SMDS is overjoyed to be working with Joie de Vivre Hospitality on our first hotel project.  The world’s hotels, particularly the latest crop of boutique hotels, have inspired us tremendously, and so it is a real thrill to be at work on a hotel of our own— right in our backyard no less! Hotel Durant, in downtown Berkeley, will have a new look in the fall; this illustration is a sneak peak at our vision for the lobby.

SMDS is designing the 144 guest rooms as well as the common areas: lobby, conference area, restaurant, and sports bar (yes, that’s right—and get ready to raise a glass to something altogether different). We have also been charged with the design of much of the furniture, accessories, and lighting. Are you starting to see why this is a dream project for us? 

It was our job to reconcile Joie de Vivre’s spirit of youthful energy with the hotel’s site, a historic building dating from 1928. These are the balances we love to strike in our work anyway—classic and contemporary, restrained elegance and witty irreverence. As we see it, Hotel Durant will be a worldly inn with a certain Bay Area je ne sais quoi . . . and of course, considerable joie de vivre.

We look forward to welcoming you this fall.

Until then,
All of us at SMDS

P.S. It is with great pride we announce that SMDS is a recipient of the 2008 International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Honor Award for our Great Highway Project with Aidlin Darling Architects and extend our congratulations to all the other winners!

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