South Beach Chic @ 1 Hotel

While many hotels in Miami are styled to reference the city’s art deco roots, 1 Hotel South Beach offers a refreshing alternative – and manages to feel both sophisticated and refined with a laid-back, breezy vibe.

Drawing on inspiration from the 600 feet of sandy beach that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to this 1968 condo building, renowned New York design studio Meyer Davis brings the outside in – paying homage to the simple beach shacks pioneered by local surfers. Using natural materials in their raw form, Meyer Davis creates a space that showcases and even celebrates the beauty of small imperfections like knots, veining, and color variations.

With a major push for organic living driving innovative design projects around the world, Meyer Davis managed to effectively translate the idea of sustainability into beautiful and functional interiors. With organic bed linens, recycled paper clothes hangers, hemp mattresses, and even blackboards instead of the usual bedside note pad, the hotel has certainly earned its LEED Silver certification.

The exterior of the building is wrapped in 3,000 feet of living wall, and inside, there are 11,000 local tropical plant varieties – adding a bit of warmth to this sleek, airy environment. In collaboration with Plant the Future, the greenery continues in living art exhibits throughout the hotel. The main ballroom showcases a spectacular living wall, and the lobby is home to an interactive installation space that hosts seasonal displays. There’s even a hint of nature in each guest room, thanks to creative green terrariums.

The natural aesthetic is enhanced with materials like weathered reclaimed woods, including mushroom wood, driftwood, bleached walnut, Javanese teak root, white oak, spalted maple, and beetle kill pine; polished natural concrete floors; calacutta marble; porcelain tile; locally sourced materials like coral stone; hand-blown glass; and rustic copper fixtures. Even the front desk features a slab of live-edge oak atop a gnarled teak root base.

White linen upholstery provides a chic complement to all these organic textures, offering an element of crisp, modern sophistication. While designers are often hesitant to include light colored furnishings in a commercial space, Meyer Davis chose to fill the lobby of 1 Hotel South Beach with Paola Navone chairs, sofas, and ottomans all slipcovered in white – a bold, daring move that seems to break the rules of traditional hotel design.

Even the large guest rooms showcase the same soothing palette of wood, sand, and ocean tones that Meyers Davis has incorporated throughout the hotel’s design – providing each visitor with a comfortable, environmentally-friendly respite from the busy outside world. Click here to find out how you can create this look in your own home.