First Look Inside Soho Warehouse in Downtown L.A.
The Hollywood Reporter 20/9/2019
Lindsay Weinberg
_view full article onlineSoho House members will finally be able to bask by the pool in Los Angeles or stay the night at their favorite hangout. The exclusive club is drawing back the curtains on its third West Coast location, known as Soho Warehouse, in downtown Los Angeles. With it comes three new additions not available at its other L.A. outposts: bedrooms, a rooftop pool and a gym.
The seven-story building was updated from a 1916 warehouse; the art deco interiors nod to its arts district location and industrial history with exposed brick, street art left on the walls and even feminist wallpaper by L.A. artist Genevieve Gaignard. The top floor features an 18-by-6-foot acrylic mural by another L.A. artist, Paul Davies.
"In the 1970s, it became this artists' recording studio, for squatters, artists' lofts and stuff like that," says Candace Campos, U.S. design director for Soho House. "So we were really interested in both the 1920s — the start of this building — and then the '70s in terms of how we wanted to design the space, influenced by that."
Soho Warehouse will host invitation-only open house events through Sunday; it opens to Founder members Sept. 30 and to Every House members and their guests Oct 14.
Here's an inside look at the global company's largest North American property.
Guests entering Soho Warehouse are greeted by a mural made by Soho House member and street artist Shepard Fairey, best known for his Obama "Hope" graphic. The design is painted on the warehouse's former loading dock. "It nods back to the original architecture of the building, embracing what was here before," says Sophie Latapie, Soho House's West Coast communications manager. The company worked with downtown L.A.-based galleries to help curate local artwork inside the venue as well.
The Tuscan garden was added as a way to provide more space to members, replete with 11 olive trees, winding jasmine and lounge chairs. "This green oasis in such an urban landscape is really unexpected and something the neighborhood doesn't have too many of," says Latapie. Hop over to the adjacent "rustic" tavern restaurant (an add-on from the 1970s, newly outfitted with the kitchen) for Mediterranean and Italian cuisine all day, with a view of the original beams, studded wood and vintage graffiti.
Soho Warehouse includes 48 bedrooms across three floors for members and non-members alike, with four size options starting at $190 per night. The largest bedrooms offer a kitchenette, six-person dining table, walk-in closet and free-standing bathtub with golden detailing, placed on statement emerald tile flooring. The bedrooms provide minibars, flatscreens and full-sized Cowshed bath products.
The rooftop is home to the 50-foot pool and sun deck, furnished with day beds and chaise lounges that overlook downtown Los Angeles for a "glam '70s Hollywood" feel (and stocked with Supergoop sunscreen). Textiles with pink brushstrokes were designed by illustrator Ethan Lipsitz on environmentally-friendly hemp materials: "The color palette for this floor in general is a little bit more like calming, chill, so it's fun to have this juxtapose with a funkier design of the textile," says Latapie. Pale yellow umbrellas mark the signature color of Soho Warehouse, while robin's-egg blue coolers allow guests to keep drinks iced.
Its Rooftop Terrace and Bar, along with the House Kitchen, dish out global cuisine including ham croquettes, butter chicken with garlic naan and crunchy ponzu vegetables — or you can opt for a poolside-inspired cocktail. "This is super '60s and '70s-inspired furniture. It's very like poolside Slim Aarons," Campos says of the custom-made pieces, mostly produced in L.A., though modern chandeliers came from Italy and the round pendant lights were manufactured in Portland.
Australian artist Paul Davies, now based in L.A., created this large-format painting for the top floor. To the left hangs a photograph of the artwork in progress that shows Davies' feet to capture the artistic vibe of the venue.
The main club space has a darker, more "buttoned-up" tone while also "contrasting" with original graffiti on the walls. "It juxtaposes nicely with the new furniture we put in and it gives it just a sense of authenticity and age, like it's always been there," Campos says. "We don't want our houses to feel so brand new. That's why we put so much vintage furniture in them; they just feel lived in."
Among the stand-out pieces of vintage furniture are leather dining chairs and a grey wrap-around couch from a dealer down the street (right). Nearby, the Drawing Room — decorated with a pink stereo art installation and large Japanese metallic tiled fireplace — will host events, workshops and musical performances for members.
Soho House's first gym in L.A., Soho Active is a two-story workout space with cardio equipment, weights and boxing bags. The changing room area features deco-inspired lockers, burgundy floor tiling, antigua verde marble counters and communal sauna and steam treatments. Laundry service is available.