“William Morris except louder”: Explore the Observatory Hotel’s bold Resene renovation

19 Jul 2022

When crafting a hotel interior, there is much to consider; how to add décor flair, the guests' experience, budget, comfort and ease.

Add an iconic heritage building into the mix, and sympathy for its historic value comes into play, and the use of Resene colour in a way that is modern yet respects the building's symbolism.

Interior designer Jessica Close fulfilled these needs and more when she was tasked with designing the inside of The Observatory Hotel in Christchurch’s The Arts Centre.

Her involvement began when she was asked to pitch against other designers from Australia and New Zealand by The Arts Centre Trust. The job was soon hers: "I think Philip Aldridge (CEO) had been through the Christchurch Club, which I designed in 2015. I was certainly one of the smallest companies to pitch; they took a chance!"

The brief was broad; it was to be a 33-room boutique hotel commissioned by The Arts Centre, located in three of the centre's neo-gothic buildings: the Observatory, Physics and Biology buildings, dating back to 1897, 1917 and 1918 consecutively.

"Soon after I was engaged, I rented an office space in the Clock Tower of The Arts Centre, which is only a short bike ride from my house. It was an incredible time researching and exploring the entire precinct. Philip Aldridge (The Arts Centre CEO) gave me extraordinary creative license and let me run with the design."

There were obvious hotel restrictions; the floorplan was decided, as was the lease agreement. In terms of the actual rebuild, it was an enormous feat. “The three buildings were the worst damaged by the earthquakes in the entire The Arts Centre precinct,” she says. “Walking through initially was a little daunting until structural and building works began. One building was almost completely taken apart and then rebuilt; it was mammoth in terms of a building project. Leighs Construction (builder) and Holmes (engineer and project management) did an incredible job."

With the structure being strengthened, Jessica focused on creating a bold interior that would breathe life into the reworked space. She took her inspiration from the buildings themselves, allowing William Morris prints and jewel-like Resene paint colours to take centre stage.

A modern take on Arts and Crafts was her starting point, sensing that this was the most appropriate historical reference to draw from: "The Arts Centre buildings were originally designed and built during the Arts and Crafts movement, so there were so many obvious reference points for the interior. This movement praised the handmade and craft. "It celebrated traditional techniques, a return of the guild and a rejection of mass production," Jessica says.

"I grew up loving William Morris prints and remember walking through a retrospective at the Christchurch Art Gallery as a young girl. They're ubiquitous and have been for over 100 years, and they ended up being a central part of the hotel's design. I went through a few iterations of what I wanted the interior to be, and I'm very happy with where I landed."

From the outset, it was essential to Jessica that the interiors were manufactured in New Zealand, particularly in Canterbury: "I am extremely proud of all the makers, factories and workrooms who were part of this project, manufacturing the various bespoke design elements for the hotel."

Jessica spent time securing a suitable layout with a small footprint in each room. "When designing, I always start with flooring. I knew I wanted to use Williams Morris prints, yet I wanted everything else to feel modern, so I designed a bold colour-blocked carpet."

Rich hues immerse the hotel throughout. The paint selection was instinctively drawn from the William Morris prints, taken up a notch or "taken a little louder". "Rebecca Long from Resene dropped off a massive box of large A4 brush-outs of Resene colours, and that was the beginning," Jessica says. "My entire office was a sea of paint, and then eventually the selections covered the walls – each of the 33 rooms pinned up and then catalogued."

Jessica chose wall paints in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen. Woodwork such as trims and architraves were coated in Resene Super Gloss, a high gloss enamel.  The colour palette took time to evolve, with Jessica putting the design down for a month while she worked on other projects. Once she returned to it, she chose the final colour selection in a day. "It was bolder than I initially set out to do, and I'm so pleased with the result."

Individuality was brought to the rooms with a unique scheme in each. They share key elements such as carpet, a desk, bedside tables, stools and headboards but styles and colour combinations vary.

"I designed 17 unique headboard styles for the project, fabricating them differently. I wanted everything to feel considered and well-appointed. I resisted standard hotel sheer curtains as I was not too fond of the idea of walking around The Arts Centre and seeing an entire building shrouded in sheer curtains. Instead, I've designed a half-height/café-style curtain that can be pulled across. A happy solution, resolving privacy while also ensuring that guests can always see the architecture around them."

