A unique portfolio of distinctive vacation homes, Maisonette offers a specialized experience for guests from around the world.
Uncovering the Soul of Alexandria
I'm an architect and hotel designer who has specialized in the design of 5-star hotels and resorts around the world, from Lana’i, Hawaii to Mumbai, India for the past 17 years. The firm that I started, Paletteur, had notable success and publications in several major design magazines including CA Home + Design, Traditional Home, the SF Chronicle Design Section and LA Times among others. After relocating from San Francisco to Washington DC recently, I decided to use the skill set that I acquired as a hotel designer, to become an airbnb entrepreneur.
After many years designing hotels for the big name hoteliers, I found that corporate brand design standards had become stifling to the creative process. The regional characteristics, culture, and zeitgeist that make a locale unique, are not reflected in the design, and lost in any real measure in the one-size-fits-all hotel brands.
After successfully renovating a small residence for myself in San Francisco and hosting guests on Airbnb, I was inspired by my experience to begin my career anew - this time as my own client. My goal was to find and renovate unique properties in historic areas, and give guests an experience that they would never be able to have in a hotel. As a recent transplant to DC, I also wanted to bring a fresh sense of design from my West Coast roots to the Washington DC region.
It began when I found a 200-year-old warehouse in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington DC. It was a very unusual space that had a floor plan that had been chopped up over the years, and was last used as a hair salon. Where many other prospective buyers saw an awkward property and quickly passed it over - I saw potential. After purchasing the space, I carefully researched the history of the building in the archives of the local library, finding old photographs and tax records dating back to the early 1800's. I discovered that the space had been everything from flour warehouse when it was first built around 1818, to a saloon in the mid 1800s, then to an automobile repair shop in the early 20th century, and on to a fish market in the 1960's and 70's. I scoured the local vintage market for a curated collection of museum quality original art and furnishings that evoked the layered history of the home. I wanted guests to understand the many iterations of the building over the years, and share in the new history of the home as an intimate vacation rental. I found artifacts like an early 18th century Hudson River jar and a Victorian era fireplace medallion, and paired them with mid-century furniture and contemporary art. The objective was for these artifacts to be a nod to the evolution in the use of the building, and not to be be a literal recreation of a historic period.
I designed the home to have visually interesting spaces at each turn, so that guests would discover something new each time they returned. I considered how guests would use the space, how it should feel when guests arrive and move through the home, and where to locate everything so it could be found intuitively. Guests can learn the vintage and history of the objects on display in a curated guidebook that I provide them. I even change out the objects on display periodically, much like a museum would do to maintain visitor interest - this gives my return guests a fresh experience each time they return. Guests are even able to take a memory home with them - many artifacts and pieces of art are available for purchase.
The home has now been available for rent on Airbnb for the past year, and getting rave reviews from guests. It has been enormously satisfying to me to see my ideas translate into memorable guest experiences, and be able to show guests the best of what Alexandria and Washington DC have to offer. The best compliments that I receive are from guests that tell me that they had such a wonderful experience, they never want to leave.
I now have three homes in my inventory and look forward to adding one new property each year!