Turning uninspiring corporate meeting rooms into theatrical storytelling venues.

Mornington Hotels is not just a place to sleep; it is an institution within the Swedish hospitality landscape, known for its rich history and cultural depth. Located in a prime spot, the hotel boasts a fantastic restaurant, a high-end gym, and a loyal clientele.

However, they faced a disconnect. While their public spaces hummed with life, their B2B offering—specifically the conference and meeting facilities—felt stuck in a bygone era of corporate blandness. They approached Blink, recognized as the premier retail design agency in Sweden, because they didn't just want an interior decorator. They needed strategic thinkers who understand that a hotel is, at its core, a retail experience where the product is time and atmosphere. They needed Scandinavian retail design experts who could look past the beige walls and see the potential for a revolution in hospitality design.

Before drawing a single line, we did what any top-tier retail concept design in the Nordics firm does: we dug into the DNA of the building and the user journey.

Our strategy was to treat the renovation not as an office update, but as a theatrical production. We coined the concept "The Mornington Galleries". The core idea was to blend the drama of the stage with the sophistication of an art gallery.

Most retail design agencies in Sweden might have just updated the furniture and lighting. We went deeper. We decided to give each of the five rooms a distinct personality, effectively treating them as characters in a play rather than numbered units.

We utilized a "Store Experience" mindset. Just as we guide a customer through a flagship retail store, we wanted to guide conference guests through a narrative. By integrating the owner's art collection and nodding to the theatrical history, we created a space that demands attention.

We also committed to a "Circular Design Strategy", deciding that constraint would drive our creativity. If we couldn't buy it new, we would reinvent it. This approach positioned Mornington not just as a hotel, but as a curator of experiences.

Implementing this vision required a level of agility that confirms our status as a top European retail design studio. The biggest challenge was our strict adherence to sustainability. It is infinitely easier to order 50 new chairs from a factory. It is infinitely harder—but more rewarding—to hunt down vintage pieces.We sourced a significant portion of the loose furniture second-hand through auctions, ensuring each piece had a history and a soul.

One of our proudest achievements during the build was the "Curtain Resurrection". We took worn-out velvet curtains from the hotel's previous life and reupholstered furniture with them. This wasn't just recycling; it was alchemy. We turned waste into luxury. The coordination required to match vintage auction finds with custom-built joinery was intense, but it prevented tons of waste from hitting the landfill and gave the Mornington a texture and patina that "new" simply cannot buy.