I was sent over some renderings from Thom Felicia Interiors (of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame and current host of Dress My Nest - which I love) that I thought you'd like to take a peek at since I know so many of you, like me, are Thom fans. He is currently working on the upcoming redesign of the W Hotel in San Diego, California. I was at this hotel in June 2005 for my anniversary and thought their current lounge areas were lovely, but it really did need to be freshened up a bit. I really liked the bar area so I'm glad to see that they're leaving it in the same position as before near the stairs. I think it's quite exciting that the redesign will be complete in June, perhaps I will have to fly out and stay there this summer for our wedding anniversary all over again.

I love all the bold prints and was told that they are going with organic materials and interior cabanas lined with rich wood louver paneling. Sounds very luxurious and sophisticated. The new lounge areas will also feature one-of-a-kind art installations inspired by the culture of southern California, an eye-in-the-sky DJ booth, and a redesigned poolside bar and sundeck. I can't wait to see the finished photos in June, I'll make sure to post them here on decor8 and hopefully even get an interview with Thom himself if he'd be interested in visiting design blog land to hang with us. :)

What do you think? Would you stay at a hotel that looks like this? I hope that this is a new trend, for hotel chains to start commissioning high end 'celeb' designers to update their look. So many need major help. I think the color palettes and furnishings in most hotels I stay at feel so cut n paste boring. I'd also like to see more hotels work with local artists to pull together unique one-of-a-kind rooms that feel a bit more quirky, like Hotel Fox in Copenhagen or the Arte Luise Kunsthotel in Berlin.

(images from TFI)