Opening Shot is a column that peeks inside new hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops with interiors to drool over.
Location: New Orleans
Designer: Atelier Ace and Studio Shamshiri
On offer: A lavish ode to the Big Easy, the six-story Maison de la Luz in the city’s hip Warehouse District is a boutique hotel by creative studio Atelier Ace, designed in partnership with Los Angeles–based firm Studio Shamshiri. The guest house’s 67 rooms and rich public spaces—including a grand lobby, airy Breakfast Room wallpapered in blue and white, oversized aquatic flowers, and Living Room anchored by a John Dickinson coffee table that conjures the mythic explorations of writer Joseph Campbell—feature hallmarks of Pamela Shamshiri’s bespoke approach to design. Guests can hide out in this luxurious haven or access amenities at the Ace Hotel New Orleans next door. The former City Hall Annex, built in 1907, was transformed to resemble the home of a well-traveled woman with a storied past, living amongst impressive art collections, tribal relics, design masterpieces, and found objects. A modern twist on this narrative has been brought to life throughout the property: skirted chairs, tribal masks, recurring themes of snakes, tigers, lions, and pyramids woven into vivid rugs by Christopher Farr in collaboration with Studio Shamshiri, and bedside lamps by ceramist Bari Ziperstein. Commissioned works by various artists include a fireplace sculpture by Jackie Rines and a striking assemblage of hand-hewn Snakes in Nautical Knots by Clare Crespo, who also created Small Secret Boxes for each the suites.
Standout features: A jewel box library fashioned into a cozy guest lounge, complete with hidden door and secret window that leads to Bar Marilou, serves as a private passageway to the decadent cocktail lounge, which specializes in aperitifs. The menu was designed by France’s renowned hospitality group Quixotic Projects, known for influential Parisian bars Hero, Les Grand Verres, Candelaria, and Le Mary Celeste. Soaring ceilings and deep-red walls lined with books and wall-to-wall lightning-bolt carpeting by Christopher Farr Rugs set the scene for furnishings draped in velvet, ranging from clean-lined settees to tiger-striped bar stools nestled up to a reflective golden bar top and backsplash. At once intimate and lively, the venue plays host to sultry late-night jazz ensembles, an eclectic cast of NOLA locals, and hotel guests.
