OMFGCO updates branding and interiors for Hawaii's Laylow Hotel

Design agency OMFGCO has overhauled and restored a hotel in Waikiki, drawing inspiration from Hawaiian mid-century modernism to create a lush getaway.

OMFGCO, a design consultancy based in Portland, was originally tasked with producing a new branding concept for the Laylow Hotel, which originally opened in 1969 as the Coral Reef Hotel.

The team's idea was to return to the essence of mid-century design, and create a jet-set inspired getaway from the busy streets of Waikiki.

Moving the existing lobby to the second floor and away from the street was one of the key ways to achieve this.

The client, Rockbridge Hotel Development, then decided that it would be worth updating the ageing hotel's interiors to match OMFGCO's branding.

"When the existing interior design team declined the challenge, Rockbridge asked us if we would take on the interiors ourselves," OMFGCO said.

This was the agency's first experience with such a large and diverse scope of work. "Up to this point, we'd branded several hotels throughout the country, but we'd never gone further than working with an interiors firm, weaving brand and art moments into their solutions," they added.

A covered escalator leads up from Kuhio Avenue to the new lobby, which serves as the focal point of the redesign. By locating this area upstairs, the designers were able to add four guest rooms to the ground level.

"OMFGCO populated the public spaces with a combination of their own original furniture designs and curated items," according to a statement from the hotel.

These include vintage lounge chairs and bar stools, colourful terrazzo countertops, and a long accent wall made of breeze blocks designed by Patricia Urquiola for Mutina.

Throughout the hotel, floral wallpapers complement live plants that grow abundantly in the area. The interior finishes and furniture within the rooms are brighter than the public spaces, but use a similar selection of vintage pieces.

Other Hawaiian influences that informed the project include outdoor lounge areas within a bar with sand floors, and a saltwater swimming pool shaded by bamboo canopies.

By undertaking the concept, branding, artwork, and interior design aspects of the project, OMFGCO aimed to create a continuous experience throughout the hotel.

"The result is a cadenced, carefully choreographed experience that deepens along the way, through the reception area, pool, bar, restaurant, elevator lobby, corridors, and guest rooms," the agency told Dezeen.

Also in Waikiki, BHDM used bright colours for furniture and finishes when updating the Shoreline Hotel to create the state's "the most instagrammable" accommodation.