Traveling Kimpton Style

I’ve recently had a few people tell me how much they love hearing about the hotels we stay at and often ask about them.  This blog is about those hotels and may seem a little like an ad but I really enjoy these hotels and decided to blog about it. So here it goes.

We recently took a trip to Chicago & Michigan. Ever since our honeymoon we have become huge fans of the Kimpton boutique hotel chain.

entry way to Hotel Allegro

We’ve stayed at 3 different Kimptons just in San Francisco, (Argonaut Hotel, Titan Hotel, and Hotel Palomar), Hotel Solamar in San Diego, and now Hotel Allegro in Chicago. Our honeymoon was at Pacific Palisades in Vancouver however they no longer own that location.  All future trips, if there is a Kimpton, you know we’ll be there.

Why do we love these hotels so much? To name a few….

·      A hosted wine hour every night  - we checked in after it had past and they gave us complimentary vouchers to take to their restaurant since we missed it.

·      In the morning there and coffee & iced coffee in the lobby

·      In the afternoon, there was lemonade and iced tea in the lobby

·      In San Francisco they had fresh baked cookies in the evening

·      Free high speed internet….I know most places have this but it’s still nice to have

·      Pet friendly…although we have never taken our lovely beagle on a trip, some of the hotels have an in house pet that seems to go along with the theme of the hotel.

·      The restaurants are delicious and beautiful.

·      Great concerge service

·      Every hotel is a little different and unique to the surrounding area

·      As "In Touch" members we have received snacks and drinks in our room upon arrival and received discounted rates on rooms

Most recently Kimpton has been doing a summer program to their twitter followers. If you follow them they gave a code word to say at check in. Each hotel gives out a different freebie. Last month in San Diego it was free appetizers at the restaurant. This month we received a free room upgrade we had signed up for as "In Touch" members. Instead of paying the discounted rate for the upgrade, they gave it to us for free! Our favorite perk so far!

All that listed above is quite wonderful however my absolute favorite thing about this chain of boutique hotels is the great design. These hotels are colorful and full of different textiles, patterns, shapes, and textures.  I’m always so excited to explore the details of these hotels.

For your viewing pleasure I have attached some photos from our most recent trip to Hotel Allegro. I highly recommend you check out their different hotels. One day I hope to visit the George in Washington DC, Sky Hotel in Aspen, and many more. 

lobby view

stairway

so much in the detail

elevator doors

double-sided fireplace

living room of hotel room

jacuzzi bath tub

bedroom chair 

Do you have a favorite chain or hotel we should check out? What do you love about it?

Diamond in the Rough

I love chairs.

There is something about chairs that I find so interesting. They are practical pieces of art. Lately I’ve been taking notice to wire chairs.

Currently catching my eye: Bertoia Wire Diamond Chair

It was designed by Italian furniture designer, Harry Bertoia in the 1950s and manufactured by Knoll.

While Bertoia created a few amazing wire chairs, this one draws my attention the most. It’s strong wire frame delicately folds down and reminds me of great structural architecture. It’s made of bent and welded steel rods of chrome with an upholstery seat.

I love the chairs that aren’t just chairs, chairs that take the form of art or in this case sculptures. This one definitely fits into what I love about chairs.

“If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them." – Bertoia

You can also find this chair completely covered in upholstery for a much softer look however you miss out on the unique wire structure. Both would be great pieces to add to a mid-century modern style.

If you’re interested in learning a bit about these great iconic chairs, check out http://hivemodern.com. They have a great selection and give a brief history on the chair and designer. I could and do spend hours on this site.

The apartment is clean again and there is more to come!

It official. I finished. How can you tell? Walk in my apartment. It's so nice to have our floor and dining table back and not covered by drafting boards, mat boards, and fabrics.

I had two final projects and presentations that I recently finished up.

They were a lot of fun to do, quite time consuming, and probably my favorite boards that I've done. I will be posting them soon :)

While looking back at some old projects that I posted, I noticed the pictures aren't that great so I am going to try and get some better photos of my past boards to post on here.

With the time that's freed up I've found that I can now catch up with friends, read some of of my favorite blogs, and organize my photos. For example, here's a picture of a flower I took at the Getty back in April. I love that it's so soft and delicate with a majestic metal structure for the background. I've had some requests that I blog more often so I think I'll try that out. I just looked through a bunch of my photos of fun Interior Design finds and experiences that I look forward to sharing over the next week months. So please check back :)

Rocking Chair Revival?

Let me start off by saying I love chairs.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about rocking chairs. It could be a great marketing push by Crate and Barrel, the lovely California weather, or maybe just the thought of relaxing. I think it’s a combination.

I used to think of rocking chairs as always traditional, bulky, usually done in wood (example: Windsor or Adirondack styles) and mainly used in nurseries.

Lately, they seem to be popping up in all kinds of materials like stainless steel, wicker, and more. The use of line in the design is also more exciting and simple.

In particular, I love these two rocking chairs that found their way to my email inbox.

CB2 – Julep Rocker www.cb2.com

Crate & Barrel - Summerlin Rocking Chair www.crateandbarrel.com

I stumbled across this one and thought it was noteworthy since it uses stainless steal, leather, and it’s tufted. I love this rocking chair. Posted by ArchUpdate.com from ModernLineFurniture http://archupdate.com/modern-rocking-chair-2