To be added to my Future Travel Wish List: a stay at Hôtel des Académies et des Arts in Paris, once home to Modigliani (and his studio on the top floor), now a hotel and open-to-all artist workspace with 20 “large poetic rooms.” The hotel was redone by Paris-based architecture studio Lizée Hugot (the team behind Hotel Le Sud many miles south; see Let There Be Light: Hotel Le Sud in the South of France, a Guesthouse Inspired by Picasso) and features hand-painted murals on the ceilings and intentional paint splatters—much more artist’s atelier than hotel. Have breakfast or a drink in the café; just behind is a painting studio where guests—and students from the Academy of Arts across the street—can work.
Here are a few design elements we love:
1. Add nails.
![the bright and open lobby. iron nails border the tops of most rooms for hanging 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-checkin-733x415.png)
2. Paint built-ins.
![the bibliothèque, where guests can settle with a drink from the honor bar. 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-bibliotheque-733x489.jpg)
3. Employ sculptural furnishings.
![the cafe atelier has custom wooden tables and banquettes; there are always jars 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-dining-733x489.png)
![for breakfast, the hoteliers serve organic breads and pastries from local boula 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-dining-2-733x1098.png)
4. Embrace paint splatters.
![through the dining area to the workshop, which feels as though an artist 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-workshop-733x1099.png)
5. Make art.
![the atelier is open to all; painting classes are also on offer. 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-atelier-733x490.jpg)
6. Bring back wood paneling.
![in a classic room, the bed nook is paneled in dark oak with a thin ledge for di 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-bed-6-733x489.png)
7. Or silk.
![in a superior room, the bed is set into an alcove covered with ochre colored si 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-bed-3-733x415.png)
![a workspace, complete with stripes. 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-bed-7-733x416.png)
8. Hue to a neutral palette.
![in a nod to blank canvases, guest rooms are designed \2\20;as your own a 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-bed-5-733x489.png)
9. Hand-paint murals.
![ceilings throughout the hotel feature frescoes by artist franck lebraly, who wa 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-ceiling-733x489.png)
10. Hang a sink skirt.
![a sink skirt—as in this pleated version in a family suite—adds bo 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/hotel-des-academies-et-des-arts-bath.png)
For much more, head to Hôtel des Académies et des Arts. And for more Ideas to Steal, might we suggest:
- Danish Light: 8 Ideas to Steal from a Restaurant in Copenhagen by a Studio on the Rise
- Jolene in London: 7 Simple, Budget Ideas to Steal from the Year’s Most Rustic Bakery
- Wilder, in London: 9 Design Ideas to Steal from Terence Conran’s New Forage-Focused Restaurant
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