Following a multimillion-dollar renovation and restoration of the 1910 Coppin’s Department Store in Covington, Ky., Hotel Covington recently opened for business. Owner Guy van Rooyen and Kentucky-based Hub + Weber Architects and Plume Interiors + Light collaborated on the project. The design inspiration for the hotel stems from that of traditional department store blueprints of decades past. “Hotel Covington’s interiors are a reflection of the city’s history and celebration of the fashion hub the building once was as the Coppin’s Department Store,” according to Amanda Bennett, principal and lighting designer, and Corey Rineair, senior project designer and interior designer, at Plume. “The story is woven throughout the property in layers that we hope guests will uncover during multiple visits.” The hotel features 114 guestrooms, outfitted in five styles and arrangements. Each room offers a retail-inspired, freestanding clothing rack in place of armoires, a polished wooden desk, and a mini-fridge stocked with locally sourced snacks and beverages. Aparium Hotel Group manages the fashion-forward property.
Moody Blues
Historic home paint colors seen in local neighborhoods inspired four modern monochromatic guestroom color schemes. “For the navy, in particular, we wanted the room to feel luxurious and sexy—the dark walls evoke a very moody feel.”
Local Flair
A local artist has created one-of-a-kind pieces of art for each room, including an archival photo of Covington or the Coppin’s building layered with color and texture. “These pieces are the pop of color in our monochromatic room schemes.”
In a Good Light
A capiz shell pendant above the bed provides soft ambient glare-free lighting that illuminates the draperies and speaks to the taller ceilings. “The black metal work has a similar vocabulary as the open clothing racks, desks, and blackened steel details on the first floor.”
In Fashion
Many details in the guestroom pay homage to the building’s department store past, from the retail-
inspired clothing rack to a trash bin shaped like a department store shopping bag. “Faux fur pillows and bed scarves and luxurious fabrics covering the large historic windows create a fashionable vibe,” the designers add.
