SEATTLE — Down an industrial alley in Seattle's funkiest neighborhood, you'll find and place for rent that fits right in.
"This is Bar House Hotel. And we're in Fremont," said Ben Verellen who oversaw the transformation of the two-bedroom apartment into a tropical retreat.
"During COVID time we shut down and me and my bandmates, artists buddies, kind of got together and just looked for creative projects," Verellen said. "And this place became vacant, and I was friends with the owner and landlord. And so she let us come in here and make a mess of it and put all this funky stuff in here."
And that funkiness is everywhere you look.
"This is the underwater room and I was trying to make it feel like you are actually underwater," said Eric Fisher, Verellen’s friend, and designer of multiple spaces in the flat. "This is like where people come to chill, play records, watch TV. I found some graphics online, a lot of like, stock photography and different things and put them together to create these wallpapers that we had somebody make, found different objects, table, rug, little fish."
Right next door is a bedroom that makes you feel like you’re lying outside. "This is the jungle room,” Fisher said. "I really wanted to create spaces that you just get lost in and that you feel like you're in a dream in." This dream starts with the walls and ceiling draped in green. “This is all just fake foliage that we found and screwed and wired and put up to make at least appear like there are no screws and wires in there. Carpet is some nice cheap shag carpeting."
The second bedroom takes you back a few decades. "This is the Miami Vice room,” said Fisher. "I was going for an 80s neon, tropical nighttime theme. The neon lighting above this beautiful sunset painting behind the mirrors with the palm trees. I just tried to create like, I don't know, like you're floating in neon."
Ben’s friend Dana James designed the bathroom that’s beyond pretty in pink. "So this is the bathroom, the flamingo bathroom. Inspiration for this room was kind of a kitschy '60s, pink, Florida beach motel vibe. Painted it entirely pink and then put some sparkles on the floor and made it feel like the jungle was coming in. You can shower amongst the flamingos here.” James’s favorite flamingo does double duty. "I like this toilet flamingo here holding the toilet paper for everybody keep them company."
The reviews for the rental are very positive - though there are some exceptions.
"It's been 99% positive,” said Verellen. Every once in a while, we get like a family down here. And they're like, that's kind of weird for my kids and my baby. And I'm like, Yeah, you look at the pictures? This bar, you know, it's kind of weird."
Eric adds, "I like the idea of people having this very strange, surreal experience that you might not want to live in, but two or three days, like, is really fun."
You can rent the Bar House Hotel on Airbnb for $250 a night.
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