VANROOY design

05/29/2026

This is where the family suite gets a little more fun ✨

We designed this room to balance function with personality, pairing a built-in bunk moment with a soft custom wallpaper that adds warmth, pattern, and a subtle nod to the island setting.

The result feels cheerful, comfortable, and easy to settle into together.

05/28/2026

More than souvenirs. More like a very good local edit 🌺

The shop at the Ambassador Hotel was designed to feel layered and artful, with vibrant pieces, thoughtful objects, and a setting that carries the same warmth and character as the rest of the hotel. A place to browse, linger, and leave with something that actually feels worth bringing home.

05/12/2026

We’re excited to announce the launch of Christine van Rooy’s Substack.

As the co-founder of VANROOY design, Christine explores what truly drives performance … where aesthetics, experience, psychology, and emotional memory quietly shape outcomes.

Her writing connects hospitality, travel, fashion, culture, behavior, and design into the moments that make people feel more alive, present, connected, and loyal to certain places and experiences.

This space is more personal than the studio website … less polished, more observational, and rooted in the conversations happening between the projects.

If you’ve ever wondered why certain spaces stay with you long after you leave them, we think you’ll enjoy reading along.

Every newsletter, story, observation, and behind-the-scenes moment shared here will remain free and open to everyone. In the future, paid subscribers will have access to deeper workshops, teaching sessions, frameworks, and immersive VANROOY methodology content for those who want to go further.

Subscribe and join the conversation.

How design shapes behavior… and why that drives profit. A study of spaces, decisions, and the systems behind designing & building a hospitality design firm. From the founders of VANROOY and RDi. Click to read LEVERAGE, by Christine van Rooy, a Substack publication. Launched 11 days ago.

05/12/2026

A hotel gets more interesting when it reflects the people around it 🌺

For Ambassador, the mood was never just about color or furniture. It was about Waikiki’s creative pulse, the soft blush of sunset, the rhythm of pool days and ocean views, and the kind of local expression that gives a place real soul.

05/11/2026

A closer look, because the mix matters.

The rug brings in a fluid, organic pattern that softens the seating group and keeps the palette feeling alive. Around it, warm spice tones, muted greens, creamy neutrals, and darker grounding pieces create a composition that feels tropical, textural, and easy on the eyes.

05/01/2026

Color is doing a lot of the storytelling here.

The green brings in the lushness. The blush softens the edges. The golden tone catches the light. And the terracotta adds that hit of warmth that keeps everything feeling soulful instead of sweet.

For Ambassador, we wanted the palette to feel relaxed, layered, and unmistakably Waikiki.

04/30/2026

We wanted the courtyard to feel like its own little escape inside the hotel.

So we mixed low lounge seating with classic dining tables, added volcanic texture for grounding, and brought in a softer color story through the umbrellas and upholstery.

The result lands somewhere between retro island glamour and present-day ease.

04/07/2026

The palette behind the mood.

For Hideaway in Pacific Beach, we leaned into coastal greens, warm sand tones, soft stone, and sun-washed neutrals to create a space that feels relaxed, layered, and rooted in place. Easy on the eyes, strong on atmosphere.

04/02/2026

There’s a reason indoor-outdoor hospitality works so well when it’s done right.
The transition feels natural, the energy keeps moving, and every material has a role to play. Stone adds structure, warm wood adds softness, the patterned wallcovering adds personality, and the courtyard turns the whole experience into something more immersive.

03/27/2026

Materiality check.

Think warm wood tones, tactile fabrics, wicker detailing, and sculptural shapes. Everything chosen to make the guest room feel elevated, restful, and effortlessly inviting.

03/26/2026

Bathrooms should do more than function. They should reset the mood.

Warm wood cabinetry, arched backlit mirrors, a textured wall finish, and soft stone surfaces bring this guest bathroom into that sweet spot between utility and ease.