The Colony Hotel Debuts Redesign

With an updated lobby, owners Andrew and Sarah Wetenhall created a plush gathering place for all Palm Beachers to enjoy

Sarah Wetenhall joined forces with Mimi McMakin and Kemble Interiors to remodel The Colony Hotel’s lobby.
Images courtesy of de Gournay

In refreshing the lobby of the storied Colony Hotel, owners Andrew and Sarah Wetenhall wanted to fashion a gathering place for the whole island to enjoy rather than a transactional lobby suited mainly to hotel guests. As guardians of a Palm Beach icon, the Wetenhalls strive to honor The Colony’s legacy while ensuring continued relevance. And given the property’s landmark status, they approached the renovations with the utmost thought and care.

The new lobby boasts hand-painted wallpaper by de Gournay.

Sarah enlisted longtime design partner Kemble Interiors to resurrect the black terrazzo floors and pods of conversational furniture from the original 1947 lobby design, converting the space into “the Living Room,” a glamorous two-story jungle furnished with touches of pink, lacquered peacock chairs, Jansen-inspired brass palm tables, and a soaring, hand-carved, chinoiserie mantel. She also teamed up with renowned hand-painted wallpaper designers de Gournay on a bespoke, Palm Beach–themed pattern featuring local flora and fauna.

“We created an 18-foot love letter to Palm Beach and The Colony Hotel,” she says. “Walking into the Living Room now is like stepping into a Palm Beach fable.”

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