First-time hotelier Seija Ojanpera quested after "retro" vintage furnishings from across the United States to complete the first boutique design hotel in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Ojanpera's decade-long career with international NGOs eventually brought her to Chattanooga, a mecca for nonprofits. She ended up purchasing the former Stone Fort Inn in 2015 and turning it into The Dwell Hotel.
"The hotel was open and running, so we had a short window between weddings that had booked before I bought the business," Ojanpera told Dezeen. Renovations commenced in February 2016 and lasted for two months.

Brick and limestone compose the exterior of the hotel, constructed at the turn of the 20th century inside the stone foundations of a Civil War-era fort. "We put in all new windows and made some improvements on the balconies," she said. "We also updated the restaurant patio significantly, also adding signage and lighting outside."

Inside, the scene is predominantly mid-century modern, though art deco and "groovy shagadelic" artifacts also make an appearance.
Furniture and fixtures from the 1950s, '60s, and '70s ? found in junk shops, and online retailers eBay and Etsy ? evoke old Hollywood and Miami Beach more so than Appalachian charm.

"When I decided to take the building back to the middle of the century, I became instantly ravenous for any and all retro objects." Ojanpera added.
"There was not a planned cohesion fro...