We appreciate unexpected design choices just for the fun of it.
Have you heard about the Roxbury Hotel? Neither had I until it was featured in a Jetsetter newsletter. It’s actually a motel; a cool respite in the Catskills about 2 hours from Albany in the village of Roxbury. I had never heard of Roxbury, either, but I’ve visited Albany!
Looks peaceful, picturesque and calm, right? Oh boy, are you in for a shock! But the lime green doors should give you an inkling of what’s to come. Below is the Roxbury at night. Wow, shades of Mardi Gras in New Orleans!
This direct quote from the web site says it all far better than I can.
“When you walk into your room at The Roxbury, we want you to smile. Whether you call it “cool design,” “whimsical elegance,” or our favorite — “decadently over-the-top” – we’re all about design at The Roxbury and how it makes you feel. We designed our first whimsical suite, “The Shagadellic,” not knowing how people would respond to a lot of orange and yellow and a furry zebra-print couch. Will it be too bright? Will they think it’s silly? Will it give them a headache? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?
Well, que sera sera, the response has been so overwhelming that it gave us the guts to design TWO major expansions around fun, (yet elegant – one must never forget elegance) “theme” rooms” inspired by a famous TV series, film or cartoon of the 1960’s or 70’s. The key word here is “inspired by.” We did not wish to recreate sets or exact replicas of the shows. We just allowed ourselves to get lost in the colors and textures and moods and whimsy of the shows. And we admit, yes, some of it had to do with fantasizing about what it would be like to be inside a genie’s bottle or on top of a cloud or in a cartoon space home.”
Here are some of their rooms designed just for the fun of it and their descriptions.
This is the Partridge Nest and looks like a Mondrian painting.
“Yes, this room was inspired by the Partridge Family bus, but that was inspired by the artist Mondrian and he was inspired by, well, who knows what. We actually found this tile combination first and then THAT inspired us to make the whole room like falling into a Mondrian painting.”
Matching up with the room is the Public Lounge across the street from the Roxbury, but owned independently. “Yes Folks, right here in Roxbury, NY we gotta bar that lights up like a Mondrian painting. Doesn’t every village have one? “
” It’s not way above the chimney tops, but your troubles will melt like lemon drops in this room! Yes, folks, a yellow brick road goes right through the center of the room until it joins into a wall-size painting of our version of the Emerald City.”
Based on a character from the TV series Gilligan’s Island, Mary Ann’s Coconut Cream Pie is over the top. “Maryann or Ginger? The age-old question. C’mon, you know you have a preference. As far as coconut cream pies go, Maryann HAD to have been the better cook. But could she have constructed an entire room that makes you feel like you’re actually INSIDE of a pie? Complete with pie crust crown molding and a circular bed? The professor maybe, but Maryann? Doubtful.”
Can you believe whipped cream throw pillows? Believe!
Genie’s Bottle is more unique than the other accommodations. Well, perhaps. Read on and don’t forget to look up.
“At some point in your childhood you must have fantasized about what it would be like to be inside a genie bottle. It took six months to create this perfectly spherical bathroom made of marble dust and glitter glass mosaic tiles sloping up to the “mouth” of the bottle that is a solar tube cutting through the roof of the building.”
Ooooh…look at that pink tile in the shower. Wish we had known about this before it was completed.
Can’t you see our pink faux glass mosaic tile in this suite? Well, of course, somewhere other than the shower.
And who conjures up these just for the fun of it themes, their design and the captions on the web site? Meet the creative brains behind the Roxbury: Greg Henderson and his partner, Joseph Massa. I confess, I can’t identify who is who in the picture!
I’ve just scratched the surface of the Roxbury but this post is way too long already, so if you want to learn how this all came about, go to the Press Page. It reads like a fairytale. Just for the fun of it, I’d love to see what custom Casart designs they would conjure up for their next fantastic projects.
–Lorre Lei
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