Beyond the homely chic of the innumerable (and very welcome) boutique hotels and B&B’s that have popped up in all the right places in recent times, is Rough Luxe.  Suitably ensconced in a Georgian mansion, a stone’s throw from King’s Cross, this nine-room guest house is something else.  Something much more compelling.  This is London through the lens of Lebanese designer and art dealer Rabih Hage. His curated juxtaposition of rough and smooth, old and new a metaphor for the city itself?  With wry artwork, perhaps the most characteristically British element of all.  Jonathan Root’s portrait of Gilbert and George in pride of place in the hotel foyer is enough to orientate even the most road weary guest.

I suspect this ultra refined play of extremes might actually be a little hard to live with over time. But in a hotel that’s hardly a problem.  Quite the contrary.  As much as a room for the night, his place is selling an experience, a story to tell when you get home.  A new way of reading interiors.