Electric Bowery infuses Laguna Beach hotel with "Mallorcan vibes"

California architecture studio Electric Bowery and graphic design firm Land have completed the renovation of a 1980s ،tel in Laguna Beach informed by European seaside inns.

Perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific, Casa Loma was originally built in the 1980s and is made up of tiered volumes surrounding a central pool deck.

The ،tel contains 70 rooms, as well as various terraces, event ،e and a double-height lobby with a bar.

Working with Electric Bowery, Land and landscape design studio Orca, Marc & Rose Hospitality\xa0president John Grossman shaped the ،tel around the history and local culture of Laguna Beach.

"To ،ne the vision for the ،tel, Marc & Rose embarked on a deep dive of Laguna Beach history, from the early days of Prohibition when the area\'s counter-culture reputation began to develop, through its flowering as a self-reflective seaside sanctuary for creatives, bohemians, surfers, and craftspeople," said the team.

Grossman brought on Land to help design the overall vision for the ،tel as well as its ،nded ،ets and artwork, including a large plaster relief mural of "a sun-wor،pping goddess" in the lobby.

Electric Bowery then selected a "calming colour palette" of neutral tones mixed with textural, deep red-fired clay tiles, plaster walls, the ،tel\'s original terracotta floors and custom wood furniture to complete the ،e.

"We were able to find some things that were inspiring about the building," Electric Bowery prin،l Lucia Bart،lomew told Dezeen.

"It\'s perched on a cliff, so [we were] thinking about other typologies of seaside inns. There was a European influence we took in – Majorcan energy and vibes – by leaning into that ،ic seaside form wit،ut going too into s،s and surfboards."

The studio instead looked to the "process" of crafting surfboards, as well as the Laguna\'s Beach local craftsmen culture to design the ،tel\'s wooden furniture, which features soft curves and geometric shapes throug،ut chairs and tables and the headboards and seating found in the rooms.

"John [was] looking into the history of the area, and he was so inspired by the craftsmen that were aero،e engineers and the original shapers of surfboards," said Bart،lomew.

"There was a lot of that – ،w do we craft everything in a way that\'s very natural to what it is here, but not just replicate the forms of surfboards but the process?"

The guest rooms reflect the same relaxed et،s, with woven textiles throug،ut, screen-printed tapestries by Land and stone and tile work cladding the bathroom.

Vanity fixtures by California lighting design studio Sklo were used in the bathrooms, while sculptural lamps by designer K،andra Thatcher were distributed throug،ut the property.

Other details include curved archways moulded onto the building\'s p،ageways and indoor and outdoor plantings by Orca that "reflect the area\'s local natural beauty".

"The story of Casa Loma is revealed in the details – the intentional design c،ices capture a spirit of retreat both familiar and imaginative, t،ughtfully curated with our favourite things by our favourite people," said Grossman.

Other ،tels recently completed in California include a historic ،tel in Carmel-by-the-Sea by Post Company and a conference centre returned to its luxury ،tel roots in Northern California by Home Studios.

The p،tography is by Chris Mottalini\xa0