Hotel at home

With global travel virtually at a standstill, those accustomed to getting out of town for holidays or business trips may find themselves missing one of the most enjoyable aspects of being away from home: a nice stay in a cosy hotel room.

While it might not be quite the same as being pampered by hospitality professionals that can cater to your every need, creating the look of a luxury hotel room at home can still create the opportunity for self-care and a proper winddown at the end of a taxing day. Like with any other decorating project, the key to getting the right vibe starts with what paint colours you choose.

For this sumptuous looking space, walls in Resene Atomic and a floor and bedside table in Resene Half Concrete set the tone for rest and relaxation. The deep and dusty slate blue is calming on the eyes and not so light or dark that it creates glare. Resene Half Concrete, with its gentle touch of neutral, slightly warmed grey brings balance to the darker wall colour and lends a sense of levity to the space.

Something you may never have noticed about hotel rooms – especially higher end ones – is  how successful their designers are at creating a focal point. More often than not, the design will bring attention to the lavishly appointed bed either through a key piece of artwork or an eye-catching headboard. For this bedroom, we took inspiration from a classic motif similar to one you might find piped on to the edges of the high thread count bedlinen that you would tuck into at a swishy hotel. Created with simple measuring and masking, the lines are painted in Resene Half Concrete so that they visually flow on to the floor. Two benefits of a painted headboard is that it’s always the right height and shape to suit your exact space and it’s simple to paint over if your tastes and style change. Plus, it’s one less heavy piece of furniture to lug around if you move! Simply repaint your design on the walls of your new bedroom, or try something new.

Above the painted headboard design we hung a mirror to help reflect more light around the space. The design of the frame echoes the motif of our wall design – making it the perfect choice – but you could also achieve a similar look by painting a design on your wall around a simple mirror.

To finish the look, we painted a few small accessories in colours to match and coordinate with our colour scheme, including a tray in Resene Atomic that can be used to enjoy breakfast or coffee in bed when you need to have a slow morning, lingering longer under the covers or relishing in that book you just can’t put down. A vase in Resene Yucca, a soft succulent grey green, is at the ready for flowers freshly plucked from the garden and a few small containers painted in Resene Half Concrete and Resene Duck Egg Blue can keep jewellery or other valuables safe from falling off your nightstand and getting lost.

Be sure to invest in the bed quality bedlinen and mattress that you can afford. Given that we spend over one third of our lives in bed, it makes sense that it should be as comfy and cosy as possible. Even just a small bit of luxury in the bedroom will go a long way towards your self-care.

If you want to add a little extra pop to this colour scheme, try adding in a cushion and a couple of small accents in Resene Fahrenheit, a rich and temperate raisin red, or Resene Nocturnal, a softly greyed black.

Styling by Laura Lynn Johnston. Photography by Wendy Fenwick. 2021