In West Adams, a vibrant and historic neighbourhood in Los Angeles, a new boutique hotel “Alsace LA” was designed by NMDA Architects and interior design firm Home Studios as a collaborative brainchild of CIM Development. Local aesthetic was combined with Home studio’s design identity for the creation of a modern 48-room hotel, by designing custom made furniture and crafts for each and every space. Earthy tones, natural materials and various artworks shape hotel’s unique character. 
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Opening Fall 2021, Alsace LA marks the second hotel project from Home Studios, who was approached by the client after they fell in love with Home Studios’ cult-favourite interior design for various hospitality projects, including Vini e Fritti and Caffe Marchio.

Founded in 2009 by former book editor Oliver Haslegrave, the studio’s aim is to help tell the stories of inspired outsiders through the art-forms of architecture and interior design. Best known for the distinctive look and feel of their hospitality projects, Alsace LA translates the most memorable and eye-catching aspects of Home Studios restaurants into a fully realised design destination.

The purpose-built property reflects Home Studios’ devotion to details and narrative-driven approach to design, which has resulted in a space that feels both of the neighbourhood and continually open to evolution as the community expands.

Home Studios found inspiration in West Adams’ varied architectural tradition; the influx of a young community of artists and entrepreneurs; and the warm textures and materials of the Mediterranean — a region that shares a kindred spirit to Southern California in both climate and energy.

The hotel’s interior design highlights the power of visual storytelling, riffing on charming elements like soft curves, white oak ceilings and floors, and site-specific art. The sweet and layered details — including the eclectic use of vintage and custom Home Studios furnishing and lighting; fluted textures; Terracotta plaster; and warm wood materials — subtly reference California’s diverse vegetation and natural environment.

Upon entrance to the 48-room boutique hotel, guests are greeted within an intimate and tucked away lobby, which mimics a Mediterranean-like portico (or porch). Residential in feel, the hotel’s curved walls and central courtyard filters light through each of the hotel’s three stories, where the serene and inviting rooms provide guests with congenial and homely amenities as if staying in a well-curated residence.

Each 230 square-foot guest room features handcrafted details, whereas larger suites feature a balcony or terrace, a custom dining table, and a bespoke pull-out sofa — blending the charms of old-world travel with new-world comforts. Additionally, Home Studios designed custom furniture for each light and airy room, including upholstered headboard panels, rattan and wood wardrobes, and sculptural brass hooks, transporting travelers to a warm oasis in the midst of a dynamic and energetic urban resurgence.

With an emphasis on the unexpected, the hotel is truly a one-of-a-kind space, made culturally relevant with contemporary art, photography, and playful design details that incorporate subtle references to European antiquity by way of local craft.

For example, the lobby’s tile mural, developed by Home Studios in collaboration with local LA artist Lukas Geronimas Giniotis, draws on themes of ancient mosaic art, featuring figures in repose amongst an abstracted landscape of fauna and classic architecture. Like scenes from mythology, each of Giniotis’ tile motifs hint at the use of space throughout the hotel’s common areas: divers near the exit to the pool, figures playing near the gym, and bodies ascending stairs.

With all Home Studios projects, creating an interior is a collaboration with the client, bringing its personal process to theirs. The firm’s history of and admiration for essential design and locally-minded collaboration has resulted in a destination built for leisure-seeking travelers and Los Angeles residents alike. www.alsacehotela.com

Facts & Credits
Project title: Alsace LA 
Typology: Boutique hotel
Location: Los Angeles
Year of construction 2020-2021
Design: Home Studios
Architecture: NMDA Architects
Photography: Andrew & Gemma Ingalls