*image above: Native Trails’ Avalon Bathtub beckons travelers with its perfectly curved form, deep interior, and innovative manufacture featuring natural jute fiber and cement.

In a mere two weeks and change, architects, designers, manufacturers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, thought-leaders, vendors, and intrepid entrepreneurs everywhere will gather at NY’s Javits Center to experience BDNY: the cutting-edge in hospitality concepts, products, and news. Here are some headlining products to watch for (and some inspired and imaginative spaces in which to experience them).

Backsplash and Beyond

Adex’s Levante collection has a clean, crisp feeling that’s evocative of luxe beach-side accommodations. No wonder. The design was inspired by the provincial Mediterranean winds that blow through Valencia and down Spain’s southern coast. A captivating glossy finish adds to the allure, as do the variety of colors and styles, especially the beautiful hand-painted iteration seen in the backsplash below.

The Arte of Koroseal

Koroseal and Arte will be collaborating on the latter brands’ booth at this year’s event, showcasing Arte’s impressive range of prints and textured surfaces. As seen here, a common element of the portfolio is the jungle, with a hyper-real and very vivid wallpaper, as wall as a textured, impasto style surface that evokes the subtle imprint of dreams.

All in the Details

As van der Rohe was keen to point out, details matter, even more so in upscale hospitality. Here are some examples of our favorite details as seen in some inventive door hardware by Cooper & Graham.

Designed Spaces Interlude #1, Designed by Nature

Courtesy of 1 Hotels, this biophilic respite at BDNY features rough-hewn wood, textured stone, handwoven palm accents, and a eucalyptus-pole trellis. All with the aim of “achieving serene surroundings with sustainably sourced materials.” Rendering by Sonny + Ash.

A New Epoca in Hospitality Design

Epoca is a top manufacturer of custom hospitality furniture made with authentic handcrafted techniques. At BDNY, they’re showcasing the Epoca Home, Palace, and Hotel concept: “Meticulously curated interiors to elevate a luxury experience.” Below are examples of projects in the Maldives, Madeira, and Obbürgen, Switzerland.

Little Shop of What?

Dedon’s outdoor furniture has a distinctive whimsy and an otherworldly feel, which can be just the ticket for an adventurous traveler. We especially love the unique outdoor lighting piece that reminds us of Audrey II, the charming, if homicidal, houseplant from Little Shop of Horrors.

Designed Spaces Interlude #2, Down the Rabbit Hole

KTGY Simeone Deary Design Group authored this tour de force of a space that pays homage to 2023’s Year of the Rabbit while also evoking the winsome world of Alice in Wonderland. “It’s part bunny hutch, part secret garden, with a hint of a mad tea party, intended to evoke conversation and build community and camaraderie.” Rendering by Sonny + Ash.

My Precious

Samelson-Chatelene’s Precious is inspired by the cut-outs and block prints of none other than Henri Matisse. The result is an alluring and audacious collection at BDNY that pays homage to Matisse and the other “Fauvists,” who embraced an excess of color and exaggerated forms in their depictions of wild nature.

Go Greenington

With the tag line, “Clean, Modern, Peace of Mind,” Greenington nicely sums up the company vision and mission: to create luxe modern furniture that everyone can feel good about. Their line of sustainable bamboo hospitality furniture is sublime, belying any pre-conceived notions about the design potential of a rapidly growing grass.

Designed Spaces Interlude #3, Imaginative Travel by Andaz

This pink-hued wonder of a room is not the strawberry version of Kubrick’s Korova Milkbar, but rather the fruition of Andaz’ objective to create a luxe bar-at-sunset concept, “capturing the essence of a beach-side escape with surreal and experiential light that emanates from everywhere.” Rendering by Sonny + Ash.

Light on the Past

JMR Lighting/IlluminItaly offers old-world-style lighting with new world relevance. Known for fashioning exquisite diffusers in ceramic, they’re not bad with crystal either, as this precious piece at Boca Raton’s Ristorante Principessa shows.

One for the Road

Fyrn Seating’s Linden is exactly the kind of barstool I’d like to find when coming in out of the rain with a hankering for an Old Fashioned. This is classic hospitality seating featuring blond oak frames with copper bronze brackets and Bloom natural leather upholstery. Is refined elegance too much of a cliché? Sometimes you just want to stick with the tried and true.

Boutique Design New York (BDNY) is a madcap two days in mid November, 11/12-11/13 this year, at the Jacob K. Javits Center, 429 11th Ave, in NYC. Check back here during the show for live updates.