Resene colours were used throughout furniture, walls, joinery and woodwork. Varying colour combinations include Resene Wild Thing on walls with Resene Nourish on side tables, Resene Blanched Pink with Resene Virtuoso joinery, Resene Half Villa White walls with Resene Clementine Orange side tables and Resene Smalt Blue walls with Resene Tangerine side tables and Resene Mozart joinery.

Paint became a clever way to highlight the various architectural features: "Painting furniture and lamp bases was an easy way to bring another layer into the design. To juxtapose traditional fabrics, I wanted all the woodwork to be glossy."

The more layers there were, the calmer the rooms became, Jessica says. "I thought if I could give the interior as many layers as possible, it would feel enjoyable, relaxing and welcoming."

The colour that has stayed with Jessica is yellow Resene Wild Thing. "I'm about to use it on some kitchen cupboard fronts. It's a great yellow and a happy colour. You can find it on a couple of the guest room walls and on lamp bases in the drawing-room. I also used it on a job in Sydney where I painted the stairwell and landing yellow."

Other favourite aspects for the designer include the drawing-room. "It feels like you've stepped into something quite special, it's fun but also sophisticated, and I love the seating arrangements," she says. "The central library table is filled with New Zealand art, architecture, interiors and history books I selected from local seller Scorpio Books.

"There is a beautiful antique Arts and Crafts dresser from Haunt filled with ceramics from Frances Nation. Most of the incredible lamp bases in this room were sourced with John Stephens, a couple I had turned from timber and painted in Resene Wild Thing. All the gathered shades in here are Fermoie from The Ivy House." Jessica hopes that when people see the space, they can feel confident mixing patterns and colours even in small, unexpected ways, such as pink lampshades with yellow lamp bases.

This feast of colour falls back on the base of the heritage building, its fabric clearly important and worth celebrating. The drawing-room walls were stripped back, repointed and sealed to expose the original red brick. New rimu floors were installed, and Jessica painted the original window architraves, frames and glazing bars in green: "It is a colour I mixed with Resene and named Stockwell Green," she says. "There is a lot of beautifully restored stonework inside and outside – the stonemasons at The Arts Centre are extraordinary."

Paint was also used to highlight windows and architectural features. The hotel is made up of three buildings joined together, each with unique architectural details. Using paint, Jessica has tied them all together.

“The attic space is where more of the suites are, and we've named rooms for paint colours; they have interesting bracing features which have been put in because that was required. The attic is quite different, you feel you're in a big house, and that is an interesting part of it; I wanted it to feel like that.”

The result is a testament to how colour can create comfort and luxury, especially when paired with eye-catching prints. "It was important to me that the hotel says something, it all feels appropriate for an arts hotel, in The Arts Centre in central Christchurch."

Designer Jessica Close  www.jessicaclose.com

Builder Leighs Constructionwww.leighsconstruction.co.nz

Engineer Holmes www.holmesgroup.com

Images  Jane Ussher

Structural beams and a sloping ceiling have been embraced, adding to the charm of one of the suites, all of which have their unique paint selection. Walls in Resene Nourish, woodwork in Resene Half Orchid White, bedside table in Resene Whimsical and all the beams and ceiling in Resene Black White.

Even the smallest amount of trim paint in Resene Clementine Orange energises the setting, harmonising with the curtain print. Foreground walls in Resene Raindance, foreground woodwork in Resene Clementine Orange, hallway walls in Resene Half Orchid White, hallway woodwork in Resene Smoky Green, background room walls in Resene Wild Thing and background room woodwork in Resene Raindance.

Sumptuous smoky hues contrast with flashes of hot pink and bright yellow furnishings. Walls in Resene Smoky Green, woodwork in Resene Half Orchid White, beams and ceiling Resene Black White and bedside tables in Resene Mozart.

Soft furnishings in crisp white and calming grey are a soothing presence next to the lively headboard print and sunny yellow walls. Walls in Resene Wild Thing, woodwork in Resene Raindance and bedside table in Resene Sea Fog.

The past and the present meet in the common area where strong colour, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, sing against a traditional building structure. Windows were painted a new paint colour which interior designer Jessica Close mixed with Resene, for a similar colour from the Resene Multifinish range, try Resene Feijoa or Resene Anise.

A pretty feminine pink is beautifully balanced with masculine blue and warm grey. Walls in Resene Blanched Pink, woodwork and trims in Resene Virtuoso and bedside table in Resene Robins Egg Blue.

Published: 19 Jul 2022