This Chic New Berkshires Getaway Was Once a Days Inn
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Utter the phrase “open-air corridor” in regards to lodging and you’ll likely elicit a nose wrinkle. Life House Berkshires in Lenox, Massachusetts, however, changes that sentiment. The boutique hotel brand known for crafting site specific narratives in fabulous destinations is making magic in New England with a luxurious mountain getaway that used to be—wait for it—a Days Inn. As for the open-air corridor, it’s still there.
“Exterior corridors have that bad motel connotation,” says Henriette Kockum, Life House’s V.P. of Design. “But it’s not a bad experience to be outside.” True enough. The company cleared away the awful stuff (which was basically everything), but left the all the walls intact. Then, they painstakingly finished and gorgeously outfitted every square inch. They also designed an addition for the front, increasing its curb appeal. The place is unrecognizable inside and out.
Book Now: Life House Berkshires
The design concept centers around the idea of writer who retreats to the Berkshires to find peace and inspiration. The team looked to such figures as Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote The House of Seven Gables in Lenox in 1850, and Herman Melville, who purchased a farm in nearby Pittsfield that same year.
The hotel’s lobby is a cozy library featuring open wood shelves filled with old books. There’s also a writing table with lamps sporting shades made from Italian marbled paper, meant to resemble the endpapers in antique books. Back-to-back sofas, curved armchairs, and window seats flanking a fireplace beckon guests to relax with a book of their own (or maybe even write one).
The banquette and marble-topped bar in the Club Room is equally as inviting. Traditional New England millwork and windowpane plaid upholstery mingle with silhouettes that reference the 1970s and a custom, hand-drawn mural lends an artful air. The sensibility carries through the hotel’s 64 guest rooms as well, each of which boasts a gallery wall of original artwork.
Kockum and her team pulled the property’s color scheme from the Berkshires landscape; both the lush greens of springtime and the rich reds and rusty oranges of autumn. The public bath, for example, features a forest mural by House of Hackney that’s reminiscent of the local landscape. “We are obsessed with House of Hackney,” Kockum says. “We’ve used their things in every Life House except one.”
That the colors of fall happen to coincide with hues that were prominent in 1970s décor is not lost on Kockum. “There was a questionable color palette then, but we leaned into the colors that could influence the design positively,” she says. “We flipped the narrative, drawing on the good part of the seventies.”
Before
Exterior
The gabled roof and board and batten siding give the two-story addition, which houses the Library and Club Room, a modern farm house feel. The bar opens onto the guests-only, wrap around patio. “Adding sage green took it away from that overly neutral, depressing palette, and brass hardware on the doors upgraded the look and feel,” Kockum says.
Lobby/Library
The cozy library, which is also the lobby, channels a writer’s retreat. The flame-stitch patterned upholstery on the sofas and the arced silhouette of the armchairs pay homage to the original building’s 1970s origins. “We thought hard about how to bring in that 1970s funk,” Kockum says. Vintage books: Brimfield Antique Flea Market.
Club Room
Murano glass chandeliers made in Venice by Sogni di Cristalli hang at the peak of the 28-foot ceilings and the mossy green accents echo the color of a Berkshires spring. Sliders open to a patio with loungers and fire pits, creating a seamless indoor/outdoor transition. Wood flooring: Porcelanosa.
In the seating area, a 1970s style leather sofa speaks to a look that is currently enjoying a revival, while kilim pillows and a vintage rug anchor it to the earthy locale. Rug: Revival.
Across from the bar, a banquette upholstered in a windowpane plaid is a dignified juxtaposition to the chairs wholly 1970s attitude. The custom mural by artist Lei Xing depicts a pastoral village motif. Banquette fabric: Schumacher.
Club Room Bar
Green marble with rust veining tops the bar and leather panels punctuate its front. The lamp is an antique and brass meshing adds interest to the wall between the shelves. The design team describes the stools as “retro diner meets the mountains.”
Guest Room
Guest rooms feature custom collaged portraits by artist Annie Lynch, Berkshires-related photographs from Saatchi Art, and framed poems on vintage paper by artist/poet Russell Marcus. “We had Russell Marcus write poems on the fly on using a vintage typewriter,” Kockum says. “It leans into the writer’s retreat theme.” Rug: Sacco.
Guest Room Wardrobe
The Life House design team designed the pleated fabric that adorns the glass-fronted wardrobes with leather handles. Wood flooring: Porcelanosa.
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