Tag Archives: Colum McCartan design

Enter the Doors of Porta Blu

Tagines are the centerpiece of the menu at Porta Blu.

Tagines are the centerpiece of the menu at Porta Blu.

 

Driving Highway 101 on the Peninsula, you cannot miss the swank new Hotel Nia. Its 11 stories of gleaming glass make quite the statement.

Step inside the just opened hotel, and you are sure to get whiplash. That’s because the upscale yet whimsical decor by Colum McCartan of New York’s McCartan, Inc. will have you looking every which way. Everywhere you turn, there are eye-catching, fun touches such as a cart full of luggage turned into a planter and rakes leaning against doorways that are actually light fixtures. Just when you think you’ve spotted every surprise, you discover yet another one.

Somebody sure left their luggage here a long time. LOL

Somebody sure left their luggage here a long time. LOL

Don't try using these to sweep up anything.

Don’t try using these to sweep up anything.

Just a tandem bike on the property.

Just a tandem bike on the property.

The property somehow manages to feel secluded, even if it is right off always-jammed 101, and has Facebook as a neighbor.

Enter the restaurant, Porta Blu, and the unique artfulness continues. The backs of the bar stools look as if they sport an abstract squiggle design. But start at them a little longer to discover it’s actually a silhouette of two faces kissing.

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