Mad Monkey hostel

Looking up the Mad Monkey Coogee Bay hostel online will show photos of a magenta, cyan and yellow triangle pattern graffitied on the reception desk and wall. On the large cool room, there is a graffiti stencilled monkey 3 meters high. The furniture, originally from Kmart was old and desperately needed some love! Behind the reception (and infront of the reception!) you'll see everyone's bags for check in/out time), making it impossible to get past.

 

The great thing about the hostel was the building itself, a beautiful 3 story building right on Coogee Beach, with huge arching windows and lots of light. The hostel contains 100 beds, and occupies level 2 and 3 of the building. 

 

Frankie's return brief was to bring the outside in. Taking the light blues of the sky and the ocean, and the pale yellow of the sand, to really celebrate the location and incredible views. The monkey graffiti felt too grungy for the company, and the goal was to elevate the space for a more sophisticated wave of backpackers. 

 

First things first – cover the existing graffiti with paint to neutralise the space. The monkey was painted over in blue (much to the horror of the staff), and the reception a base layer of white. Frankie added panelling to the lounge to give the room some depth and class, painted top half pale yellow, and the bottom a mustard yellow. 

 

Frankie felt the room needed some more tactile elements and landed on the idea of cane as a natural material. The pretzel couch is a show stopper, the bamboo sheeting on the bar was originally meant for gardens but works well here, and the beautiful vintage spindle doors were found on marketplace, to hide both the edges of the ugly kitchen cupboard and create nice lighting in the lounge area. Just add new furniture, upgrade the stools and add in lots of plants, and voila!