At the hands of celebrated designer and gallery curator Rabih Hage, Rough Luxe is a first in the art of hospitality as an industry – a complete antithesis of everything we think of as ‘luxurious’: forget air conditioning, marbled flooring, elegant chandeliers and polished finishes.
‘Beauty is subjective,’ declares Hage. ‘Perfection doesn’t mean beauty. It’s not important. What makes a place great to stay is the location, the welcome you get and how well you are looked after.’
In a quiet side street in an early-Victorian terraced house just a few steps from bustling King’s Cross, Rough Luxe is a fascinating blend of partially sanded surfaces and stripped walls, bare floorboards, chipped paint and rough edges. But then there is also opulent contemporary wallpapers and modern art, plus top-quality furnishings. Welcome to the antiluxury of Rabih Hage.
Most of the nine guestrooms are en suite, but all are small, intimate and comfortable, where artworks take pride of place. Original light fittings and door fixtures intrigue with their period charm and obvious wear.
Early on in the refurbishment of the hotel, layers of wallpaper were peeled away to reveal decors going right back to the Victorian age. Rather than stripping it all off, Hage decided to save this intriguing archaeology of interior design and exhibit it, making it a design statement.
The deconstructed walls contrast with chic contemporary paper and huge murals created from photographs of interiors by Massimo Listri, creating an illusion of opulence and space in this narrow townhouse.
The luxe bit of the name comes from top-quality beds and mattresses, fine bed linens and characterful furniture featured in all the rooms. Top-class crockery, cutlery, fittings and furniture were scooped up at the Savoy Hotel auction.
In the dining room, guests sit around a communal table made from wood salvaged from Brighton Pier, beneath a modern twist on trompel’oeil – an imposing ceiling photograph of a Renaissance dome, while not to be missed is the ‘anger release machine’ by artists Yarisal and Kublitz.
Watch out for more Rough Luxe to follow – possibly in a St Moritz cowshed and a Spanish wine cellar.
Rabih Hage interview
Rabih Hage trained as both an architect and interior designer, graduating from Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1991. He worked in France for several years before moving to London where he began to concentrate on interiors and new-build architecture schemes. Hage runs his own studio and gallery showcasing work by established designers and new talent. Rough Luxe is one of his most recent interior projects.
What did you think of the Rough Luxe building when you first saw it?
One of my first thoughts was that it was going to be a tricky project.
How does it feel to move into the world of hospitality?
I am not an hotelier, I am a designer, and I treated the project like I was designing a private home because the hotel is the temporary home of each guest and that’s how we want them to feel while they are there.
The King’s Cross area of London is undergoing massive regeneration work. Was this a factor for your client acquiring the property?
Yes, it did influence him. He was already involved in King’s Cross as he has had his office there, behind the hotel, for many years and he was interested in the edginess of the area. He bought the property for two reasons: first of all, it is adjacent to his office, and secondly, it is a good long term investment.
How would you describe the décor prior to the refurbishment?
‘No decor’; very B&Qish.
What hidden treasures did you find when stripping back the building?
The walls and patina had built up over nearly 180 years. It was already in the plan to expose the bare floorboards, but when I found the layers of history in the walls it was a symphony.
The photography in the hotel is pretty unique. Is there a story behind it?
It is amazing. It is all original artwork. The large-scale classical interiors in several of the rooms are limited edition prints by Massimo Listri. Many of the rooms are small so the idea was to use these fantastic, grand photographs to add perspective and space to the spaces.
Has your idea of luxury changed over the years?
Not at all. It has always been about the truth in the objects, and showing this truth. For me, luxury is not about accumulation, but about the objects’ uniqueness and provenance.
What kind of customers do you hope to attract?
True luxury customers, or people who have the same idea about luxury as us. I am sick of finding the same luxury room at every hotel.
What has been your most memorable luxury hotel experience to date, and why?
The old part of Cataract Hotel in Aswan, Egypt. It seemed to me like a location out of an Agatha Christie novel. The most luxurious thing about this hotel was having a gin and tonic on the rooftop terrace overlooking the River Nile.
Of the possible future Rough Luxe locations, which is the most exciting?
The cowshed St Moritz is great. Rough Luxe hotels are open for franchising to include other hoteliers in the network. I would love to design the next Rough Luxe Hotel in Miami or even in Scotland. Every location and client will be unique so we’ll never duplicate the look. Each Rough Luxe will have its own story and offer a unique design experience.
