Location: Dallas, United States

Design Team: Fettle

Area: 14,056 m²

Year: 2026

Photography: The Stoneleigh / Gabriel Roth / CONOR

Design Features: The Stoneleigh stands in Dallas Uptown. Designed by Frank J. Woerner and opened in 1923, the hotel combines a Beaux-Arts shell with the theatrical interiors later associated with Dorothy Draper. Fettle did not flatten that history into one new style. The renovation restores the hierarchy between lobby, dining rooms, corridors and guestrooms, then adds a contemporary layer through colour, pattern and custom furniture.

Public rooms are conceived as a continuous arrival sequence. The lobby, Bar Leonessa, Lions Den and the Music Room change in mood through doorways, sightlines, lighting and material rather than behaving as isolated themed rooms. Dark joinery, walnut panelling, mirrors, metal fittings and saturated textiles bring the scale closer to the body and turn the formality of a century-old hotel into spaces for lingering and conversation.

Existing fabric supplies the most specific references. The Music Room retains English oak panelling said to be about five centuries old, while stone lions, historic ornament and Dorothy Draper’s taste for strong contrast reappear in carpets, wallcoverings, lighting and art. Instead of reproducing a single period, the design layers several chapters of the hotel so that age remains legible in material and proportion.

Across 176 guestrooms and suites, high-pile wool carpet, geometric wallcoverings, lacquered burl bars and sculptural upholstered headboards establish a common language. Individual suites retain distinct identities: the Draper Suite foregrounds pattern and colour, the Penthouse is organised as a residence, and Maggie’s Suite uses a more intimate furniture arrangement. Venetian glass sconces and custom wallcoverings extend the approach into the bathrooms.

The renovation is as operational as it is visual. Fettle calibrates hierarchy, retained material and hospitality use: Lions Den needs a clear service order, Bar Leonessa must shift from daytime café to evening lounge, and bedrooms must remain restful within a dense decorative palette. The result restores The Stoneleigh as an accessible social room for Uptown while preserving the specificity that distinguishes it from a standard luxury hotel.

Design Team: Founded by Andy Goodwin and Tom Parker, Fettle is an interior architecture and design practice specialising in hospitality. The studio works from London and Los Angeles across space planning, feasibility, bespoke lighting and furniture. Its two offices collaborate on every project, building on the founders’ earlier experience together at Martin Brudnizki Design Studio.

Fettle led the contemporary interiors for The Stoneleigh, with Brookfield Properties assembling the renovation team and Hoegger & Associates delivering guestrooms, corridors, signature suites and major public spaces. Frank J. Woerner designed the original building, while Dorothy Draper’s historic decorative work provided an important reference. Chef Michael White directs the culinary programme at Lions Den and Bar Leonessa.