The best-designed hotel rooms often come down to the details. Blackout shades, well-placed light switches and other thoughtful features can make all the difference. “If someone has anticipated these things, that’s the biggest gesture of hospitality you can offer,” said Jo Littlefair, who with her husband, Martin Goddard, runs Goddard Littlefair, a London- and Portugal-based interior design firm that’s worked on projects like the Mandarin Oriental in Vienna and the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland.
Here’s how to upgrade your own bedroom by borrowing strategies from them and other top designers.
Consider how you use your space
“The strongest layouts are informed by how people move through a room over the course of a day,” said Barbara Best–Santos, director of interiors at Hart Howerton, in an email. The New York- and San Francisco-based firm has worked on projects like Miraval Austin Resort & Spa in Austin and Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. “We begin by mapping the guest journey, from morning routines, to daytime living and working, to evening moments of rest, and use that understanding to guide spatial planning and amenity placement.”
You can follow suit by making sure your bedroom accommodates your routine. For instance, if you read before bed and prefer to sit in a chair, carve out an area with an armchair, small table and lamp. Your bedside table should be roomy enough to fit nighttime essentials, like a charging device, reading glasses, lamp and alarm clock. A bench at the foot of your bed can hold the decorative pillows you set aside each night.
Make your bed the star
Like pop stars, the beds at luxury hotel brands can develop large followings. That’s largely because of their “multiple layers of comfort,” said Goddard. Each brand’s exact “recipe” includes a specific mix of components, from mattresses and mattress toppers to sheets and duvet covers. The acclaimed luxury resort Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, even offers an online shop, where you can purchase the makings of its beds, including its custom line of mattresses and toppers, Frette sheets, duvet covers, down pillows and throws.
White cotton sateen sheets, from brands like Frette, are “wonderful and pristine — there’s nothing like that lovely sateen finish to make you feel like a princess,” said Littlefair. But they look their best when ironed.
Linen is a soft, elegant and lower-maintenance alternative, pointed out Littlefair, who said she and Goddard make their own bed with linen sheets from the U.K. brand Piglet. “Linen looks good whether you iron or don’t, and it feels good — it’s body temperature-controlling,” she said. “It feels cool in the summer and warming in winter.”
In her own home in Tennessee, Christine Carney, director of design at Blackberry Farm Design, an interior design firm affiliated with the resort, uses the 100 percent French flax linen sheets from Bed Threads. In winter, she makes her bed with the company’s Heavy Linen Bed Cover, which she said feels like a weighted blanket. “It’s never hot, and I love the way it drapes. It looks so elegant.”
Finally, add foam pillows for support, followed by softer foam pillows for comfort. Then accent with decorative pillows in an “interesting pattern or texture,” recommended Carney.
Avoid being too matchy-matchy
With furniture and decorative accents, “always look for a mix of new and old and high and low,” said Carney. “That leads to a collected, curated space rather than everything looking like it came from a chain store.” For nightstands, she said, it’s fine to use two different pieces of furniture, like a desk or dresser on one side and a nightstand on the other (for cohesiveness, choose pieces in a similar color or finish). A dresser can be a smart place to save, especially if you don’t plan on opening the drawers frequently, said Laura Keeler of Keeler & Co. Interior Design, in an email. “It’s so charming to have to jiggle the dresser a little extra to get the drawers out.”
Shut out light
“Blackout is king,” said Littlefair. Blocking out light “affects your sleep as much as the mattress,” she said. For a true blackout effect, begin with blackout shades. Then add drapes long enough to reach the floor. Their panels should overlap at the center to prevent gaps when closed. A cornice or valance overhead will prevent light from seeping out the top.
Your walls also play a role in light management. Carney prefers the “cocoon-like” feel of bedrooms with walls in deep jewel colors like dark green. “Never use a sheen on your drywall. With sheen, all the imperfections will be reflected in the paint,” she said. Wallpaper or plaster are other good options.
Muffle sound
Double-pane windows and wool drapes can help lessen noises (like your neighbor’s barking dog). So can area rugs, including in the hallway outside your bedroom, said Littlefair. You can also try a sound machine and, if all else fails, place a small bowl full of ear plugs on your nightstand. (While you’re at it, why not add some chocolates?)
Almost anything can be art
Art is the one area where many hotel rooms fall short: Generic abstract prints are all too common. Instead, try veering off script. “You can use unexpected accessories or collections as a series of art,” said Carney, who hung vintage oyster plates over a client’s bed. “That’s not what they were intended for, and that’s what makes them cheeky,” she said.
In the bedroom of her Tennessee home, she hung an embroidered red satin robe she purchased in Hong Kong. Carney says something like a vintage textile found in Morocco or Japan could also “create a special moment.”
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