In September, the whole idea of gay-focused hospitality decor took shape with the opening of The Out NYC, a "gay urban resort" in the middle of Manhattan. Present in the steely hotel were a nude photo, an enormous Richard Serra, and windows shaped like the letters "O-U-T."
Sticking it to all that artsiness is Lords, a new gay-focused hotel chain by Brian Gorman, who conducted a survey of 20,000 gay Americans and found that 75 percent would prefer to stay at a gay hotel. Designed as "a place where people would come and automatically be disarmed by the design,” the first Lords, in Miami, features a sunny, optimistic palette of yellows and teals, groovy midcentury furniture, and quirky details such as the lobby's giant polar bear, all thanks to NYC-based firm BHDM. The hotel has 54 guest rooms and inhabits a reno'd 1930s Deco house; Co. Design has all the photos.