Miniature hot air balloons adorn Stone Hotel’s newest art room

Room 225, creatively reimagined by IAA alumna Maggie Morris, is the third installment in Interlochen’s art hotel room series.

A photograph of a ceiling painted with celestial shapes in blue and gold.

The ceiling of Room 225.

Walking into Stone Hotel’s Room 225 feels like entering an imaginary world. The bed is suspended by thick ropes from the ceiling, which has been painted with brilliant circles and stars in gold and deep blue. The room is also adorned with a fleet of miniature hot air balloons, complete with patchwork balloons, tiny baskets, and human figures of various ages, genders, and skin colors. The room conveys a sense of wonder and delight, celebrating our fascination with the heavens and the joy of exploration. Thanks to Visual Arts alumna Maggie Morris, who conceptualized and redecorated it, the experience of staying in Room 225 will always be a special one. 

A close-up of a miniature hot air balloon with a human figure riding inside the basket.

A close-up of one of the many miniature hot air balloons hanging from the ceiling.

A shot of a bed hung by thick ropes from the ceiling and surrounded by small hot air balloons, under a brightly-painted ceiling.

The bed features thick rope suspension imitating the ropes that hold up a hot air balloon's basket.

Room 225 is the third installation in Interlochen’s art hotel rooms project, which began in 2022 as a collaboration between Stone Hotel, Interlochen’s Maintenance department, and Visual Arts at Interlochen Arts Academy. The project was developed with an eye to the global phenomenon of art hotels, which feature creative installations in each room. The goal is to create multiple art hotel rooms over the next few years, each one designed by a different Arts Academy student.

“Our newest art hotel room is truly a celestial celebration and a feast for the eyes,” says Camille Colatosti, Provost at Interlochen Center for the Arts. “It represents remarkable creativity and dedicated hard work from a gifted Visual Arts student, plus the efforts of our Maintenance department and staff at Stone Hotel. Real-world projects like these are a hallmark of the Arts Academy experience, preparing our students to make an impact wherever they go after Interlochen.”

Learn more about Visual Arts at Interlochen Arts Academy.