FIVE DESIGN CUES TO TAKE FROM OVOLO INCHCOLM

The distinctive Ovolo hotel brand has expanded with the launch of its fifth property, Ovolo Inchcolm in Brisbane (ovolohotels.com). Having acquired the boutique New Inchcolm Hotel & Suites, housed in a 1930s former doctor’s surgery on the edge of the CBD at Spring Hill, the Ovolo design team kicked into action to give it the ‘Ovolo treatment’. Here are a few design cues to take away from the new look . 1. Old and new is a killer design combination - “Given the interesting history of the building, it was important that we brought the vision for Ovolo Inchcolm to life in a way that played on its existing charm and heritage,” said design lead Shelley Gabriel of Hassell Studio. “Such as maintaining its original silky panels, which you’ll notice throughout the hotel.” 2. Too much art is never enough – A signature of Ovolo’s properties, including the award-winning Ovolo 1888 Darling Harbour and Ovolo Laneways, is the exuberant use of bold artworks throughout that fill the spaces with colour and interest. “Throughout the hotel you will find a range of artwork , both experimental and aspirational, with freedom of expression and artistic passion at its heart – from pieces that tell it exactly how it is to those from which guests will take away their own meaning,” commented Ovolo Inchcolm art curator Lisa Fehily. 3. Draw the eye with unexpected flourishes; at Ovolo Inchcolm this is done with the intriguingly named Cabinet of Curiosity: “The Cabinet of Curiosity really embodies everything Ovolo, and what this hotel is about: conceiving interior-design cocktails with an eclectic mix of ingredients,” Anna Roberts, stylist behind the Cabinet of Curiosity, has explained. “New guests will be pleasantly perplexed by the unexpected discoveries to be found in the cabinet – whether it’s Bowie-printed dinner plates, old medical prescriptions from local physicians, felt Lamingtons, or aluminium-flower sculptures.”