LOOKING GOOD FOR THE MONEY

The scheme: Affordable design

The scene: Clarion Hotel Sign, Stockholm

It's not just rich people who get to enjoy high-concept lighting, futuristic furnishings, and guest rooms that seem to be inspired by The Jetsons. The new Clarion Hotel Sign in Stockholm is, like its compatriot IKEA, all about affordable design—an oxymoron no more. It's the largest in Sweden (558 rooms' worth of hotel), and each floor's design represents a different Scandinavian country. The rooms on the third floor are all furnished with chairs, tables, and other creations of Bruno Mathsson and fellow Swedish designers; the fourth floor is outfitted exclusively by Norwegian designers; the fifth floor is by Finnish designers, like Alvar Aalto; the seventh through tenth floors feature only Danish design; and so on. If some of the designers' names are unfamiliar, their work—furniture with names like the Corona Chair (by Paul Volther); and the Swan, Egg, and Number 7 chairs (by Arne Jacobsen)—is very recognizable. This being the Nordic motherland, all the beds are Duxiana, there's an outdoor heated pool, and, oh, we almost forgot, the in-house restaurant is Marcus Samuelsson's Aquavit.

Clarion Hotel Sign
Tel: 46 8 676 9810
Doubles from $190

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