"We were directed to push the envelope and create spaces that reflected the new owner and flag," says Colleen Neilson, Los Angeles-based Cole Martinez Curtis and Associates‘ project executive, of the firm’s recent $21 million renovation of the Chicago City Centre Hotel & Sports Club into the Doubletree Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile.

But working with a 1970s space and bringing it up to date with a limited budget wasn’t easy.

"We could not reconfigure the lobby or square off any of the corners; the walls even rolled up to become the ceiling plane," Neilson explains. What she and the design team could do was remove the old paneling and mirrors, and add strong design elements such as registration desks done in dark wood and a fuchsia resin top, a stair rail, and cool artwork.

Wanting to create an urban loft feel, the designers infused a color palette of black and white with splashes of raspberry and blue throughout the 500 rooms and public spaces.

The lobby features 1950s artichoke lights, clean-lined leather furnishings, metallic fabric drapes for sparkle, large-scale carpeting done in black with colorful circles, and a raised fireplace. And upstairs, guestrooms are outfitted with oversized lacquered headboards and Japanese tansu-inspired desks and dressers. "We simplified the details, giving the space a cleaner architectural feel," Neilson says.