None of the styling in a hotel is by chance. Every element in every space has been thoughtfully incorporated to enhance the experience of the guests. Hotels want you to feel welcome, unburdened, pampered and taken care of. They want you to have a memorable stay. And to make sure you return again and again.
You can steal some of the styling from your favourite hotel and recreate it in your own home. Here are five of those moments:
All hotels have a lobby to welcome their guests, I am certain you have sat in one. The hotel lobby is where guests sit as they wait for information on their room reservations or for their luggage to be dealt with.
All lobbies have comfortable plush seating, couches and armchairs, to meet this crucial function of welcome and wait. You will also notice that the seating has been clustered in twos and threes around a coffee table to create cosy and intimate conversation zones.
Do the same in your own home. In your living room, cluster your furniture to create cosy conversation zones for your guests. Have your main couch parallel to the wall but angle your armchairs and smaller couches so that they face the main couch, and away from the TV. This angling stimulates welcome conversation amongst the people sitting in the living room. Even the body language of whoever is sitting in this space will communicate this.
Also cluster and angle the chairs in your backyard, reading and kitchen nooks, and any space where the people in your home can sit down to bond over a beverage or meal. You will know you have created a cosy conversation zone if you can mentally draw a circle around the furniture you have clustered.
One of the styling tips that hotels get right is to draw your eye – everywhere you look, there will be a styling element to have your eye travel around and about the room. There is no unstyled space in a hotel, not even a corner. Homeowners often forget to style their corners, leaving them bleak, bare and neglected.
Hotels style their corners with an accent chair, an outsized houseplant, a floor lamp or a corner end table. You can readily source any of these items to recreate the styling in your home. Also consider pedestals or a cluster of vases in descending sizes.
Have you ever noticed that whenever you sit at the table of a restaurant your appetite is whetted before you see the menu or catch a whiff of the aroma drifting from the kitchen? You know why? It has to do with how the table has been laid out.
To recreate this in your own home, use matching tableware – your crockery, cutlery and serving dishes should be part of a matching set. Same goes for your placemats and table runner. My personal recommendation is all-white ceramic crockery, it is very easy to create matching sets from white crockery. Stainless steel cutlery is a sure bet.
Also master the art of laying your table out for an elaborate feast for your guests. Know where to place your bowls, side plates and dinner plates. And the right order for forks, spoons and knives. Glasses too, from the water glass to the wine flutes. Use table lamps, candleholders and flower vases for that over-the-top touch.
Lastly, buy napkins for your table. You can never go wrong with white napkins because of the ease of maintenance and their versatility of styling. If not white, select a colour that matches your placemats and runner. Check out the Internet for napkin folding ideas.
Hotels have nailed the subtle art of making their washrooms feel like a spa – the styling elements in there have been thoughtfully selected to invite, soothe and pamper you, while meeting the basic function of the space.
You can easily recreate this spa-like oasis in your own home. First, always keep your washroom dry and clean. Have extra tissue paper sitting in stylish storage within sight and reach. My personal recommendations for storage are a wooden crate, or a hand woven rattan or sisal basket – anything roomy with a textured natural material.
Next, roll up your hand towels and some matching decorative face towels and have them on display as well. A fresh flower tucked into the towels adds an extra touch of freshness. Instead of store-bought air freshener, use diffusers to emit soothing scents all day long, scents such as tea tree, mint and eucalyptus.
Some greenery usually adds a pop of colour and nature, so have a plastic real-looking plant. Lastly, have a matching set of toilet mats – hotels don’t use mats because of the foot traffic, but having some in your washroom makes it homelier and cosier.
What is a hotel if not for the royal slumber you catch? To recreate such sleep in your own home, have a pocket spring mattress and 100 percent cotton bed sheets. Use heavier cotton for the cold months and lighter cotton for the warmer ones.
Whatever colour or pattern you choose, make sure it matches your bedroom’s styling. White is generally recommended for the ease of maintenance and styling.
Layer up your bed for that cosy inviting feel. Layer it with two duvet covers – one for the function of sleep, the other for styling. Layer the foot of the bed with a throw blanket. Layer the head of the bed with sleeping and decorative pillows.
Most importantly, know how to make your bed as they do in hotels. Flatten the sheets neatly, tighten the corners, tuck in the edges and arrange those pillows like a pro.
