This "The Queen's Gambit"-Inspired Room Will Make Midcentury Modern Fans Lose Their Minds

Tour the 21c Museum Hotel's Harmon Room inspired by the Netflix-hit The Queen's Gambit and hear from Lexington, Kentucky designer Isabel Ladd about her design inspiration and sources.

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January 13, 2021

By: Felicia Feaster

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Photo By: Honey Sage Photo

Midcentury Design Squad

Lexington, Kentucky-based interior designer Isabel Ladd (center) is the design mastermind behind the "Harmon Room," a witty, detail-oriented homage to the hit Netflix show The Queen's Gambit at the 21c Museum Hotel in Lexington. Guests can book a stay in the midcentury modern maximalist Harmon Room through May. On the right is Mid-Century Design League of Lexington founder Lucy Jones, who loaned much of the furniture from her personal collection to the hotel and on the left is Alex K. Mason of Ferrick Mason Inc. who designed the signature wallpaper for the room (which may be available to the public as soon as Spring 2021). "It really was a collaborative effort" says Isabel of the many Lexington makers, designers and talent who contributed to this project.

A Design Fan's Binge-Watch

Anya Taylor-Joy stars in the retro design-dream The Queen's Gambit as Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy with a substance-abuse problem. The show is drawn from Lexington author and University of Kentucky professor Walter Tevis's 1983 novel. Like Mad Men, this series set from 1958-1968 has become a design lover's fantasy of exquisite midcentury modern clothing, architecture and interior design. Designer Isabel Ladd, who created the look and feel of the Harmon Room is a big fan of the show for "the wow factor and the attention to detail" in everything from "the clothes, the brooches, the handbags" and, of course, the stunning midcentury modern set design.

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To the Max

Isabel describes her own personal design style as "curated maximalist" a look she certainly channeled in this midcentury modern-evocative room. Local and vintage art also sourced from the Lexington design shop Scout and an avocado green statement wall continue the green and yellow motif that Isabel chose for the space. "Avocado and chartreuse are my favorites in real life" notes Isabel. For Isabel interior design "is so much more than furniture. It's an emotional experience," so she did everything she could in the Harmon Room to give guests a sense of being transported to another time and reality.

Midcentury Maximalism

A scene from the Netflix show The Queen's Gambit shows the vintage use of color and pattern that gives the series set from the late Fifties to the late Sixties its distinctive look.

Statement Wallpaper

Isabel is a huge fan of wallpaper in her own design practice and so she made sure that a statement wallpaper would be a part of the Harmon Room. She collaborated with fellow Lexington textile designer and artist Alex K. Mason who created this bespoke chartreuse and avocado wallpaper featuring black and white horse chess pieces in record time so the room would be ready for guests. Isabel admits that perfecting the retro color scheme in the room was the hardest part of an already challenging project.

Avocado and Chartreuse

Designer Isabel Ladd says she was already a big fan of avocado and chartreuse when she chose those retro colors as the focal point of the Harmon Room. The avocado desk was sourced from midcentury modern enthusiast Lucy Jones' collection. Jones ended up painting the desk green. The signature wallpaper was created by textile designer Alex K.Mason in rapid time for the room's debut at the 21c Museum Hotel.

Authentic Details

Though we're more used to a profusion of pillows piled high on luxury hotel room beds, Isabel Ladd wanted to recreate the look of a Sixties-era hotel room. "We needed authenticity" she says and so she stashed most of the pillows in a closet in the Harmon Room to create a period-appropriate bedscape. Isabel was so anxious to give guests the feeling of stepping into the world of The Queen's Gambit — which she says "I binged in two days" — that she even advocated for hanging a selection of vintage dresses, shoes, suitcases and Sixties ironing board and iron in the room's closet. Unfortunately, she was unable to realize that plan, though we celebrate her desire to make guests feel like they were occupying Beth Harmon's own hotel room.

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Where to Buy

Though much of the decor was sourced from Lucy Jones' personal collection, local vintage shop Scout also provided decor and is a short walk from the hotel if you are in the market for some midcentury originals of your own. And retailers like Walmart, Amazon and Target are also getting into the midcentury game with replicas of vintage accessories.

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Equestrian Theme

There is a twofold reason for the horse theme seen throughout the Harmon Room at the 21c Museum Hotel. Lexington is in the middle of Kentucky horse country and the horse heads on this table and in the room's custom wallpaper reference the chess pieces that are front and center in the captivating chess-drama The Queen's Gambit.

