Scout Design Checks into the Viceroy Anguilla

With an alluring mix of global, vintage, artsy, and modern, I’m completely in love with Scout Design‘s aesthetic. Design partners Nicki Clendening and Callie Jenschke met while styling the amazing Greenwich Hotel–propping the spaces with those personal details that give the hotel its warmth and cool. What I love about their rooms, is that they don’t feel calculated or “decorated.” Instead, the spaces they create look effortlessly cool and confident. They are beautifully layered with unique treasures–interesting art, exotic accessories, and handwoven textiles. They create the kind of spaces you wish you lived in.

Scout Designs

When you meet Nicki and Callie you can’t help but notice how their fashion aesthetic mirrors their design aesthetic. It’s an inspired mix of vintage with new, fashion-forward with retro, exotic with tailored–that works perfectly. If you like their look, you should check out their just-launched Mercantile shop where you’ll find a mix of abstract art, vintage screens, and African headresses. They also have ventured into fashion with their awesome Scout Studio Satchel in leather created with busy working girls in mind.

The Exterior of the Viceroy Anguilla

I’ve been lucky enough to work with Nicki and Callie a bit this past year, and I’m always impressed with their style, wit, and confidence. I knew they would pick something really interesting for their favorite hotel. The design duo went with the amazing Viceroy in Anguilla designed by Kelly Wearstler. The hotel has an incredibly glam and urban aesthetic with an island backdrop–it’s an interesting and unexpected contrast. Read on for my interview with Nicki and Callie about their work and their stay at the Viceroy Anguilla:

The Lobby of the Viceroy Anguilla

You met while styling the Greenwich Hotel. Tell us about that experience.

Callie had been hired to help with some of the finishing touches, decorative objet and the like, for the hotel before it opened. I had just left my job in book publishing to try and figure out what was next for me and my friend who works there let me come in and see what they were doing. All it took was a train ride home after being at the hotel one day and we became fast friends. We were just sympatico from the very beginning. After a year of talking about what we wanted to do, we started Scout Designs.

What did you learn about hotel design from your experience styling The Greenwich?

A lot! Neither of us had ever worked on a hotel before and everything about the process of opening a hotel was fascinating to us. And what a place to first experience what that all means. Everything about The Greenwich Hotel is perfection to us. The things you have to take into consideration are numerous, and not ones you’d normally consider when designing a residential space. Wear and tear for one. How furniture, rugs, fabrics will hold up after repeated use. The architectural scale of the public and private spaces, and how they are shaped and used to create a mood. The service aspect of how a hotel functions effects everything, from the towels to the sheets, to the serving trays and glassware. In a hotel like the Greenwich every detail matters so a great deal of time, care, and thought goes into every decision that is made. And there is no reason not to apply that same practice to everything we do.

As designers yourselves, how important is hotel design in choosing where you stay?

Whether we are traveling for work or for pleasure, we want the place we are staying in to be comfortable and aesthetically appealing. After a long day (whether we’re at the beach or meeting with clients) it’s a great feeling to come back to a nice hotel and feel like you’ve walked into an oasis of good design and comfort.

4) How did you hear about the Viceroy Anguilla?

We are devoted fans of Kelly Wearstler and everything she does, so we’d been eager to go and check out the hotel. Plus, Nicki’s been traveling to Anguilla for more than 25 years and is always eager to get back. The trip was for us to re-charge after a year of working 7-day weeks. Our first thought is always to go to the Caribbean, so off we went!

What was your room like? What did you love about it?

Our room was the perfect mix of natural elements married with tons of textural glamour for which Wearstler is so known for. From the brass finishings to the white-washed wood floors to the grass-cloth upholstery, we loved how each element blended together to create visual complexity but total design serenity in the room. It was pure bliss!

6) What was the coolest aspect of the overall design? Wearstler expertly plays with scale–from soaring architecture to oversized mirrors to wall-sized sheets of marble– throughout the entire property. Coupled with her fearless placement of uncommon materials, natural color palette and textures, each public space revealed her master of the unexpected mix.

What space in the hotel was your favorite and why?

We about lost it over the Sunset Lounge. Situated on the edge of the property overlooking the bay, this outdoor bar exemplified all that Wearstler does right–from the perfectly matched black marble wall behind the limestone bar to the shagreen bar stools and the inlaid shell consoles. Talk about THE perfect place to sip your evening cocktails…think we may have ended up there every night.

Anything about the design you would want to recreate in a project?

There are too many ideas to count! For us, though, our most important take away from the Viceroy Anguilla is incorporating Wearstler’s brilliant use of textures and subtle color palettes in all of our projects. We love building every room with layers of different materials and think the most gorgeous spaces showcase tons of visual eye-candy.

What was the highlight of your trip?

For us, nothing makes us happier than being face down in the water taking in nature’s grandeur. Happiness is four glorious days of breathtaking sea life with only one close encounter! When we were snorkeling in about two feet of water, we had a nurse shark skim by our bellies. Talk about up close and personal!

Insider tip–what do you wish you had known before going?

We had the inside scoop so to speak given Nicki has been to the island numerous times before but our #1 tip is to call Mac Pemberton of Mac’s Transportation Services at 264-235-6855 to take you anywhere you need to go. Nicki has known him since her first trip to Anguilla and he’s like family now. You won’t find a nicer cab driver in all of the Caribbean.

Images courtesy Scout Designs and Viceroy Anguilla