A custom bathroom mirror in the Ace hotel.
Photo by Jeremy Pelley.
Roman and Williams is the design group behind one of New York City's newest boutique hotels, the Ace Hotel. They recently won an Interior Design magazine Best of the Year award for their work in the Ace, which resides a Manhattan neighborhood dubbed “Nomad,” short of “north of Madison Park.”
Like so many interesting interior design schemes, the Ace’s interior can’t be easily classified. It has a vintage quality, with old-school industrial elements and furniture that looks like it’s been restored from used furniture stores. While turn-of-the-century style has popped all over New York in the last few years, I don’t want to say Ace is part of this trend. Sure it seems rugged and sophisticated, but it features too much Americana and pop-art pieces to think this is some sort salute to Steampunk or Daniel Planview.
Brass is back. At least at the Ace.
Photo by Jeremy Pelley.
Of course, at iBaths we are primarily concerned with the Ace’s bathrooms, which encompass many of the design aesthetics stated above. The photo at the top is a bathroom mirror from one of the Ace’s rooms. It has a chain-link hanger, is inscribed with a quote and seems to be something you might have pulled from your grandfather’s attic (assuming your grandfather was a bit of a dove).
The shower wall features no-nonsense square subway tiles in matte white from Design and Direct Source (a company started by Ann Sacks after she left the Kohler-owned Ann Sacks tile—yes this is a little confusing, but nevertheless, Design and Direct Source has cool tile). The bathroom also has a brass-finished showerhead, shower valve and towel bar. Yes, brass isn’t exactly the most popular finish these days, but here it works. It’s not a modern look, but considering just about everyone uses chrome or nickel finishes these days, the brass provides a strikingly different look.
Photo by Douglas Lyle Thompson and Jon Johnson.
Finally, the Ace shower keeps it safe and stylish. Note the black grab bars—a simple and sophisticated compliment to the white walls.