Bedside Reading

Always striving for authenticity, designer Isabel Ladd sprinkled the Harmon Room with vintage ashtrays (but no smoking, please!), a fully-loaded bar cart with swizzle sticks, cocktail napkin and bottles of booze (actually colored water) and vintage magazines and books from the Sixties.

Everything Old Is New Again

"The demand was through the roof" says Isabel when The Queen's Gambit fans found out they could stay in a hotel room decked out in full midcentury modern style inspired by the show. Isabel thinks after the longtime popularity of gray, black and white minimalist decor in home decor that design fans are ready for a change of pace and are going to be newly influenced by maximalist midcentury modern.

Learn More : 10 Maximalist Rooms That Are Works of Art, Not Clutter

Upside Down Design

The giant chess pieces on the ceiling were sourced by Isabel on Amazon and reference Beth Harmon's drug-induced ceiling chess games in The Queen's Gambit. Isabel wanted the ceiling chessboard to be subtle rather than an in-your-face black and white and so she choose a combination of glossy white contact paper and matte ceiling paint to create her chessboard. Isabel thought that candy cigarettes and candy pills to reference Beth's unhealthy habits would be fun to add to the room but hotel food-safety rules meant those cheeky details had to be nixed.

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Fully Loaded Bar Cart

The Sixties were certainly about cocktail culture and Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit has a thirst for the hootch as well. Isabel created this retro curated bar cart with a vintage avocado green ice bucket, swizzle sticks, corkscrews, cocktail napkins and other details to lend even more period authenticity to the room.

Multifunctional Design

Modern designers weren't the first to come up with the idea of multifunctional design as illustrated by this gorgeous retro floral-themed lamp that contains a cocktail table to park your cocktail and cigarette box.

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Work on Your Strategy

Sit at the vintage desk and work on your chess strategy with a collection of chess books and magazines. The lamp is from Lucy Jones' personal collection and Isabel added the detail of a vintage Lexington horse postcard to this desk tableau saying that she wanted to have "surprises at every corner." Should guests get a hankering to own a piece of the midcentury luxe Isabel and Lucy have assembled, the hotel provides guests with a price list detailing the cost of all midcentury accessories and furniture in the room.

Mod Mix

Isabel cleverly mixed actual vintage details like this genuine Lexington phone book and rotary dial phone in the room with more modern, retro-style accessories like the avocado green bedspread you can find on Amazon. Isabel notes that this room is carefully cleaned and all linens are quarantined after each use to keep guests safe from COVID.

Game On

A classic Gallant-brand chess set and competition clock allow guests to play a few games while they are staying at the 21c Museum Hotel. You can mix up a few cocktails from the minibar to see if your game improves or suffers under the influence. Visitors can buy their own chest set from the front desk if they want to take home a souvenir of their stay.

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All About the Details

Isabel sourced historically accurate books and magazines centered on chess from the Lexington bookshop Black Swan Books.

Chess Chic

Clever touches like the elongated chairs that mimic the look of chess pieces flank the chess table in the room. Hotel guests can purchase the chess set featured in the room if they want a take-home souvenir of their stay.

Vintage Touches

Isabel added a vintage Lexington phone book to the bedside nightstand as an homage to this proverbial feature of old school hotel rooms and a rotary dial phone, which is strictly for looks. Hotel requirements demand that an actual working phone be accessible in all rooms.

Chess Decanters

Lucy Jones sourced these perfect vintage olive green chess piece liquor decanters to complement the chess theme in the Harmon Room.

Midcentury Console

This gorgeous midcentury modern console was loaned to the 21c Museum Hotel by Lexington design enthusiast Lucy Jones (who borrowed it from her own home) and is used to house the room's television.

Swag Bag

Occupants of the Harmon Room will receive a special curated swag bag from Lex Liquors, a fictitious liquor store featured in The Queen's Gambit.

Locavore Art

Toddle on down to Lexington antiques shop Scout if you want to find retro artwork to bring a midcentury look to your own place back home.

Pattern Play

Sixties-era hotel rooms across America with their maximalist patterned wallpaper and bedding constitute many of the set pieces in The Queen's Gambit starring Anya Taylor-Joy (left) as Beth Harmon and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Townes. Those patterns and the over-the-top look of the shown inspired Lexington designer Isabel Ladd who created the look and feel of the TV show in the 21c Museum Hotel's Harmon Room.

Bring it on Home

Can't travel to Lexington to experience the Harmon Room? You can channel Isabel Ladd's maximalist style in your own home by hiring the talented designer or just finding oodles of inspiration from her website Isabel Ladd Interiors.

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