This week’s Daydream Destination is a bit further afield. Even though any chance of a European adventure is on perma-hold for those of us in the U.S., I’m always racking up destinations to add to my travel wishlist. When images from the newly opened Hôtel Le Sud in the south of France crossed my desk, it immediately jumped onto my wishlist.

This boutique hotel of just 29 rooms is in Juan Les Pins, a small beach town between Nice and Cannes, known for its white sands and seaside promenade lined with small boutiques and eateries.

When approaching the design for this family-owned hotel, interior designer Stéphanie Lizée did her own subtle take on the traditional style of typical of the Côte d’Azur. She blended traditional materials including plastered walls, sandstone, terracotta, stripes, and wicker with vintage objects found in the area and custom-designed furniture, many made by local craftsmen to lovely effect. The spirit of southern France shines through, updated and reinterpreted in an unpretentious and genuine style.

The region’s artistic and cultural wealth was a major source of inspiration, both for the palette of colors and for the graphic elements and decoration used in the hotel’s guest rooms.

The hotel rooms’ decor is imbued with the souls of Pablo Picasso who spent summers creating work in the south of France, along with Fernand Léger, Jean Cocteau and the ceramicists of Vallauris—a tribute to the radiant Côte d’Azur that so inspired these mid-20-century artists. Lizée painted bands of colors regularly seen in the French Riveria including Klein Blue, terracotta, pine green and yellow across the top fo the guest rooms. Those same hues were used as handpainted accents on the beds’ curved headboards and on the striped bedthrows.

This artistic influence was also the underlying theme adopted by artist Franck Lebraly, who designed the hotel’s logo, the murals and the artwork in the rooms.

I can easily envision myself lounging on the Hôtel Le Sud terrace, breathing in the fresh sea air, enjoying a cocktail under the Côte d’Azur sun. For now, I’ll continue my endless daydreaming. I hope you keep dreaming too.

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images courtesy of Hôtel Le Sud