Faber Reimagines Salthouse Harbour Hotel Through the Lens of the Artist

Located on the waterfront in Ipswich, Suffolk, the Salthouse Harbour Hotel has unveiled a major redesign of its public spaces by hospitality design studio Faber.

The red zone was designed as an intimate corner of the dining room

Faber is a hospitality design studio specialising in restaurants, bars and hotels. Working across the UK and internationally, the studio creates interiors and identities that combine creativity with commercial understanding, resulting in places that are emotionally engaging, commercially effective and rich in detail.

The project transforms the former hotel lobby into a destination bar and reimagines the restaurant as a vibrant British brasserie. Alongside the interiors, Faber also developed a new visual identity for the hotel, creating a cohesive direction across both brand and space.

For Creative Director Tony Matters, the starting point was a conscious rejection of a familiar hospitality design formula.

“Many hotels look to their location for inspiration, often resulting in an obvious interpretation of local history or culture,” says Matters. “Context is important, but we weren’t interested in reproducing it literally. If people are going out in their own city, they’re usually looking for discovery, not familiarity. That became a guiding principle for the project.”

Booth seating with bespoke printed fabric pattern

Instead, the concept draws inspiration from the owners themselves. Robert and Claire Gough have assembled an extensive art collection over many years, ranging from internationally recognised artists to emerging local talent. Rather than treating the collection as decoration, Faber used it as the foundation for the entire project.

“We became interested in the mindset of the artist rather than the artwork itself,” explains Matters. “The hotel already displayed art. Our ambition was to create spaces that actively contribute to the creative conversation.”

The redesigned interiors function partly as gallery, partly as artwork in their own right. Throughout the hotel, specially commissioned pieces sit alongside works from the Gough collection, creating an environment that continues to evolve over time.

Tonal hues of orange and red in the main dining space

The new bar occupies what was previously a fully glazed hotel lobby. Rich fabrics, warm tones and layered lighting create a more intimate atmosphere, while a bespoke artwork stretches across the ceiling.

Within the brasserie, colour and form are used more boldly, with architectural interventions and commissioned artworks creating a series of distinct settings throughout the room.

The new bar featuring textured fabric bar front, tonal custom artwork to ceiling

Within the brasserie, salt became a source of creative enquiry; not a symbol of place, but a subject to be explored, interpreted and reimagined through art and light. A series of artworks explores the microscopic structure of salt crystals, while a suspended light sculpture translates their molecular geometry into an illuminated three-dimensional form.

Rather than telling visitors where they are, the redesign focuses on creativity itself, transforming the Salthouse into a place where art is not simply displayed, but embedded within the fabric of the building.

View to the rear of the bar lounge showing the yellow reception area

Photography: Faber & Company