The hotel rooms have been well thought through. The large work desks with the internet access make it easy for a road warrior to use a laptop, charge a phone and write notes at the same time. There is a separate wet bar area, and no neglect of drawer or wardrobe space. Beds are large generously pillowed and comfortable and the rooms are visually warm and welcoming as well as physically comfortable. Switches come to hand easily and apart from the US habit of having switches hidden somewhere on the lamp, or on the leads to the lamp, or as a floor switch, or a wall switch...if they are going to be on the lamps can’t you guys at least agree that they are always in the same place to save a hunt for them?

"sophistication in their use of light, pattern and different materials all generating a very American sense of style "

Ornamentation such as vases of bamboo as part of production of an ethos that is neither European nor Oriental but truly American. Big bold colour use, strong pattern, visually dramatic lighting all requires a response that is different to European concepts of ‘taste’. Nor is it brash or unsubtle – when you take a trip on the ferry out of Seattle on a cold blue day and look at the sharpness of colour you realise that colour perception works differently when your eye is conditioned by the blue of the sky, the white of the ships wake and the view of snow on mountain peaks. This clarity and sharpness encourages a similar use of contrast and clarity in the use of colour in the interiors. Dawson Design brings to this sophistication in their use of light, pattern and different materials all generating a very American sense of style born from their self-confidence and their environment.

The self awareness and sense of being an individual in a society and landscape that gives an individual an opportunity to grow in their sense of self make for large expansive awareness by the people that is reflected in their interiors. In Europe the innovation is remarkable by its absence. European designers can be patronising about US design, but at Hotel 1000 Dawson Design have provided markers away from minimalism towards a new, more colourful and theatrical hotel experience