GREENWOOD, MS— The newly restored Alluvian Hotel here has a design theme adapted from its setting in the Mississippi Delta. The concept of layering, taken from the term alluvium, meaning deposits of earth and sand left by flowing waters, is used throughout the 50-room hotel, especially in the floor coverings. The hotel, built in 1917 and originally called the Hotel Irving, is owned by Viking Range Corp., a privately-held company which manufactures professional kitchen appliances for the home. Viking Range CEO Fred Carl Jr. and his wife, Margaret, decided to restore the four-story structure and two adjacent buildings and create a boutique hotel that would appeal to business travelers and others visiting the area. Forrest Perkins LLC, a Dallas-based architectural and design firm, was selected to handle the restoration project which was recently completed. “We wanted a style that was a combination of the deep South and big city, sophisticated hotel. What we created is fashion-forward but still small-town America,” said Christy M. Smith, designer with Forrest Perkins. With the hotel’s furnishings, “there is a definite sense of layering in keeping with the alluvium theme. You can really see it in the carpet as you move up the floors of the hotel with the pattern and colors,” Smith said. Axminster woven carpet produced by Brintons U.S. Axminster was used for much of the public space, guest corridors and meeting rooms, she noted. “As you enter the lobby there is a marble floor, then it goes into the Axminster carpet in the lobby lounge and function space,” Smith explained, adding that the soft appearance of the carpet and its sound absorbency was important for these areas. “The carpet has a square grid pattern in the lobby lounge while in the function room, it’s a square grid with round circles,” Smith said. A square grid pattern is used on several furniture pieces as well. The carpet is colored in soft grays, deep reds and purples “to mimic the alluvium plain,” she said. “As you progress up the floors of the hotel, the palette changes. The grays drop out and there are more reds, greens and golds. All purple is gone by the time you reach the fourth floor.” The elevator lobbies on the guest-room floors have bamboo wood floors “which play nicely off of the modern interpretation of that same concept woven into the Axminster down the corridors,” Smith said. The Concierge Lounge on the fourth floor features hand-tufted rugs in reds, greens and gold, also by Brintons U.S. Axminster. The rugs give the lounge a “feeling of elegance,” Smith said. Guestroom floors are covered with solution-dyed nylon carpet from Templeton and also convey the theme of layered earth, sand and water, Smith noted. Rooms feature commissioned art, fresh flowers, 27-inch flat-screen televisions, and coffeemakers with an assortment of Wolfgang Puck coffees. The beds are adorned with down comforters, chenille blankets and 350 thread-count linens.
