Columns in the dining lounge, newly connected to the lobby, are clad in fluted ceramic tiles.
No need to inquire about the ethos of Hyatt’s JdV brand: It’s in the name, an acronym for joie de vivre. “Effervescent, bubbly, bright, and celebratory,” is how Dan Mazzarini, principal and creative director of New York’s BHDM Design, describes the global JdV identity. Those descriptors certainly apply to the portfolio’s Wild Palms Hotel in tech-centric Silicon Valley, which BHDM recently completed. Know what else fits that description? An Aperol spritz. In fact, a vintage ad for the trending aperitivo sparked the direction for the five-year renovation effort—“one of our smallest yet longest projects,” continues Mazzarini, whose firm has left its mark on hospitality interiors from Atlanta and New York to Honolulu.
BHDM was commissioned to redesign the two-story hotel’s public areas—lobby, F&B, conference zone, corridors—totaling 16,500 square feet. (The 207 keys had been refreshed over the years during changes in ownership.) The property gave off “easy, breezy, mid-century California vibes,” Mazzarini says, “and we wanted to exploit what we had.” The chief inherited asset was the loftlike double-height lobby. Lacking, however, was a strong connection with the adjacent dining lounge and the outdoor pool, not to mention an overall sense of cohesion.
A dimensional painted-wood artwork by Tilde Grynnerup backs reception’s custom MDF desk, inset with ombré vinyl circles.
Working with staff designers Sheila Cahill and Mattie Overmyer, Mazzarini initially devised a less ambitious and more sedate solution. But COVID halted the project for two years, and when it was rebooted, the team pivoted. “We changed the narrative to optimism,” Mazzarini recalls. “We also needed a drink!” So, the team paired Aperol spritz allusions with an apropos tagline: ’62 and sunny, a double entendre referencing the locale’s climate and the decade of the hotel’s origins.
To instate clarity, walls that separated reception, lobby, and dining functions were razed and structural work implemented. Checking in, guests now perceive a singular, joyous space with unobstructed sight lines all the way to the pool. Interiors are populated with a plethora of circles (think bubbles, beach balls) in a riot of cheerful colors: sunny yellows, clear-sky blues, rosy pinks. A custom mobile of acrylic discs takes center stage in the loftlike lobby, while a sculptural painted-wood artwork by Tilde Grynnerup backdrops the reception desk, an MDF construction with ombré vinyl insets. Cabana stripes and poolside-appropriate furniture reference the indoor-outdoor setting. Extending the spirited theme into the grab-and-go dining lounge at the lobby’s rear is a punchy, graphic mural wallcovering. It was designed by BHDM, as was the powder-coated aluminum face lamp—pure whimsy.
Walk Through The Wild Palms Hotel
Columns in the dining lounge, newly connected to the lobby, are clad in fluted ceramic tiles.
A custom composition of iridescent acrylic discs fills the double-height lobby’s volume.
Below it, a custom rug and coffee table anchor the seating area, lit by a wicker floor lamp.
The MDF stair rail, perforated to reiterate the circular theme, extends to become the second-floor overlook’s balustrade.
Each wing of the hotel features a different door color for easy wayfinding.
The pool, now visible from the public spaces, boasts vintage solid-iron “face” chairs.
Cabana stripes—from the custom wallcovering to the slipper chairs’ indoor/outdoor polyester upholstery—distinguish the lobby-adjacent dining lounge.
Custom wallcovering perks up the dining lounge’s laminate-faced coffee counter.
An Anthony Land Yoom sectional and Filter Studio’s Rita lounge with powder-coated steel frame furnish the lobby seating area.
PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT: WOLF-GORDON: CUSTOM MURALS, BANQUETTE UPHOLSTERY (LOUNGE), SOFA FABRIC (LOBBY). AMTREND: SCONCE BRACKETS (LOUNGE), ORANGE TABLE (LOBBY). HBF TEXTILES: BLUE PILLOW FABRIC (LOUNGE, LOBBY). COLOR CORD COMPANY: SCONCES (LOUNGE). DIVISION TWELVE: BLUE CHAIRS. BLUDOT: CAFÉ TABLES, OTTOMANS. ASH NYC: UPHOLSTERED CHAIRS. SCHUMACHER: STRIPED CHAIR FABRIC, FRINGED PILLOW FABRIC. MOROSO: SOFA. KVADRAT: SOFA FABRIC. TRANS-LUXE: CUSTOM FACE LAMP. HEDGE HOUSE FURNITURE: WOOD COCKTAIL TABLE. MOWAX VISUAL: WALL DECORS, MOBILE (LOBBY). STYLEX: SOFA. BD: YELLOW CHAIR. GRAND RAPIDS CHAIR COMPANY: RED CHAIR. MY HOME: MARTINI TABLE. CRATE & BARREL: BOOKSHELF, CEILING FIXTURES (LOUNGE), ANGLE-BASE SIDE TABLE (LOBBY). VISUAL COMFORT: LAMPS (RECEPTION). TOMNUK: COLUMN SCONCES (LOUNGE). HKLIVING: TREE LAMP. PETITES POMMES: FLOATS (POOL). BUSINESS & PLEASURE CO.: UMBRELLAS, TOWELS.
PRODUCT SOURCES THROUGHOUT: ROYAL THAI: CUSTOM RUGS. BRERETON ARCHITECTS: ARCHITECT OF RECORD. PHIL STEIN DESIGN COLLECTIVE: ART CONSULTANT. SAN JOSE WOODWORKING: MILLWORK. MARTIN SIGN CO.: CUSTOM SIGNAGE. GIDEL & KOCAL CONSTRUCTION CO.: GENERAL CONTRACTOR.