The Drunk Botanist - Hotel Room

Interior Design Masters Episode Two - Hotels Week.

The brief was signature style with a quintessentially British twist. I've never considered myself to have a signature style, but I do know I love anything old, green and cheap. And I am definitely not British. This could be interesting.

It's Hotels week on Interior Design Masters and I checked in to another world. This time, I was inspired by an old cocktail recipe book, The Drunken Botanist. Imagine, if this brilliantly evocative book title was a person. And imagine if that person was my client.

The Drunk Botanist was born. Now, in the beginning (as all good stories start) this was just the book title. I got to take creative licence and invent the man himself. After an incredibly long journey across the seven seas, the botanist returned from Polynesia where he had been collecting rare specimens. He has checked into his favourite hotel and requested the duck green suite, preferred for its moody atmosphere, generous dose of vintage botanical charts and ephemera and most importantly, a fully stocked bar and window seat for bird watching (the animals and the lady kind). Not to mention, his pet pheasant. See, this Drunk Botanist fancies himself a pleasant pheasant plucker.

I could go on. And I did. But the point is, this character really helped inform every design detail. What hooks would the botanist hang his coat on? I know! Upside down walking sticks. What art would he favour? Vintage botanical prints? It practically designed itself. Well, it also came to life with a rollicking treasure hunting adventure at the antique fair. More on that next time. But for now, pour yourself a whiskey and enjoy the view.