C U S T O M H O T E L The hotel’s LAX Lounge features video screens offering flightdeparture information and airport-themed wall photos. Taking Flight Anthony Laurino’s makeover of the Custom Hotel near LAX involved fixing its quirks and finding a suitable design theme. BY MAT THEW HALL 42 Boutique Design | September+October 2011 Paul Dyer (hotel); Courtesy of Joie de Vivre (Conley); Courtesy of Anthony Laurino Design (Laurino) S hortly after getting hired by the Joie de Vivre chain to redesign its recently acquired Custom Hotel in Los Angeles, Anthony Laurino made a site visit and found himself in a cave. Or, at least it felt that way. “The hotel’s original corridors were very dark, with black carpet and dark gray walls and ceilings,” Laurino says. Those gloomy hallways were just one of several design challenges Laurino faced in updating the Custom. The12-story property first opened in 1975 as the Furama