Steal These Design Ideas From Park Hyatt Beaver Creek’s Gorgeous Renovation

There’s nothing like a birthday to encourage a personal refresh. New year, new you, right?

Park Hyatt Beaver Creek certainly took that idea to heart: In honor of its 30th anniversary, the ski-in, ski-out resort unveiled a top-to-bottom lobby and bar renovation. “Part of our inspiration for the space was to create a sense of place, a sense of luxury—something that felt like a high-end mountainside home you would find in Beaver Creek,” says Leslie Wynne, senior interior designer with Premier Project Management, the Dallas hospitality-project-management firm behind the updated look.

In short, the goal was to make the lobby—or “living room,” as the Park Hyatt team refers to it—feel residential and welcoming. A faux fireplace (the flames are created by LED lights and water vapor) surrounded by a cantilevered, live-edge wood bench invites guests in the front door, and two additional fireplaces in the bar area encourage people to sit and après. Chairs were added to the relocated reception desk so guests can relax during check-in. Much of the lighting is on a dimming system so the brightness can be adjusted throughout the day. And a bar situated in the center of the room offers a social space reminiscent of a kitchen island—where everyone gathers, no matter where the party actually is. (Equipment, glassware, and bottles are concealed below the bar to preserve the mountain view.)

Thankfully, you don’t have to empty your bank account and spend the entire ski season at the hotel to enjoy the design updates. We chatted with the Premier team to get some tips on how to bring the elegant mountain style into your own home.

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Tip: Dark colors don’t have to be scary.

The knotty pine covering many of the lobby’s walls already existed, but Premier re-stained it all with a black and brown layered finish. “It changed the space without costing a fortune,” Wynne says. By using the new coloring as a trim—as well as on the eye-catching ceiling—the Premier team was able to frame the lobby’s focal point: the view. Look at the photo that tops this article; the darker features guide the eye toward the scenery without overwhelming the room.

Tip: Enliven your neutral color palette with pops of color from pillows—that you crafted yourself.

Wynne encourages people to make their own pillows by perusing vintage and specialty textile shops to find fabrics. Or, she suggests, add appliqués, accents, or trims to store-bought pillows for some personal flair. Bonus: Pillows are easy, and not super costly, to swap out when you need a change.

Tip: Be selective with your decorations.

The Premier team intentionally left some of the shelves empty and filled others with thoughtful accessories that matched the setting and vibe of the space. “Find your favorite pieces of art, or accessories or pieces you’ve collected on travels or at your favorite shop, and make those items stand out and be special,” Wynne advises. “It creates a more meaningful collection.”

Tip: Use lighting to set the mood.

LED lights placed at the back of the metal-framed floating shelves make the wall appear to glow. Recreate the effect at home using LED tape lighting.

Tip: Mix metals and other materials—but be deliberate about it.

Antique brass accents can be spotted throughout the Park Hyatt’s lobby. The metallic material gets a starring role on the chandelier and the reveals on the fireplaces, but also pops up more subtly in the legs of the bar stools and on table lamps. “It’s about the balance and not overdoing it one way or the other,” Wynne notes. “If all of your finishes are brass, it becomes too much.”

Tip: Change your focal point to change your room.

“Changing a light fixture can drastically alter the overall feel of an existing space,” Wynne says. Premier replaced the 12-foot antler chandelier that once adorned the lobby with something more modern and artsy (and added LED lights for energy-efficiency). The new 10-foot-by-10-foot canopy was designed to evoke falling ice crystals, an homage to the landscape beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.