Creativity and distinction in the hotel business is essential to success. Hotel designers around the world have discovered the growing need for individuality in hotel spaces. Every day, hotel owners are ...
Stretch the appeal of leather with floor-to-ceiling tile applications and unexpected textures.
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By Mary Scoviak
Leather isn't just for seating and headboards anymore. To get ahead of the design pack, stop thinking about hide as fabric and start working with it as surfacing. Interior Leather Surfaces' 1⁄8-inch steer hide floor tiles, its range of ceiling tiles and a new line of tongue and groove wood-framed modules with leather inserts offer designers new options for giving the architectural box elegance with attitude.
Advances in adhesives and proper installation techniques open the way for innovative placement and design. "We developed a water- based contact cement with very low odor and low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for floor, wall and ceiling applications," says Greg Arnold, managing director of the Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.-based firm. By applying the adhesive to the tile backing with a brush or roller and placing the tiles on the wall when wet, they can be positioned to make a very tight seam, he says.
As a result, hospitality designers are freer to experiment with pattern and texture, according to Arnold. Install a leather border to freshen up a traditional room without undercutting classic style. For a subtle update, explore laser engraving to give the border unexpected three-dimensionality or to play up an element of the room's design theme. In a contemporary setting, such as a bi-level restaurant, modernize the grand staircase concept with leather-wrapped steps finished off with a laser-engraved border. This isn't a job for just any installer. "You have to have installers with in-depth experience to execute these extreme installations," Arnold adds.
Another major trend, says Arnold, focuses on embossing tiles and mixing textures. "Interior designer Debbie Bradford [Bradford's, Phoenix] asked us to create a ceiling with a design in 24-by-24-inch tiles, using two leathers to create a pattern. We suggested masking the design and sandblasting portions of it, so that the field of the tiles would have a glazed finish and the pattern sueded," he says.
He's also seeing more "extreme" installations with embossed leathers. For hospitality clients who want to challenge guests, consider following the example of Amsterdam shoe retailer ShoeBallo, which countered the smooth finish of the black leather-tiled ceiling and floor with dramatically embossed black leather wall tiles.
Arnold also likes using embossed, abraded or distressed leather for bar fronts. "These textures go a long way to camouflage wear and tear," he says.
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