HotelChatter

So, we decided to see what we could glean from a little research on the property’s interior designer, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz. We also have his previous work as a guide: including the Mondrian Los Angeles and the Mondrian Scottsdale.

But the best insight we found was in this New York Times article, which pictures Noriega-Ortiz lounging in his white-on-white living room in Chelsea. Noriega-Ortiz tells the paper that he and his partner undress each time they enter their apartment and change into “inside clothes”, usually shorts and T-shirts, so they don’t mess up all their beautiful white stuff.

“You have no idea how much dirt you carry on your street clothes in New York,” said Mr. Noriega-Ortiz. When laying out the duplex apartment, he put the washer-dryer right by the front door.

He adds that he does not impose the clothing-change rule on guests (“we tend to not entertain strangers that often. Our interior world stays much cleaner that way.”). Still, we can’t help wondering if the Mondrian SoHo will be a world of white that will make us feel filthy just walking through the doors. Will we too feel compelled to change into our casual get-up so as not to offend or stain our surroundings? Will the guest rooms feature washers and dryers just inside the doors?

OK, now we’re just being silly, but one thing’s a given: expect lots of white. Noriega-Ortiz actually prefers white upholstery because it can be bleached. “What are you going to do when there’s a stain on your red sofa?”

That's a rhetorical question, right?