There are certain things you can expect to find in a Dorothée Meilichzon–created hotel: A charmingly tipsy mix of materials and design references. Unexpected color choices. And some of the most memorable headboards around.
Meilichzon runs her own Paris firm, Chzon, and to date has performed top-to-bottom designs for four Paris hotels (go to Affordable Chic at Hotel Panache and Hotel Bachaumont’s Moody Blues for a sampling), along with a roster of restaurants. The newly opened 18-room Henrietta Hotel in Covent Garden—Meilichzon’s first London lodging—is owned by the Paris-based Experimental Group, a band of friends who she’s worked with many times before. Familiarity has granted Meilichzon the freedom to have fun: Acknowledging that she loves to experiment and to surprise, she says, “I want people to smile when they wake up in this hotel.”
Photography by Karel Balas, unless otherwise noted, courtesy of Henrietta Hotel.
![located on henrietta street in covent garden, the hotel occupies \1874 and \187 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hotel-henrietta-exterior-covent-garden-london-karel-balas-photo-1-733x1100.jpg)
Among the challenges of joining the structures: “They had different levels,” says Meilichzon, “and, as is usual in London, the space on the ground floors was long and narrow.”
![long and narrow no more. dubbed a \2\20;bed and beverage\2\2\1; e 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-lobby-bar-dorothee-melichzon-design-london-733x489.jpg)
Most of the designs are Meilichzon’s own—watch for her curved mirrors and other arched elements all over—but for the restaurant, run by Michelin-starred chef Ollie Dabbous, she used 40 of Vico Magistretti’s rush-seated Carimate chairs made in the 1960s.
![meilichzon\2\17;s use of terracotta and green, she says, was inspi 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hotel-henrietta-lobby-bar-covent-garden-london-2-733x1100.jpg)
The marshmallowy chairs with brushed aluminum bases are Meilichzon’s homage to French designer Pierre Paulin’s work in the 1970s. They appear throughout the hotel in a variety of upholstery fabrics, including jewel-toned mohair and a shagreen pattern, sourced from Italian fabric house Rubelli.
![preserved old brick paired with gold tasseled lampshades by architect designer 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hotel-henrietta-lobby-bar-covent-garden-london-4-733x489.jpg)
![to evoke an herbarium, meilichzon lined the walls with framed pressed flowers m 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/hotel-henrietta-lobby-bar-covent-garden-london-3-733x1100.jpg)
![the guest quarters are done in four different color palettes. no two rooms are 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-guest-room-london-paul-bowyer-photo-5-733x979.jpg)
![the beds are the big moment in every meilichzon hotel. at the henrietta, the ou 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-guest-room-london-karel-balas-photo-7-1-733x489.jpg)
![each bed frame is hand assembled from individual elements, painted, m 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-guest-room-london-karel-balas-photo-6-733x489.jpg)
![scalloped carrara marble and sawtooth edged tiles against shell pink walls in a 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-guest-bath-london-karel-balas-photo-6a-733x489.jpg)
![a glimpse of the neighboring buildings that meilichzon looked to for design ide 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-guest-room-london-karel-balas-photo-11-733x489.jpg)
![the tall brass bedside lamps have long stems that are planted into the be 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-guest-room-london-karel-balas-photo-8-733x977.jpg)
![trained as an industrial designer, meilichzon specializes in hotels and re 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/designer-dorothee-melichzon-henrietta-hotel-london-karel-balas-photo-9-733x1100.jpg)
![the guest rooms have brass edged carrara marble skirting and terrazzo patterned 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-guest-room-carpet-baseboard-detail-london-karel-balas-photo-7a-733x489.jpg)
![to lighten the look of the rooms, many of the furnishings are wall hung, includ 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/henrietta-hotel-london-marble-bedside-table-paul-bowyer-photo-8a-733x948.jpg)
For more details and reservations, go to Henrietta Hotel.
Go to our London City Guide to see more hotels and other design-oriented haunts, including:
- A Color-Blocked Cafe in London Inspired by Shades of the Seventies
- Puckhaber, A Chic, Family-Owned Antiques Shop
- Everyday Objects, Artfully Sourced, at Momosan Shop in London
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
Join the conversation