A habitable showroom: Design hotel Laurichhof in Pirna inspires guests into purchasing

Disrespectful, shrill and pithy: the 67 sq m Pop Art suite captures the lifestyle of the wild 1960s with bright, striking colours and cheeky accessories

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Interior design lies at the heart of the concept of Hotel Laurichhof in Pirna.

All 27 suites of the new hotel are completely individually designed and equipped with designer pieces throughout. Another special feature is that every item of furniture can be purchased by guests and in most cases taken away with them. The globally unique showroom principle even applies to the bathroom and its partly immobile furnishings such as shower channels, flush plates and cisterns from TECE. Not only popular in fashion: the wallpaper with floral prints makes the morning wash a joyful experience of nature.

A hotel in the middle of Saxon Switzerland, which is highly individual and comfortable and whose furnishings can be taken with you if you like, is a project that is as much creative as it is innovative. No surprise that behind it lies a family that is at home in the world of architecture, design and creation. Annette Katrin Seidel, Uwe Seidel and their son Franz Philip Seidel are designers and architects and with the Laurichhof they have fulfilled a dream which they aim in turn to make into a dream world for their guests.

The interior of the Laurichhof is therefore reminiscent of a storyboard used by film-makers to visualise scenes before filming: the cinematic staging of high-quality furniture and designer pieces in the 27 suites is intended to surprise, inspire and whisk away the hotel’s guests into fantasy worlds that are not only beautiful but also functional. The style palette ranges from classic through romantic to modern. To achieve this, the rooms have been specified down to the smallest detail, from the light switches to the toilet actuation.

In glossy white, the TECEsquare II toilet flush plate appears here as an independent character that sets a cheeky highlight on the red wall.

In this environment, the guests spend a relaxing holiday that is mentally stimulating in a pleasant way – because living surrounded by furniture from world-renowned designers, which is skilfully integrated into functional room concepts, arouses emotions and makes the effect of space and design something which can be experienced and understood almost in passing.

Attractive for hotel guests and builders

The desire to own something is often aroused, and this can be satisfied in a unique way at the Laurichhof: hotel guests can take individual pieces of furniture, complete ensembles or entire room fittings home with them. If you wish, interior designers can advise you individually on how best to arrange these within your own four walls.

“The peculiarity of our concept of being able to buy everything is unique worldwide,” explains Annette Katrin Seidel. “Anything that cannot be taken from the suite or the hotel’s shop is ordered and delivered throughout Germany.” This means that entire interior design concepts or permanently installed products can be purchased through the hotel, which is particularly interesting for builders, who can also be inspried and receive extensive advice at the Laurichhof. The hotel is therefore a kind of habitable showroom – not only for hotel guests, but for all those interested in getting to know the extraordinary design and the special creation of the suites and transferring them to their own building project.

View of the green salon of the hotel’s Lazy Laurich restaurant. Here, too, the hotel’s design concept has been consistently implemented.

Attention to detail down to the bathroom

The bathrooms in the suites play an essential role in the hotel’s design concept. The mission is that they should offer an extraordinary design, the highest possible level of comfort and more space than is customary in many hotels. Although the demands on functionality in these rooms are particularly high, they have been lovingly interwoven with the particular theme of the suite – deliberate exaggerations and surprises are part of the concept. Apart from the design, particular attention has been paid to storage space and shelf space for larger bags, plenty of hooks have been included and a well constructed lighting concept implemented.

“The bathroom plays a central role, as it is no longer purely functional, but a feel-good space like the living room, bedroom or kitchen. Functionality and comfort are the pillars on which the design is based in order to create the unique atmosphere that is typical of the Laurichhof,” says Franz Philip Seidel, describing the underlying idea.

Showcasing bathrooms with flush plates

When planning the bathroom, the building owners therefore paid attention to the material, colour and shape of every minor detail, such as coordinated colours for joints, sockets and toilet flush plates. Here, without exception, TECEsquare and TECEloop were chosen in a wide variety of variants and designs.

The Square II flush plate from TECE in matt black has been specifically used in the Evergrins bathroom to develop a great visual power

Franz Philip Seidel: “The flush plates are a good example of the design importance of purely functional elements in a room. Flush plates are relatively large and must therefore be well integrated into the concept. If their materiality, colour and shape are chosen deliberately, they can either develop a great visual power or withdraw in favour of the space. As well as reliable function and intuitive operation, the large range available from TECE was therefore important for us in order to be able to either integrate each flush plate into the concept or to be able to showcase it deliberately.”

Shower channels become design elements

Another important component in the Laurichhof’s bathroom concept are the shower channels, for which various TECEdrainline versions were chosen. With good reason, because the Seidel family has long appreciated the design, durability and ease of cleaning of the stainless steel channels from the building services specialist. “Here, too, different design principles come into play, depending on whether the shower channel is to be integrated almost invisibly into the room architecture or to create a deliberate break. TECE’s wide range of products helped us a lot with the planning,” reports Annette Katrin Seidel.

The colour and design concept of the Marrakesh Suite continues seamlessly in the bathroom. The TECEdrainline shower channel with the drop-in design grate goes well with this.

A shower channel invisibly integrated into the floor creates homogeneity in the shower area and allows the architects to focus on the main elements. Optical counterpoints, on the other hand, were achieved with the help of the grids and covers of the shower channels – numerous options from the TECE range were used, from tiles and natural stone to coloured glass and brushed stainless steel. It was also important for the planners that it should be easy for housekeeping to keep the channels clean and that the baths under the shower should be barrier-free.

Fixed installations can also be ordered

Naturally, as part of the showroom concept, the permanently installed bathroom elements such as the flush plates and associated TECE cisterns or the shower channels can also be purchased by the guests. “All the products are purchased directly from us, which means that we can always provide tailored advice,” says Franz Philip Seidel. “Obviously, guests cannot take them with them straight away from the suite after their holiday, instead they order and arrange delivery of the products directly through us.”