One of the most loved trends of recent years started at the couture end of the market in five star hotels. Inspired by the sumptuous decoration and the ultimate in comfort the Boutique Bedroom Hotel look has made its way into our homes and has established itself as a firm favourite from a design perspective.
Who wouldn’t want to feel as though they are staying at a luxurious hotel every day of their lives? Imagine slipping between crisp Egyptian cotton sheets and laying your head on the softest, fluffiest pillow imaginable. That blissful feeling akin to floating on a cloud softly supported as you drift off to sleep. In the morning you awake from your decadent slumber refreshed, alert and energised yet at the same time relaxed, swing your feet out of your luxury bed onto the plush deep pile carpet and pad across your beautiful room ready for whatever the day can throw at you.
The Boutique Hotel Bedroom is always well designed and thought through. Think of all the hotels you have visited and whilst the decor of the rooms may differ the underlying core design elements remain the same. No matter what your budget this look can be achieved in your own home. Remember the top hotels employ vast teams of experienced designers and all we have to do is follows their rules to recreate the Boutique Hotel feel at home.
1. The Boutique Bed
1. Chateau Scroll Wallpaper in Black (B&Q) 2. Brass Chandelier 3. Gilded Zebra Rug 4. Boutique Bed 5. Boutique Style Chaise
The bed has to be the starting point of your Boutique Bedroom, the rest of the design should flow around this central piece. The bed should take centre stage; after all it is the focal point of the room. What’s the first thing we do on entering our hotel room? Try out the bed of course! The room will have been designed to direct you to the bed, it will be the first thing you focus on and the impression it gives should be ‘wow’. Choose a statement bed, preferably upholstered to add a feeling of luxury and go for the largest size that your room can accommodate. Choose a bed that you can’t pass by without wanting to sit on it. Don’t forget about the mattress, spend as much as you can on this one item as ultimately however stunning the end design is, all will have been in vain if your mattress doesn’t offer the support and level of comfort required.
2. The Colour Scheme
Once you have chosen your perfect bed you can now think about the overall colour scheme for your boutique luxury bedroom. Cohesion and co-ordination are key to ensuring that this scheme works. Choose a colour palette of no more than 3 colours and stick to these as a basis for your design. Use your chosen colours in different tones throughout all elements of the room to create depth and build on the feeling of luxury. Hotel designers tend to go with neutral tonal colour schemes, current favourites are white and grey, chocolate and ivory and grey on grey tones with gold geometric accessories.
3. Crisp White Bedding
White bedding is most definitely, one hundred percent required to recreate this look at home and once again go for the finest your budget allows for. Egyptian cotton is king here and the higher the thread count the better and longer lasting it will be. You simply can’t beat the silky soft feeling of fresh cotton sheets to help you drift off to a perfect, restful night’s sleep.
4. Symmetry in the Boutique Hotel Bedroom
1. Clear Acrylic Lamp 2. Magie Noir Bedside 3. Boutique Style Bed 4. Icelandic Sheepskin in Grey
The reason a hotel room feels so comfortable from the moment we step over the threshold is symmetry; everything is ordered and our brains naturally accept the calmness we feel from the balance this creates. Every hotel room has two bedside tables adorned by two lamps etc. With everything on or around the bed displayed in pairs this also ensures that the bed remains the main focal point of the room by drawing the eye to the centre which in this case is your luxury bed. Remember also, that bedside tables are a key element to the Boutique Hotel feel keeping all necessities to hand and within easy reach.
5. Lavish Lighting
This leads neatly to our next must have; lavish lighting. The beauty of a well designed Boutique Hotel style bedroom is the ability to change the mood of the room through lighting. We may need the room to be bright so that we can apply makeup or we may want to read in bed just before going to sleep. Choose a fabulous overhead light, preferably a French style chandelier and then create pools of light with bedside lamps. You can also add a floor lamp or table lamp on a chest of drawers. Remember a hotel room is never dark or dreary!
6. Create a Seating Area
Most hotel rooms feature a seating area mainly because they function as both your sitting room and bedroom for the duration of your stay. If your space allows add a chaise longue or French style armchair as a functional and yet luxurious element of your design. Not only are you creating a living area within your bedroom but you now have a great spot to read a few pages from your favourite novel before bed or a great spot to contemplate the day ahead whilst drinking your morning coffee.
7. Add a French Dressing Table
1. French dressing Table 2. Boutique StyleChandelier 3. Chateau Mirror in Black 4. Chateau Armchair in Silver 5. Boutique Console Table 6. Sassy Silver Cowhide
Again, this very much depends on if you have the space available in your floor plan but if you can squeeze in a dressing table this will really ramp up the volume in the luxury stakes. Think back to your last stay in a hotel, most rooms have a desk or dressing table. Somewhere to dry your air, charge your phone, apply your makeup or write a few lines on a postcard. An excellent compromise if space is tight is the use of a console table with a matching wall mounted mirror behind it thus offering the best of both worlds; somewhere to sit and follow your morning beauty routine or catch up with a few emails on your laptop.
8.Clever Storage
Have you ever noticed that lavish boutique hotel rooms however big or small are never cluttered? Think of your bedroom as designated areas with a purpose and find storage items to reflect the task of that area. Use baskets and boxes to hide clutter, under bed storage boxes to store shoes, bedside tables with drawers for the things we like to keep close to hand or a blanket box at the foot of the bed for storing extra bedding.
9. Get Layering
Think warm and cosy with a sophisticated edge and use textured fabrics in tones of your chosen colour scheme to add depth to your scheme and an air of luxury. Add fabric and texture wherever you can, pairs of cushions on your bed and a sumptuous throw in velvet or faux fur, patterned or slub silk lampshades and wonderfully plush, interlined curtains that puddle on the floor. The use of trimmings adds to the decadent feel; think pompoms, feathers and beading.
10. Accessorise, Accessorise, Accessorise
Now for the finishing touches, luxury accessories complete the look. Flowers and greenery can be found in almost every high end hotel so why not add a touch of nature to your own scheme. Choose an aromatic arrangement to lift the spirits and add another dimension to your design. Hotel rooms always smell wonderful and as our olfactory response is very strong and crucial to creating memories choose a scented candle or room diffuser in a scent most relaxing to you to fulfil all your senses. No hotel room can be complete without the addition of a tray, hotels know this is a quick way to make bits and bobs look organised. Use a tray to display your favourite perfumes or keep jewellery and watches neat and tidy as a chic and glamorous way to contain clutter.
No matter what your budget a lavish boutique bedroom can be recreated at home in just a few easy steps. Your bed can be likened to your favourite and most comfortable pair of shoes; if you are not wearing one you are in the other! When you look at it from this perspective surely we should all sleep in the bedroom of our dreams ensuring that our dreams are sweet and every night offers a perfect end to the day.
