Ever wondered how to style your bedroom like a hotel?

Everyone loves a stay in a posh hotel. What’s there not to love about Egyptian cotton sheets, fluffy bathrobes and a bed with mountainous pillows you can hurl yourself into? It’s so exciting to wear those weird branded slippers, have lights that come on when you open the wardrobe and clean grout in the bathroom. Sadly these kind of hotel experiences don’t come cheap, so for me they are normally limited to a one night stay for a milestone birthday once in a blue moon. 

So when you’re back to reality how can you make your own bedroom feel as luxurious? 

Image via The Secret Linen Store

Here are my top tips on how to style your bedroom like a hotel.

1. DRESS THE BED

There is no doubt that the bed is the best bit of a luxury hotel room. It’s normally huge, ridiculously comfy with a handmade mattress and goose down pillows. 

If you have the budget then these are all things you can invest in but if you’re working with what you’ve got then you can add luxurious touches through bedding, cushions and throws. Always, always, always go for white bedding. It creates a sense of purity, will always be in style and will complement any scheme. The White Company do a great range of white bedding that all have different textures and detailing to add interest. 

Then layer up your bed with cushions and throws that are all varying tones of the same colour to create a luxurious and soothing feel. 

2. CREATE AMBIENT LIGHTING

Hotel rooms are all about atmosphere, putting you in the mood for wining, dining then passing out face down into those amazing pillows. So you’ll never find a luxury hotel room with a sad single pendant ceiling light, that won’t get you in the mood for anything. Hotel lighting is soft, ambient and romantic. To create this you’ll need lights at varying heights so wall lights, table lamps and floor lamps. Lamps with shades work best because they softly diffuse the light. LED lights also create that magical glow.  So if you can stretch the budget you can use them to highlight shelving or architectural features, just keep away from the colour changing variety, they are not allowed under any circumstances. 

3. CHOOSE A RELAXING COLOUR SCHEME

My advice would be to go neutral or go dark. Neutrals create a soft relaxing atmosphere. They are grown up, elegant and easy to live with.  Darks are enveloping, cosy and intimate. In terms of which colour to go for, greens and blues will work well, as will your neutral sand and stone type of colours. The colours to avoid are yellow, orange and red which are colours that can agitate and stimulate so stick to colours that bring a sense of calm and tranquility. 

4. CONSIDER CARPETS AND CURTAINS

Whilst I’m a devoted fan of hardwood flooring you really need carpet if you’re going to create that luxurious boutique feel. Flooring has a real effect on the overall atmosphere of a room and deep carpet is definitely a winner for creating a sense of stillness and calm. If that’s not an option then get the biggest rugs you can afford or get your local carpet store to edge a huge piece for you so you get the sense of a carpet without the fitting expense. 

Same goes for window dressing, go for curtains over blinds or shutters. The heavier and more luxurious the better. 

5. CHOOSE FREESTANDING UNIQUE FURNITURE

Freestanding furniture will always have a more boutique feel to it and I much prefer it over fitted. Fitted is great for making use of the space but it can have a rather boxy, dull, feel to it. 

If you can, try to get pieces that work together but are not all matchy, matchy from the same range. It feels more bespoke and elegant this way. Its fine to match two bedside cabinets but try and get a wardrobe or chest of drawers that are similar but not identical. It can be tricky to pull off but all you need to do is make sure that all the pieces have common elements, whether that be the material they are made from or a similar shape or time period they were originally made

6. SYMMETRY ALL THE WAY

Whilst we are on the topic of bedside tables, for a hotel feel its best to use symmetry when it comes to arranging furniture and styling accessories. Symmetry creates a sense of formality and balance which is what we are going for here. 

7. CHAIRS AND OTTOMANS 

If you have the space then these are two classic hotel bedroom pieces you would do well to invest in. They are both great for chucking your clothes on, and sitting on when you take your shoes off so you don’t crease your beautifully styled bed. They look really luxurious particularly in rich fabrics like velvet or linen. 

8. CONCEAL THE TV

Ideally don’t have one at all! But if you do then try not to make a feature of it that jumps out at you. You can read all the tips for concealing your TV here. My advice is for the hotel look to keep your television discreet and make it blend in with the decor by painting the wall or a panel behind it dark. 

9. CULL THE CLUTTER

One of the joys of a hotel room is opening the wardrobe without old clothes tumbling on top of you, or lying in bed knowing there aren’t Christmas decorations stashed under there. Removing clutter is an obvious one but hard to commit to. Get organised in your storage space because even if you can’t see the clutter you know it’s there lurking behind the cupboard doors. If you’re struggling with the whole decluttering process get on board with Marie Kondo, she’s transforming lives with her easy to follow system.  

10. STYLE YOUR SURFACES

Hotels can even make kettles and biscuits look beautiful so dust off your styling skills to create that hotel look. You can read how to do it here. It’s all about grouping items together so they look good, make sure your display has texture, varying heights and that the objects all have something in common so they work together. Buy yourself some cheap trays from Homesense. A tray works really well at grouping smaller items together so they look cohesive and don’t end up scattered about. 

11. THINK ABOUT YOUR TOUCH POINTS

Luxury isn’t just about how something looks, it’s just as much about how it feels. Think about everything you touch in the room and get the best quality you can afford. Things like light switches and door handles are really important. This is also another reason why carpets and curtains are such a winner. It feels good opening a heavy, velvet curtain with a dramatic swoosh, but repetitively pulling on a noisy, metal, blind winder isn’t so great.

12. KEEP IT CLEAN

This is such an obvious one but easy to overlook in the humdrum of life. If you really want your bedroom to have that boutique hotel feel then be diligent with your cleaning routine. Keep surfaces dust and smudge free, make sure mirrors are gleaming, hoover lamp shades and wash down woodwork regularly and you should even consider hoovering under the bed every now and then. I know, I know, I’m asking a lot but it will really make your room look and feel better.   

So those are my top tips. Planning your own bedroom restyle? I can help you, get in touch if you’d like any help with your project 🙂