The Stora Hotellet in Umeå, Sweden, recreates the atmosphere of the old shipyards and boats of this fishing village's past in the colorful and dramatic interior of its bathrooms.
This project was developed by Stylt Trampoli AB, a studio founded in 1991 by Erik Nissen, a Norwegian visionary and artist with a passion for creativity. Since then, the studio has grown to include over 50 artists, designers, architects, interior designers, engineers, art directors, and more. From its offices in Gothenburg, Sweden, Stylt tackles projects throughout Scandinavia and beyond. Its extensive portfolio includes over 400 restaurants and nearly 250 hotels.
The Stora Hotellet in Umeå, Sweden, is just one example of how this studio works. The establishment, in fact, was recognized as the best boutique hotel in the world at the World Boutique Hotel Awards. Inspired by the city's long maritime heritage and built in 1895, it has been renovated with a clear and elegant play on contrasts between luxury and the simplicity of seafarers.
The project is striking for the density of its aesthetic proposal, which found its inspiration in the boats of the Swedish town of Umeå. The history linking the establishment to the marine world is already evident in the lobby and reception, where multicolored curtains by Kriskadecor were used, their tones evoking the color of the sea. The flooring in these spaces also features the Panot Gaudí collection by Escofet, a floor reissued in 1997 based on the original relief of a hydraulic mosaic by Antonio Gaudí and which also includes references to the sea in the bas-relief figures: starfish, snails, and seaweed.
The rooms, although more orderly than the hotel's common areas, also display a 19th-century aesthetic with nods to modernity, such as the open, cracked wallpaper above the classic headboard. The vintage aesthetic is especially evident in the bathrooms, where elements from this line have been used to reinforce the ambiance of the bedrooms. The sinks are supported by unpolished steel cabinets, and the beveled and irregular tiles recall older styles. The gold-plated brass faucets also recall a time when this color was synonymous with economic power.
The bathroom walls are deliberately dark, to dim the electric lighting and achieve a warmer look. Rounded shapes, like those featured in the Duravit sanitary fixtures designed by Philippe Starck, blend perfectly into the 19th-century atmosphere.
