Historic Renovation: Past Perfected

Designers are cautioned to “expect the unexpected” when approaching a renovation. That admonition is especially relevant for The Equinox, a Luxury Collection Golf Resort & Spa. Dating back to the 18th century, the Manchester Village, Vt., landmark has weathered 17 major architectural changes in six distinct styles over the past two centuries.                         

Current owner HEI Hotels & Resorts also acquired the 1811 House, an historic bed and breakfast located across from the main hotel building overlooking the Golf Club at The Equinox. The 13-room former home of Abraham Lincoln’s granddaughter features Federal period styling and original artwork.

Under the guidance of HEI,  renowned designer Geoffrey Bradfield was commissioned to lead the $20-million-dollar refurbishment of the guestrooms and public spaces.

“HEI was very specific that it didn’t want a period renovation but a very contemporary, youthful point of view,” Bradfield says. “Having said that, they wanted me to retain the dignity of the hotel and its famous past.”

Bradfield’s passion is contemporary art. A favorite artist of his is 20th-century Swiss sculptor, Diego Giacometti, most remembered for his furnishings and fixtures work. The artist’s influence is observed in specially commissioned pieces installed throughout the common areas of The Equinox, including consoles, large hand-woven area rugs and ceiling lamps. The works depict a menagerie of creatures—frogs, deer, turtles and birds—linking the domestic objects to the resort’s surrounding natural features. 

Bradfield’s first order of business was to reconfigure the layout of the public spaces, and convert an unused suite into the cozy Falcon Bar. Working with Baskervill, the architecture, engineering and interior design firm, Bradfield specified for the guestrooms a muted color palette of slate blue, dark brown and beige, accented with custom-made hand-carved wardrobes. Each room features a large black and white photograph of The Equinox as it looked in the early 1900s.

A major challenge for the design team was working with uneven corridor spaces and varying guestroom configurations. Bradfield addressed the corridor connundrum by designing freeform, borderless carpet. He took a flexible approach in tackling the mismatched guestrooms with their varying ceiling heights and sloping floors.

“The Equinox is such a dowager, but a much loved dowager,” Bradfield says.