Martinique Banana Leaf Beverly Hills Hotel Wallpaper Yay or Nay?

You may have noticed this banana leaf wallpaper is popping up more frequently.

Is this a good thing?

Is it Tiki-friendly or a creeping invasive species like Kudzu vine that must be stamped out?

I don't know how to feel about it...

It seems like I am seeing this wallpaper everywhere.

Lono on Hollywood Blvd has it.

There are several walls of it in the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach. You don't notice it as much after Bamboo Ben worked his wizardry, but it's there...

And Absolute Vodka paired it with copper barware for their Elyx campaign.

I actually sat down to research this wallpaper and after 5 minutes of intense internet scrutiny, this is what I found:

http://thewellmadehome.com/martinique/

"C.W. Stockwell is the company behind the iconic banana leaf design wallpaper “Martinique”. The Stockwell company developed the design in 1941 after they directed the designer Albert Stockdale to create a large banana leaf design that was inspired by a trip to the tropical jungles of Central America. Albert Stockdale was an incredibly famous botanical illustrator at that time. His work is at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA.

Don Loper, a known designer in the 40s, who was remodeling the Beverly Hills Hotel at that time, visited the Stockwell offices where the banana leaf design was installed and conceived his idea for the Beverly Hills Hotel because of that installation.

For the more than fifty years that this pattern has been in the Stockwell line, and while there have been many opportunities to license the design, it has always been the Stockwell position to remain its sole producer."

So, apparently it has a certain cachet among designers.

I suppose that if someone were to accuse you of indulging in "tacky Tiki" that you could point to the long and storied history of this wallpaper and argue that it is, in fact, tacky proof because of its design history.

But what do you guys think?

Is it too Golden Girls or is it cool, hip and trendy?

I don't know... I think it works in the context, if you're going for that more elegant mid-century minimalist look with a splash of tropical reference. But it is only a reference. It's not actually helping create a themed tropical escape. Therefore, if you ARE trying to create a themed tropical escape you might want to steer clear of it.

I call it " Elegantiki". :wink:

As for the new Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, they were going
for a more elegant feel ( as it's Laguna Beach 2017) and I think we nailed it.
Mixing Bamboo, thatch, lauhala matting and tiki's with it works. But on it's own
it reminds me of retirement home style in Florida.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4913&forum=2&start=180&194
(last couple pages)

I have always liked that wallpaper. I agree that as a stand-alone it would look Goldengirlish, but combined with other bamboo/matting elements it is very elegant. I may go for it in my garage as I am aiming for a tropical look.

Where can I buy it at?

"Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"

[ Edited by: VampiressRN 2017-07-02 10:42 ]

Ben, I agree with you that you nailed the look for the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach!

Great work, as always!

The banana wallpaper works well amongst all the elements there.

It wouldn't even have stood out to me, except I noticed that same wallpaper pop up in so many other places recently.

VampiressRN, I did a quick search for "Martinique Banana Leaf Beverly Hills Wallpaper" on Google shopping and here is what I found below.

There are a lot of different banana leaf patterns, but the original tends to be expensive:

I think that I agree with the rest of you that it works well when used with other design elements/materials. But it's a bold pattern and I could see it overwhelming a room very easily.

I'm always wary when things start to trend and gain momentum.

Reminds me of Tiki cocktails that use Pernod or Absinthe. Just a little bit goes a long way.

Oh lawdy that is expensive. Still it is a great design. I also used to love the living room furniture that was on the Golden Girls. Whoever did the sets had good taste.