Its very name may conjure limpid images of mimosas, cotillions and iced lemon teas, but the 155-room Dewberry – named, in fact, after its Atlanta-based real estate magnate owner – channels its Deep South DNA without ever straying into kitsch.
For that, kudos to the Brooklyn- and Charleston-based Workstead for working up with such disciplined brio the interiors of the Mendel Rivers Federal Building in Charleston’s downtown quarter.
Channeling what the designers describe as Southern Modernism, the spaces are dressed with American and European mid-century flourishes. From the armoires in the bedroom, side chars in mohair to caned panelled ceilings, and sofas swathed in washed linen and midnight blue, to scooped plaster ceiling lights and floors salvaged from a tobacco farm in Georgia, the improbable mix is pulled together with considerable brio.
In the main house-restaurant Henrietta’s, Wes Morton sends out a menu that’s as charmingly eclectic as the hotel’s décor, such as steak frites, vast platters of shellfish and Maine mussels, skate wings and lamb curries.
The building, says Workstead’s Robert Highsmith, was, until its spruce up by architect MacMillan Pazdan Smith and Workstead, derided by locals for its severe monolithic modernism. ‘People are coming around to it now.’ They should.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
334 Meeting Street
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFar from slowing down for the festive season, the Wallpaper* team is in full swing, hopping from events to openings this week. But when your job is chasing the pulse of culture, work can feel like play – and we also had time for some festive cocktails and cinematic releases
-
The Barbican is undergoing a huge revamp. Here’s what we knowThe Barbican Centre is set to close in June 2028 for a year as part of a huge restoration plan to future-proof the brutalist Grade II-listed site
-
A former agricultural building is transformed into a minimal rural home by Bindloss DawesZero-carbon design meets adaptive re-use in the Tractor Shed, a stripped-back house in a country village by Somerset architects Bindloss Dawes
-
NYC’s first alcohol-free members’ club is full of spiritThe Maze NYC is a design-led social hub in Flatiron, redefining how the city gathers with an alcohol-free, community-driven ethos
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2026: City of the Year shortlistExplore the nominated urban locations making an impact in design, architecture and contemporary culture
-
A local’s guide to Miami by gallerist Nina JohnsonAs Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 kicks off, gallerist Nina Johnson shares her hometown essentials – from art museums to where to eat, drink and shop
-
Dior’s new Beverly Hills dining salon raises the bar for couture cuisineFrom Peter Marino’s onyx bar and faceted mirrored walls to Nicole Wittenberg’s vast, immersive botanical canvas, Dior’s first restaurant outside Paris is here
-
This new Los Angeles restaurant is a mischievous blend of dive bar and 'psychedelic honky tonk'At Marvito, small-batch tequila and a classic rock soundtrack create a delightfully nostalgic night out
-
Fantasy – and incredible seafood – await at Carbone Riviera, now open at the Bellagio in Las VegasInterior design powerhouse Martin Brudnizki drew on the Côte d'Azur and Picasso’s ceramics for Major Food Group’s latest Sin City outpost
-
Welcome to Polymath Park, where you can spend the night in a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieceA pair of determined Wright devotees have turned four endangered modernist houses into an overnight design retreat
-
Faena New York just landed in the Big Apple – and it's an excuse for a good timeArgentine hotelier Alan Faena’s first New York address serves up high-octane hospitality with a dash of leopard print
