The design is a fusion of 21st Century sensibilities with gentle historic references combined with brand awareness and thoughtful masterplanning
– David Morris, creative director of Studio Proof

Interior designers Studio Proof have revamped Amsterdam’s famous Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky to evoke the atmosphere and stylistic flourishes of the 1920s.

The hotel, which was established by enterprising tailor Wilhelm Krasnapolsky in 1855, is one of the city’s oldest and has become a landmark in Dam Square. It is now part of the NH Collection’s portfolio of five star hotels across Europe.

Studio Proof were tasked with refreshing the hotel’s cosmopolitan style and referencing its pre-war heyday, when it was a popular haunt for writers and musicians.

The lobby lounge where figures such as James Joyce once socialised has been enlarged and made more spacious. New columns have been clad in smoked mirror and dark stained oak to create a new avenue through to the reception area.

The lobby, restaurant, bar and cafe have also been redesigned, with features such as antique leather sofas, modern chandeliers, LED lights crafted by Irish sculptor Niamh Barry, and vintage seating booths introduced to contrast the traditional and the contemporary.

Meanwhile the hotel’s restaurant – the oldest in Amsterdam – has been sensitively refurbished as The White Room; a simply decorated space that contrasts the ivory and fawn-coloured tones of the new furniture with the restored gold and yellow hues of the original elements.

David Morris, creative director of Studio Proof, said the project was "quite a difficult brief".

“The design is a fusion of 21st Century sensibilities with gentle historic references combined with brand awareness and thoughtful masterplanning” he added. “Our work was part of the first total refurbishment of the hotel for over half a century but our programme was short and there were so many structural unknowns due to the 50 plus individual buildings that over the years had been absorbed into the hotel.

“Now, both operator and owner have a hotel of real distinction serving international visitors and local communities with an offering that is first-in-class for this area of Amsterdam.”

Other members of the project team included lead architect DDock and project manager C&R Hospitality. Designer Ramon Esteve has refurbished the hotel’s guest rooms.