Cherry Las Vegas, Rockwell Group
No detail was left unattended in the making of nightlife mogul Rande Gerber’s newest nightspot, Cherry. New York designer David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group started with a palette of colors and textures, crimson, suede, leather, wood, glass and mirrors. A seven-foot sculpture of cherries, made by Takashi Murakami from the adjoining Red Rock’s Hotel & Casino, greets guests. The circular dancefloor is floated and the ceiling is domed and covered with black and mirrored tiles to hide the speakers. From there he added the “ohh” factors:  a dramatic mirror tunnel pool deck with fire/water fountains, VIP rooms with retractable glass. All that said, people love the bathrooms best, with smoke and one way mirrored, “not quite” coed stalls.
www.rockwellgroup.com

Shelter Denver, Maria Christou
Designed by the matriarch of the Christou clan—which expertly owns and operates Shelter, The Church (“Best Superclub” nominee), Vinyl and a host of other Denver venues—Shelter is 26,000 square feet of urban hominess. The open-plan look is inspired by city loft living, with vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors, staircases and airiness to spare. Each of the four rooms offers its own intrigue: the main room features a split-level DJ booth, while downstairs the Milk Bar threatens in orange-lit black and white; the Green Room lives up to its name; and the Jazz Room, bearing pics of classic musicians, black-lit along the walls, is for serious chill-out. –KLM
www.coclubs.com

Slide San Francisco, Pamela Pennington Studios
Set in an underground Prohibition-era speakeasy, San Francisco’s Slide is all about “Great Gatsby”-era sophistication, sumptuousness and yes, excess. Pamela Pennington, primarily a residential designer, gave the space a warm, backlit onyx and faux-marble bar, modern chandeliers and an incongruent wood floor for period charm. The DJ console is a gutted white piano, around which flapper types congregate to dance. And no, the name isn’t about the downfall of the jetset; it highlights the club’s most novel feature. Those who don’t take the stairs can tumble into vice on a custom-made 360° slide. –DC
www.pamelapenningtonstudios.com

Smart Bar Chicago, Thomas Shoner Associates
When Thomas Shoner and company came to redesign Smart Bar in Chicago, their primary goal was to clean up, interpret and reintroduce the two level club while embracing its over-two-decade history of being a dance and rock music institution. “It was always a black box,” Shoner remarks. “We interpreted it as rocker disco.” Distressed surfaces like mirror balled tiles and scalloped tiles constructed from sewn and upholstered foam give crowds plenty of visual stimulation. An illuminated wall now separates the noisy front bar from the dancefloor. And a new lounge area in the back offers custom, wraparound deep seating. History is preserved. –DS
www.toshodesign.com