New Nordic Design at Boro Hotel in Long Island City, New York

Located in the Dutch Kills area of Long Island City (across the East River from New York City’s Midtown), the newly opened Boro Hotel is the kind of hotel we can get behind, with just the right mix of novel design solutions (cinderblocks, pallet wood, and color-blocked paint) and modern furnishings (from Hay, Muuto, Plumen, and Tom Dixon to name a few).

The hotel and its 108 guest rooms were designed by architects Matthew Grzywinski and Amador Pons of Grzywinski & Pons; most of the rooms feature broad industrial steel windows for views of the New York City skyline. Some say Long Island City is the new Brooklyn. If that’s the case, you can bet Boro Hotel is the Wythe Hotel equivalent.

Above: A monochromatic conference table surrounded by J104 Chairs and J110 Chairs, both in gray, by Danish design studio Hay. A pair of Tom Dixon Offcut Stools sits in front and a wall of original cinderblocks behind.

Above: A glimpse of the original concrete structure, the Comeback Sled Chair by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell, and a library shelf kitted out with volumes from Strand Books in New York City. The hotel’s floors are laid with hand-scraped white oak flooring.

Above: A magazine rack fashioned from white powder-coated plumbing pipes.

Above: A built-in sofa in the lounge area.

Above: A bar built on layered cinderblocks with BluDot’s Copper Real Good Barstools and Tom Dixon Cell Tall Pendant Lamps overhead.

Above: A minimalist fire pit in the center of the hotel’s lobby and lounge area.

Above: Hallways to guest rooms are color-blocked with a stripe of gray-blue paint (a color that comes close is Farrow & Ball’s Railings paint).

Above: A custom bed with an upholstered headboard by Grzywinski & Pons, an Accordion Sconce from West Elm, a leather and oak Lean Chair by Add Interior, and the Jasper Morrison Cork Stool.

Above: One wall of a guest room is lined with pallet wood wainscoting painted in a dusky sage green; a Bruno “C” Arm Desk Lamp by Robert Abbey sits atop a simple table.

Above: A sweeping view of the New York City skyline from Queens.

Above: A Tom Dixon Offcut stool in the generously sized bathrooms.

Above: A tiled backsplash.

For more nearby design, visit our New York City guide and see our posts:

• The Ludlow Hotel: Downtown NYC’s Most Glamorous New Clubhouse
• Schoolhouse Chic: An Artful Restaurant in Long Island
• Calm and Collected: At Home with the Duo Behind Aesthetic Movement