Hi guys! I would like to introduce you to a new series that I will be doing here on en shell. It’s a series of room designs that are inspired by some of my favorite hospitality spaces and hotels across the globe.

Why hospitality? Ohhhh where to begin? I think single handedly hospitality design has got to be one of my favorites to watch come to life. The design of a hotel or accommodation space involves so much more than the visual design that you see, and there are so many layers to what make a space so great. It is creating an entire atmosphere and an environment that feels like a sanctuary. The design involves creating a place that quite literally take guests out of their day-to-day routines and can even spark a sense of creativity within them. It is a space that will positively imprint travelers’ brains and will help create memories that will perhaps last the rest of their lives. A well-designed hotel is more than just a place to stay for the night, but it is an overpowering feeling that takes over your whole being and allows your mind to escape and go elsewhere. The hotel should take you to some alternate world as soon as you step onto the property. It engages all of your senses. The music that is playing, the scents lingering in the air, the graphic design you see on your hotel key card, the taste of the tea you receive upon arriving, the texture of your bed sheets, the feeling of escape and sense of relief that you get when realizing you get to submerge yourself into a piece of paradise for a few nights. Hospitality is that moment where you feel welcomed and feel taken care of. It is a place for you to rejuvenate and let things go. I have got to say some of my most inspiring times and moments of epiphany have all stemmed from being able to wind down and melt myself into an environment of hospitality.

So that being said, say hello to Laguna Beach’s Hotel Joaquin. It’s been pretty hard to avoid the beauty of Hotel Joaquin all over social media, especially if you are from California. Hotel Joaquin, made from the hotel group Auric Road, is a boutique style hotel and is the sister property of Palm Spring’s Korakia Pensione. (If you have never been to the Korakia, go book it ASAP! It truly does the job of transporting you to Morocco or the Mediterranean as soon as you step foot onto the soil. They nail every. single. detail.) Hotel Joaquin is the perfect mix of that laid-back, artful Californian bohemia with a refined, perfectly put together French ease.

Designed by one of my favorites, Studio Robert McKinley, HJ instantly gives you all of those vacation sunshine feels. It has a warming palette from its use of organic materials, natural oaks, caned furniture, and terra cotta and brick colored tiles. The hotel not only shines in an array of golden hues, but it masters that effortless French cool-kid style. It is dressed in timeless Danish and French mid-century modern furniture and lighting, the walls are filled with abstract art and pieces that are handmade, and hand-selected vintage décor pieces are sprinkled throughout each room. Hotel Joaquin is taking a French artist colony and blending it with California surf retro, then *poof* magic is born.

So I bring you my room design inspired by all of Hotel Joaquin’s glory. Hope you enjoy!