The Artists' Retreat: Brice and Helen Marden's Hotel Tivoli - Remodelista
Photography by Ingalls Photography, except where noted. Brice and Helen Marden, one of the longstanding royal couples of the New York art world, divide their time between their city studios and an estate in rural Tivoli, in upstate New York. They also dabble in real estate–they have a house in Hydra, Greece, and own the lush Golden Rock Inn in Nevis. The Corner, the hotel’s restaurant and bar, occupies the ground floor and the guests rooms are on the second floor. But not just any gray: Brice mixed his own blend by doctoring an undisclosed Benjamin Moore gray with a bit of cadmium orange oil paint. Three of the five principals at Reunions Goods & Services, including Flam, got their start working for Roman & Williams. “The marble has two stripes running across it, one fuchsia, the other purple,” Flam told us. On the bottom of the bar, you can see the fuchsia modeling, and the top is patterned in dark purple–it runs across it like a lighting streak. In the main dining room, a midcentury Sputnik light (which Brice also sourced at Skalar) hangs over a Jean Prouvé table and chairs. Helen sourced the glasses and rugs in the hotel during her travels and also at Imports from Marrakech at New York’s Chelsea Food Market. The restaurant opens off the entry hall, with stairs painted the same purple–Bistro Blue from Benjamin Moore–used to treat the floors in the bar and guest rooms. One end of the room has a red leather banquette lit with Alvar Aalto Bell pendants. Doors to the guest rooms have their original hardware, and each–now painted Brice Gray–has a hand-painted number on it. Photograph by Reunion Goods & Services. Each of the 10 rooms has a metal-framed Parsons Bed from Room & Board in a different color, plus its own bathroom. Paintings by the Mardens and their friends hang throughout the Tivoli. The table was one of several antiques found in the hotel and given a fresh look with Hollandlac Brilliant Paints from Fine Paints of Europe. The throw pillows and blankets are from ABC Carpet & Home. Brice and Helen Marden in a second floor lounge (she’s sitting on a chaise that they reupholstered in pink teddy bear fur). The hotel is fronted by a porch and dining patio furnished with all-weather Lisboa Chairs from DWR. Photograph by Reunion Goods & Services. Reunion Goods & Services also designed the hotel’s coasters, postcard, and stationery, shown here, which incorporate drawings by Brice. Tivoli is about a two-hour drive (or train ride) north of NYC.