November 17, 2020

Text: Quinn Halman

Simeone Deary Design Group Goes Groovy With Yours Truly Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Materials, colors, textures, and forms engage in a harmonious yet playful dialogue in communal lounge areas. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group.

At the height of the counter-culture movement in the 1970s, Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. was where all of the city’s free-thinking, urban pioneers congregated. This bohemian sensibility inspired co-founder of the Simeone Deary Design Group, Lisa Simeone’s, approach to designing the interiors of Yours Truly in the northwestern D.C. neighborhood to feel like a giant living room first, and a hotel second. “I really want this place to feel welcoming, a little whimsical, and not to take itself too seriously,” Simeone explains.

Simeone embraces what she calls a “70’s basement grooviness” for the hotel’s bar. A grooved wood covering on the bar with geometric lines and stools upholstered in a funky paisley complete the look. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group.

Simeone reaches what she calls a “boho-meets-brutalist” stylistic balance by embracing the building’s architecturally solid bones and using a vivid palette of earth tones for interior furnishings. For example, each of the 355 guestrooms have a luxe, artistic carpet on original concrete floors to add a warm energy and softly absorb acoustics. Letting the monolith influence the architectural language inside, Simeone approximates 95% of the furniture and fixtures of Yours Truly are custom.

A tranquil guestroom complete with biophilic design and an abundance of natural light. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group. 

The biggest design challenge for Simeone came in configuring the hotel’s vastly large, open lobby space. “The ask was to have a space for check-in, a bar, a DJ booth, and for food service, plus have it be a quiet place during the day and lively place at night,” Simeone says in barely one breath. Demolition revealed a series of nano windows that Simeone opened up to bring sunlight and scenes from the outdoors in. Additionally, musical instruments for impromptu jam sessions are scattered throughout the multi-purpose lobby as Simeone describes Yours Truly as a place “where things serendipitously happen.”

Simeone describes working with the passionate Shai Zelering of Brookfield Properties as, “a collaboration that gave me a lot of creative charge.” He is particularly a fan of the irregularly shaped check-in counters. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group.
An intricate runner adds character to the corridor. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group.
The wood used in the raised DJ booth adds a natural element to the design while softening the hotel’s brutalist backbones. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group.
Simeone worked with Lisa Villarreal of Lily Jack to create the custom interior furnishings of Yours Truly. “These things can’t look commercial,” asserts Simeone, “they have to look like you can sink into them,” despite being new. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group.
The Perch lamp by MOOOI is a lively detail— the bird even swings. Photography courtesy of Simeone Deary Design Group.

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