the same amount of attention as the other spaces. The bar is the most overtly Deco element in the space, but it’s not kitschy.
To divide the lobby from the restaurant, an enormous sculpture of white painted driftwood – genuine or fabricated, doesn’t matter – sits on top of an impossibly long mirrored sideboard.
Yes, those are tortoise shells in the background, hanging on the walls. Again, natural elements as sculpture. It’s dramatic. I am going to pretend, however, that those tortoises lived happy, 200-year lives before bequeathing their shells to the greater good of interior design. (Maybe they’re not real…)
A few final details. Gotta love the golden palm tree:
And the quartz-y fossil-y stone-y things on each plate (my command of geological terminology is impressive, I know…):
I just wanted to touch everything. I did, actually, and those nice Miami hotel people just let me.
I can’t imagine that the lobby of The Tides will be met with anything less than great reviews, but we did encounter a couple who didn’t like it. They started talking to us when we were having a drink, and they said it was cold (what?) and unwelcoming (WHAT?). They took great pains to tell us how often and extensively they travel, so I think we were supposed to be impressed with their assessment. I have trouble with people who use “tour” as a verb, though, so to be honest, it was hard to take them seriously.
