The Luxury of Roughing It

If hotel design is any reflection of the state of the economy, then hard times have indeed befallen us. How else does one explain the artfully peeling paintwork, beautifully bare floorboards and fabrics faded just so at Rough Luxe, www.roughluxe.co.uk — one of London's hottest boutique hotels? All right, it's designer decay, but it's nonetheless a jolt to travelers used to the glossy neutral tones and high-tech wizardry of more conventional offerings.

The anti-five star property is the brainchild of designer Rabih Hage, who, in a heritage building in King's Cross, has created a series of interiors that look as though they were abandoned by their builders. In the tiny ground-floor lounge, a midcentury-modern cabinet holds art books while a huge portrait of artists Gilbert & George hangs above the mantelpiece. Old TV sets and worn furniture lie around. The bathrooms (some shared, others en suite) include both power showers and 1830s wallpaper, unearthed in the renovation and left in all its patchy, uneven glory.

It all looks as though your favorite granny took a design degree, but the end result is stimulating and surprisingly warm. With tiny Jack Russell terrier Spud at his heels, manager Leo Rabelo explains that this is very much a hotel-as-home concept. Children are welcome, guests are encouraged to interact around the breakfast table (salvaged wood, naturally) and the perfectly preserved 1960s kitchen is available to all. "Of course, it saves guests money," Leo says, reflecting the make-do-and-mend zeitgeist of the economic downturn. "London can be expensive."

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