Boutique Design - May 2019 - 28
Yes, Alford, like Ben Weprin, founder and ceo, AJ
Capital Partners (Graduate's owner) and mastermind
behind the Graduate concept, is a king of the elevator
pitch that an off beat portfolio can still read as one big
hotel family. Translating that synopsis into 3D reality
for the company's most recent openings, Bloomington,
Indiana and Providence, Rhode Island, challenged Alford
to use his guiding ethos to Graduate-ify two almost
opposite properties.
What he wanted as an end result: quaint, warm and
fuzzy. What he had to work with: one newbuild hotel in
a Midwestern college town and one grande dame East
Coast property, which is a member of Historic Hotels of
America. The ground-up project needed to be humanized
by softening a white box, while the other needed to have
the formality of 1922 upscale travel de-starched.
Alford wasted no time in finding ways to do that with
bold color and pattern, including 19 different wallpapers
in Bloomington and pink carpets, bright artwork and red
headboards in Providence. And, of course, plaid. It's one of
the few signature elements in Graduate. "It's in every hotel
in some way," he says.
28
boutiquedesign.com MAY 2019
In both cases, the current trend of breaking up lobby
volumes into mini-vignettes helped. For the new property, that came in the form of a drastic material and
color shift from a wood-clad entry to a lighter, more
fabric-intense lobby around the corner. Working with
the majestic ceiling heights in Providence meant having
to make bite-size spaces to balance its loftiness, even
though it's not a giant footprint in terms of square
footage. The grand staircase already subdivides the
lobby, but crafting both a see-and-be-seen Instagram
spot on the steps and quiet nooks to curl up and work
was a must.
One other common touch across both of these hotels
is the lighting scheme, or rather, the brazen decision to
go with deliberately lower-than-most-hotels levels of illumination. Yes, you can see in there, but Alford likes his
lighting flattering-and that means to all guests regardless of skin tone. He calls it giving people a "home turf
advantage." And, well, you know, if you're on your own and
you meet someone and bring your date back to the hotel,
you really don't want the sight of them in the lobby to be a
deal-breaker.
ANDREW ALFORD
GRADUATE HOTELS
2 A suite in Graduate
Providence teases the
idea of an in-room
library with its wall art.
Each book spine refers
to the locale.
T R E N T B E L L P H O T O G R A P H Y ( G R A D UAT E P R O V I D E N C E ) ; C O L L E E N D U R K I N ( A L F O R D )
2
http://www.boutiquedesign.com
Boutique Design - May 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - May 2019
Boutique Design - May 2019
Contents
From the Editor
The Buzz
Fast Tracker
Big (City) Picture
A-Plus EQ
Something Borrowed, Something New
Night Light
Products: Bath + Spa
Products: Surfacing
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Intro
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Boutique Design - May 2019
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Cover2
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 1
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Contents
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 3
Boutique Design - May 2019 - From the Editor
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 5
Boutique Design - May 2019 - The Buzz
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 7
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 8
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 9
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 10
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 11
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 12
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 13
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Fast Tracker
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 15
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 16
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 17
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Big (City) Picture
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 19
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 20
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 21
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 22
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 23
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 24
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 25
Boutique Design - May 2019 - A-Plus EQ
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 27
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 28
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 29
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 30
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 31
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Something Borrowed, Something New
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 33
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 34
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 35
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 36
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 37
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Night Light
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 39
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 40
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 41
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 42
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 43
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Products: Bath + Spa
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 45
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 46
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 47
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 48
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 49
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 50
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 51
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Products: Surfacing
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 53
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 54
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 55
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 56
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 57
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 58
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Boutique Design - May 2019 - 60
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 61
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 62
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 63
Boutique Design - May 2019 - 64
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Cover3
Boutique Design - May 2019 - Cover4
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