Get the look: Moxy Athens

Turn into the hotel’s exterior lobby space and you’re greeted by two (near human-sized) doggie statues. “We wanted to create a living garden at all stages of the brief,” says Topin.  “Pets are a big part of the home garden, and a big part of the home – that’s where the idea for the guard dogs came from.” Just as guests here spend countless minutes snapping this fixture for their Instagram, so, too, can you recreate the effect: this surrealist puppy from Finnish designer Eero Aarnio will become a part of the family before you know it.

Unlike the buzzy, occasionally neon adventures of its communal spaces, Moxy Athens’ bedrooms are the hotel’s interpretation of the shaded areas found among the inner city’s own gardens. “It was very important that the palette of the rooms acted as a contrast to the party below: they need to be a place you can truly relax,” says Topin. The drop-down desk is a smart touch, but we have a soft spot for the distinctive wire wall-hangings, which, in your home, could be used for hanging plant pots, reminders, photos and more. This one from MADE should do nicely.

If there was one thing Topin wished guests knew about the hotel, what would it be? “The watering cans,” she enthuses. “I want guests to interact with the world we’ve created – give the plants some love and keep the hotel living and breathing.” In keeping with the sustainable model promoted throughout the hotel, guests can do their bit via metallic watering cans placed around the tall sculptural shelves that dominate the ground floor spaces. Feeling green-fingered? You can’t go wrong with this gold-handled number from IKEA.

As we know by now, Moxy doesn’t shy away from a bit of neon. In Moxy Athens’ first floor library (head up the spiral staircase to reach it), you’ll find ‘This must be the place’, emblazoned above the long, co-working table, while a strip of ‘Check in’ neon across the top of the lobby bar is the only indication that this is more than just a spot to load up on G&Ts. Bring the same electric edge into your hallway or office space with a custom sign from Bag and Bones – official supplier of neon to the Love Island villa.

Remember when minimalism was the trend of the moment? All Japanese-infused calm and wheat-cream walls? That’s what not to expect at Moxy, which rolls out a ‘not your average lobby’ pledge across its properties. Here especially, the ground floor is part living room, part dining room, part coworking space and part bar (where, at some participating hotels, you’ll even get a complimentary cocktail included as you check in) ­– and a key spot for Topin to flex Moxy’s maximalism. Instead, expect a land of swinging egg chairs, monkey statues, pineapples, flamingos, and slogan cushions – just like this ‘Oh wow’ number from Bella Freud.

When it comes to Instagram cachet, the only thing working harder than those adorable lobby dogs are Moxy Athens’ statement murals, as designed by local street artist, b, of thisismybworld studio. The prints in question are a collage of flora and fauna, jungle figures bearing bowls of fruit and the occasional Athenian motif. The murals are perhaps most selfied inside the lifts, where hazy orange mirrors mimic the city’s sunset. And while you’ll find b’s prints throughout the hotel (including above the beds), a cartoony feature wall in your home could look sensational in isolation. ‘Groovy Garden’ from Photowall replicates the Moxy spirit in spades.