Hotel style at home
Nights in a hotel don’t have to be a rare treat. Industry experts explain how to recreate luxe hotel chic at home. Caroline Botting reports.
Gone are the unmade beds, washing piles and clutter – hotel rooms exude a sense of calm and serenity. For many, there are few pleasures greater than slipping between crisp cotton sheets and waking from a decent night’s sleep to enjoy breakfast in bed, supported by a mountain of pillows.
Nights like this are an indulgence, so we decided to ask the experts whether it was possible to recreate this lavish feeling at home.
Shane Jolly, hotel manager at Cordis, Auckland’s only five-star hotel, and Lizzi Whaley, CEO of commercial interior designers Spaceworks Design Group offer their tips.
A luxurious bed
Crisp sheets, plenty of pillows – more is more in this case – as is the size of the bed.
‘‘It’s the piece de resistance in any hotel room,’’ Whaley said.
‘‘You’ve got to play it up and dress it up. The bed is always enormous, you’re going away on holiday, let’s meet in the middle if we need to, but let’s have our space.’’
Don’t scrimp on the number of pillows, and good quality cotton linen is a must. Egyptian cotton is the best, and the higher the thread count, the better, Jolly said. ‘‘Three hundred is about as low as you would want to go, and a thread count of 1000 will have guests commenting on how beautiful the sheets feel.’’
A feather topper will add that feeling of luxury but it is important to have a bed that is firm.
‘‘Do not skimp on the bed – you get what you pay for and, with a shelf life of around eight to 10 years, the cost per year is low,’’ Jolly said. ‘‘A few decorative pillows or a throw adds the detail needed and the look for when the bed is made.’’
Bedheads help bring a touch of elegance to the room, Whaley said: ‘‘It’s a feature piece. It’s also a great place to hide caballing, power points, electrical cords.’’
Chunky bedside tables are out. Now they are discreet ledges or little boxes with a few essentials. ‘‘Clocks should be silent, have a night light or low light setting,’’ Jolly said. ‘‘Hotels have a notepad on one side of the bed for convenience but at home something homely might be preferred – but keep it simple, one item max.’’
‘‘Do not skimp on the bed – you get what you pay for.’’ Shane Jolly
A peaceful palette
A feeling of calm starts with the colour palette that is incorporated into the whole space – the walls, drapery and the bedding. ‘‘It should be simple with no more than two or three colours, and possibly one accent piece – something like a lamp or chair that has a unique colour,’’ Jolly said.
Soft, muted colours create a calming environment but keep the climate in mind, Whaley added. ‘‘We have to warm up colours in a cold environment, like Queenstown, for example. But in a hot country you’d have a much cooler palette.’’
The right light
Lighting helps create that soothing hotel ambience, Whaley said. ‘‘Bright spotlights overhead will instantly kill a hotel atmosphere.’’ One exception is overhead reading lights. ‘‘All of our lighting is side lighting, by the bedhead or pelmet perimeter and it’s not that strong,’’ Whaley said.
Window treatments
Like the bed, window treatment is of almost equal importance. Curtains are encouraged, as is complete black out. ‘‘Curtain treatment is another anchor and balances the room,’’ Whaley said.
‘‘It’s important that they function well and easily but, as they enhance the plush luxury of the
space, this is about making a space feel high with floor-to ceiling curtains.
‘‘Quite often they’ll be recessed into a pelmet, so you don’t see all that fiddly detail like bunching around the curtain track.’’
A place to sit
Hotels are trying to squeeze a lot into a small space – seating is important and it should be at home, too. ‘‘Not everyone likes to sit on a bed,’’ Whaley said.
A seat can provide a comfy place to sit and relax or get ready or even read a book. It can transform a room from a place to rest, to a place to relax.
‘‘One lounger type chair or chaise works well,’’ Jolly suggested.