Get the boutique look

In her book, Hotel Chic at Home, travel writer Sara Bliss takes us to some of the most stunning hotel rooms and public spaces that provide a global take on inspirational design ideas. Here are just a few ways to borrow from the masters of interior design who make boutique hotels special

Cover walls in fabric

Fabric-covered walls instantly make a room feel cosier and warmer in a way that paint or wallpaper doesn’t.

Add glamour to a basic chair

Sheepskin on basic wood chairs creates a softer perch – an easy move on any chair or sofa.

Add drama with dark paint

The easiest, least expensive way to make a big change in a room is with paint. Inky blues, rich greens, charcoal grays and striking aubergine are current. In a bedroom, dark colours create a cosy, cocooning effect, while in a living room, deep hues can be entirely unexpected and create a fantastic backdrop.

Find dining chairs you want to sit in for hours

What if instead of basic wood chairs, you invested in generously proportioned armchairs that envelope you in fabric?

Make your bathroom more glamorous

A bathroom doesn’t have to feel sterile. A pretty stool, an interesting mirror, art, and pretty lighting will immediately warm up the space.

Go bold in a hallway

A stand-out pattern is the perfect way to enliven a dark, narrow hallway. Marble-ised wallpaper adds some pizazz to the space, while doors and trim in charcoal gray enhances the pattern.

Tiles as art

Richly patterned tiles can act as art in a bathroom bringing enticing colours and patterns to the space.

Enliven floors with a herringbone pattern

Wood floors warm up any space, but why not do more with a herringbone pattern to create an eye-catching twist?

The Moy Suite, Ice House Hotel & Spa, Mayo

The Devlin Hotel, Dublin Even if the bedrooms are small, many hotels are offering really good places to eat and socialise or even adding a cinema, in the case of the Devlin in Ranelagh that opened a few months ago. They will also provide lots of small informal breakaway spaces, where people staying in the hotel can do business as they may not necessarily be going to meetings in offices.

Monk’s Lounge, Muckross Park Hotel, Kerry In my home, the couch and the dining room table are the places where multiple activities happen. I think many homes have to work this way now. You may need furniture that you can move around, rather than large fixed pieces. In smaller homes, you need to think about scale, so maybe a huge sofa is not the way to go. In that case, dining chairs become important as extra seating, so choose comfortable ones that you can sit at to work as well as to eat.

The George Hotel, Limerick