Alex Jones, content creator for specialist antiques and collectibles auctioneer Featonbys explains how to bring character into your boutique hotel…
The word ‘boutique’ is symbolic of something that extra bit special. Therefore, when looking to create memorable rooms, making sure each of them features a design, theme or piece of furniture that aids their originality is key to transforming your residence from a basic place to stay to a special boutique hotel.
We’ve explore four different ways to incorporate statement features into your hotel guestrooms – no matter your style – in order to make the most of the space and experience your hotel has to offer.
1) Implement a theme for every room
When searching for a hotel on an online site such as Booking.com or Trivago, one of the main criteria your guests look to before even considering your residence is how it appears within the first few images – and, in particular, the rooms they could expect to stay in. This makes it crucial to grab potential guests’ attention with an interior that surprises and intrigues them into clicking through to your hotel. A recent article in Hotel Designs explains just how technology is now allowing guests to ‘step in before check in’.
By having each room host a different style or colour scheme under a wider theme, your boutique hotel is highlighted as an interesting and unique place to stay – with character to match the city guests are visiting. Give your guests some context about the local area by making each room’s decor synonymous with different time periods of that area, city or even country.
Swap paintings with photographs dating back to your seaside town in the 1950s, or switch the flat screen TV hanging on the wall with a television set from the 80s – as giving your room a historical touch will not only interest your guests, but make them feel more comfortable in their surrounding area.
2) Upcycle for a modern twist
Upcycling old furniture and home features offers a cost-effective solution for creating a bespoke interior, while minimising waste. Instead of replacing old – and arguably unfashionable – furniture, utilise its frame to create something better suited to your hotel’s particular style.
Old shutters and window frames act as solid structures that can make impressive feature pieces to hang up on walls. Because of their size, this works well as a renovated and painted stand-alone feature – however, it can also be used as a frame to house paintings, photos and other pieces of quirky art as a replacement for the old panes of glass. Alternatively, inject their practical purpose back into them by replacing their old glass with a mirror that not only acts as a necessary addition for your guest’s experience, but allows the room to both look and feel bigger and brighter.
3) Incorporate an industrial feel to your cosy room
Surface experts have predicted a rise in industrial-chic in international hotel design trends for later year year and beyond. A simple way to accentuate your hotel rooms’ comfortable qualities is to contrast them with more industrial features. Not only does this allow your guests to embrace the centrepiece of most rooms – the bed – but it gives your room a fresh and unique feel.
Image credit: Dekton by Cosentino
Strip your room back to its bare bones by exposing brickwork to create a strong statement wall that compliments cooler tones in your room. Don’t stop there: instead of neatly hiding away light fixtures and bathroom piping, expose it in a tasteful, safe way that works with your cosy interior to provide a perfect balance between a warm home and a quirky industrial setting. Don’t be afraid to alter it further if the brassy tones don’t coordinate with the rest of your interior. Paint your pipes in bold colours and decorate your hanging bulbs with vine leaves to add your own unique touch to this modern and much-loved technique.
4) Contrast old and new with antique gems
Provide your guests with a home-away-from-home by creating a glorious ‘lived in’ feel in their rooms. By making use of antique items as decorative ornaments, your room is lifted from somewhere associated with short stays, to a room that tells its own story.
Including antique furniture in your modern room can create an instant luxurious feeling in your hotel room, as guests appreciate the stark contrast between their velvet-covered chaise lounge and the minimalist lighting fixtures. Get creative with antique items and use old clocks to tell the time from destinations all over the world while using vintage signs to tell a story about the place your guests are visiting.
When it comes to tailoring a room for your boutique hotel, there is only one rule – there are no rules. The beauty of boutique means that the concept of symmetry can be abolished and, instead, each one of your rooms can feature obscure design elements and quirky colour schemes that highlight each room’s individuality – thus ensuring your guests fall in love with your hotel from the moment they walk through the door.
Image credits: Unsplash
