We’ve long been obsessed with the always-just-under-the-radar design scene in Philadelphia, but a decade ago — when we devoted a whole week of coverage to Philly — something like Yowie, the design store founded and curated by creative director Shannon Maldonado, simply didn’t exist. That all changed when Yowie opened its doors in 2016, introducing a variety of Danish and American furniture brands and a refreshingly playful color palette to Philadelphia. Today, Yowie offers clothing, lighting, furniture, homeware, gifts, books (including our own!) and more, deservedly it earning the title of coolest boutique in Philly. And thanks to this success over the past seven years, Yowie is now not only expanding its retail footprint, but opening an entire hotel upstairs.

Poised to welcome guests starting next month, the 13-suite namesake hotel will be operated in partnership with Deacon Hospitality Group (with whom Maldonado has designed two other hotels), and occupy nearly 10,000 square feet of space designed by Maldonado with architects Canno Design and S2 Design. It sits above the expanded retail space and a new cafe, Wim, which is run in partnership with locally based ReAnimator Coffee and bakery Eeva, on commercial thoroughfare South Street, between the Society Hill and Queen Village neighborhoods. The city center and its historic sites are within easy reach, but design lovers might find this one-stop destination hard to venture out from.

As you’d expect, the hotel continues Yowie’s trademark aesthetic throughout. Each of the rooms is designed differently, with color-blocked walls, mosaic-tiled bathrooms, and fun accessories offering guests a fresh experience every time they return. All suites feature furniture from Yowie’s staple well-known brands including RBW, Hay, Normann Copenhagen, Blu Dot, and Audo, paired with plenty of works by local artists and makers like Carl Durkow, Sarah Todd, Alyssa Piro, and Skye Volmar — names that we, as people who live and breathe design, take for granted but which will surely be new to many of the hotel’s guests. Naturally, many of the items in the suites are available for purchase, either via an in-room printed catalog or the shop on the ground floor. So if you really like the soap dispenser (it’s by local designer Cloud 9 Clay) either leave it in the bathroom or take home one of your very own.