After a five-month renovation, the Hotel Victor South Beach reopened in September with new guestrooms and a redesigned lobby and poolscape. The independent property is owned by the Nakash family of Jordache Enterprises (creators of Jordache Jeans) and was formerly affiliated with Thompson Hotels. Design firm Yabu Pushelberg brought modern-day standards to the Art Deco property and made the guest bathrooms look upgraded without a full overhaul. “The bathrooms were one of the most challenging areas of this project,” says Glenn Pushelberg, the firm’s co-founder. “Bathrooms are typically the most expensive part of construction, and although we wanted it to appear to be a complete gut, this was only a partial renovation.”
St. Tropez Spirit
“We stripped away the previous cacophony of materials and pattern and replaced it with a refreshing, simple palette of white fixtures, light stained oak, and Carrara marble,” Pushelberg says. “The comfortable, rich materials and furnishing in the rooms and suites are a continuation of the same soft palette found throughout the hotel, reflecting the spirit of St. Tropez in Miami.”
Open Door Policy
Translucent screens, inspired by European sash windows, act as sliding doors that transition from the guestroom into the bathroom. “We wanted to open up the relationship between the bedrooms and the bathrooms,” Pushelberg says. “This allows for more natural light to filter through, providing privacy while maintaining an uncluttered, relaxed feel.”
Mirror, Mirror
“We removed the existing heavy vanity and replaced it with a new wood X-based vanity, which is visually lighter and more open and looks more like a piece of furniture,” he says. “We also extended the mirrors but framed them to give them a very residential feel.”
In a Good Light
Pushelberg explains that although his firm generally likes to add lighting behind the mirror in bathroom renovations, the design and budget for this project couldn’t accommodate it. “We used decorative sconces on each side of the vanity to provide ambient light and down lights, which together eliminate shadows from the face,” he says. “Soft lighting from all angles is the most flattering.”
