Brown’s hotel has unveiled a one-bedroom suite by British fashion designer Paul Smith, where furniture, art and homeware are available to buy. Jenny Southan reports
Working in collaboration with Olga Polizzi, director of design at Rocco Forte Hotels (of which Brown’s hotel is a member), the Sir Paul Smith Suite draws on Brown’s history as a favoured haunt among writers such as Rudyard Kipling who completed his work on The Jungle Book here in 1894 (there is also a themed Kipling suite at the hotel).
The property says the Paul Smith suite has been designed as a space not only for rest and relaxation, but to “spark inspiration and creativity through art and interesting objects, with every detail of the room carefully considered”. One of the highlights is a library of art and design books that Smith has curated.
Residential and extremely stylish, the suite features a range of custom and vintage furniture, hand-picked artworks and soft furnishings from the new Paul Smith Home Collection that was launched last autumn. Stays cost from £5,500 per night.
A highly personalised environment that reflects Smith’s “eclectic taste”, furnishings include several pieces that can also be found in his office at his Covent Garden HQ – these include a Christopher Simon Sykes photograph of Chatsworth House library and a 1970s leather desk chair by Mario Bellini.
Tapping into the Shoppable Stays trend, which we covered in a recent edition of VOLT that can be accessed by annual subscribers in our Trend Library, there are sofas, tables and leather goods from the Paul Smith x DePadova “Everyday Life” collection; Paul Smith x Anglepoise Type 75 lamps; and Paul Smith x Maharam checked wool blankets that are all available for sale.
Other Paul Smith products include custom Paul Smith x the Rug Company rugs and a Maharam headboard, both of which feature a geometric pattern inspired by the building’s iconic iron façade.
There is also a selection of striped cushions and other items from Paul Smith’s namesake homeware collection that was launched last year. Select pieces in the suite, including prints, are available to buy from an in-suite catalogue.
Uniquely quirky details such as banana door handles, fire “dogs” (that have been custom made to resemble Homer, Paul’s first canine shopkeeper), a robot figurine made from a vintage camera, and the striped fireplace tiles, are present in the room too, a reflection of Paul’s “classic with a twist” philosophy and his trademark “whimsical sense of humour”.
Paul Smith said in a statement: “Being asked to design a space for such an iconic Mayfair institution is a great privilege – and I’ve had a great deal of fun in the process. Just like Brown’s does with its rooms, we design every Paul Smith shop differently to celebrate the area’s individuality, which is just one of the reasons the project appealed to me.
“On a more personal level, I’m so pleased we’ve been able to include objects that inspire me personally and I hope, in turn, they’ll inspire the suite’s guests.”
Olga Polizzi said in a statement: “It is exciting to have a Sir Paul Smith suite at Brown’s hotel. It is elegant, bright and happy and has a lovely sense of fun. The sitting room is full of interest with its wall of pictures, smart sofas and flamboyant cushions. The bedroom is strikingly different, with its sense of calm and space. He has caught the feeling of Brown’s hotel, but with a Paul Smith twist.”