4 4 Bowler hats pay ironic tribute to the hotel's Jazz Age feel. A lighter palette keeps the Honey restaurant modern. 5 A sculpted butler makes for a visual signpost outside a guest room. PROJECT PARTICIPANTS OWNER Commercial Development Projects Ltd. OPERATOR Bespoke Hotels Ltd. ARCHITECT Building Management Services DESIGN FIRM Squid.inc: Oliver Redfern, interior designer PURCHASING COMPANY/ GENERAL CONTRACTOR Marshall Construction Ltd. DESIGN CONSULTANTS The basement vaults and the teller counters in Jamie Oliver's restaurant were the only architectural leave-behinds that pointed to the building's history. So, Redfern used details in the FF&E to fill in that outline. Serveries in the Honey restaurant echo filing cabinets, while turn-of-the-century inspired chairs reference banker's favorite seats-and let modern guests relax. And, like any good storyteller, Redfern knew he needed to tie off the loose ends in his design narrative. The backdrop of masculine tones and more feminine, rich materials such as silk and velvet adds more than a touch of class. Continuing the in-jokes meant taking a more subtle tack. Gramophone-shaped docking stations that look like they've been snatched out of the classic image "His Master's Voice" riff on the Jazz Age vibe. They also pay tribute to the modern guest's need for a soundscape as distinctive as the design and the site's place in Manchester's influential 1970s scene (safe deposit boxes with Joy Division records were allegedly found on the site). Old suitcases become focal points in the lobby and the guestrooms and double as accent tables.The sparkle in Club Brass comes, not surprisingly, from cut glass. The twist is that that glass is actually a decanter that's found a second life as lighting. Laundry bags resemble old-fashioned moneybags and keep the slightly illicit aura going. Clearly, today's theming doesn't have to head back to the future-or be a time warp to the past. Today's guests are cool with escapist designs that pull both together in a thoroughly modern way. Even if that version of modern still has bobbed hair and a fringed dress. Anyone for a Charleston? 32 boutiquedesign.com SEPTEMBER 2015 Sherliker Design (branding) 5 ACCESSORIES Coach House Hotel Life Collection ART Elegant Clutter AUDIO/VISUAL Blacka Group BATH FIXTURES Kaladwei Marflow Enginerring Ltd. Perrin & Rowe Roman Viega CARPETS Newhey Carpets Ltd. FABRICS Crest JMT Leather Helen Moore JAB Intl. Furnishings Ltd. Panaz Ltd. Sekers Fabrics Ltd. Vescom UK Walker Greenbank Group Contracts FLOORING Solus Ceramics FURNITURE Andy Thornton Contracts Ltd. Bourne Furniture HB Design Contracts Ltd. Kettal Group PS Interiors Stylematters PTT Design Ltd. Silentnight Group LIGHTING R&S Robertson Ltd. WALL COVERINGS AND MATERIALS Bedrock Tiles Dixon Turner Tektura Wallcoverings Plc Zoffanyhttp://www.boutiquedesign.com