9 Interior Design Secrets from the Best Luxury Hotels

Don't you love stepping into a luxury suite? You can't beat a hotel room that makes you feel like you’re enveloped in elegance. By incorporating certain elements, you can enjoy this same experience every time you enter your home. 

From Marriotts and Hiltons to five-star boutiques, every hotel offers different amenities and perks for their guests, but they all adhere to the same basic interior design rules to create a calm and consistent feel. Whether you’re ready to style your whole home like a bed-and-breakfast or just want to focus on one specific space, these ideas will help create the relaxing feel that is popular in hotels around the world. 

It need not cost a lot - rearrange, refresh, and re-frame the way you think about your house and what you already have. Now that these interior design secrets from hotels are out, you'll be living like Eloise at The Plaza!

1. White Linens

Nothing feels quite as luxurious as slipping into bed at night in a set of fresh, crisp linens on a comfortable, high-quality mattress. Hotels know this all too well, so they prioritize clean, white bedding. Give your bedroom the resort-style treatment and upgrade your sheets to all-white sets in the highest thread count and cotton quality you can afford. 

We have a set of organic Amerisleep sheets that we love, even though they are several years old. If you need help justifying the investment, remind yourself that chronic sleep deprivation is one of the worst things for your physical and mental health. Plus, higher thread count sheets pay for themselves because they last longer than poor quality ones, which are prone to pilling, unraveling, tearing, and wearing through. Maintain the high-end hotel look by washing your new sheets as directed, typically in hot water with bleach or a bleach alternative.

2. How to Make a Bed

Once you’ve upgraded to high-quality bed linens, it’s time to learn how to make your bed. Start with a snugly applied fitted sheet, followed by a flat sheet. Be sure to tuck in the corners of your flat sheet and fold like a burrito so everything fits tightly. Top off with a crisp coverlet, folded down a quarter of the way at the top, and smooth out any wrinkles. 

Fluff pillows and prop them up so they are standing. Finish with any accent pillows that make you smile. Also, since you probably don’t have housekeeping on call at your home, be sure to make your bed every day so that it is welcoming for you every night.

3. Spa-Like Bathrooms

So long, beach-theme. To create the same atmosphere you find at a resort hotel, less is always more. Cleared surfaces, crisp white towels, and a pared down overall design are the keys to creating a bathroom that feels like an upscale oasis. You don’t need to do a complete bathroom remodel or spend a lot of money on an expensive marble counter to achieve this look. Simply hide your grooming essentials in the medicine cabinet or underneath the sink to clear away the clutter! An attractive set of baskets can also help organize your toiletries. 

Invest in a thick, white shower curtain, luxurious mat, and plush, white towels. Display your favorite soaps and lotions in glass bottles. Hang a hook on the wall for a monogrammed robe. 

4. Embrace Minimalism

Now that you’ve calmed down your bedrooms and bathrooms, it’s time to take a look at the rest of your home as well. If you’ve ever wondered why you feel so at ease in a hotel, one possible reason could be that you’re not surrounded by piles of bills, stray toys, and those forgotten items you meant to fix three years ago. Hotels are also free of tsotchkes and knick knacks. Items that are meaningful to you can stay, but all others need to go.

By simply keeping surfaces, shelves, and general areas clutter-free, you’ll instantly give your home that hotel-like feel without even having to spend a dime. Try it out in one room of your home, for example, your living room, and see if you enjoy the blissful feeling of being surrounded by less.

5. Color Scheme

Calm, serene colors are the order of the day when it comes to choosing a design palette for hotel rooms. Unless you are at a specialty hotel, you’ll rarely see startling patterns and bold colors employed in the overall design aesthetic. Use neutrals, such as gray, taupe, and beige, to accent your white linens. Keep patterns subtle or to a minimum, such as on an accent wall behind the bed or in a small powder room. 

Textures will help elevate your home to luxury status. Who doesn't love the sensory experience of woven blankets, velvet upholstery, New Zealand lambswool, and other tactile-feeling fabrics. Imagine relaxing with a book in your master suite, your lap covered with a heavy Pendleton throw and a soft rug underneath your feet. Ahhhh...

6. Lighting

A trick that many hotels use that their guests may not even pick up on is the type of lights they use. Hotels subconsciously flatter their guests with dimmed, indirect lighting to help put them at ease and create a soft, overall feel. Choose low wattage bulbs for your home in a soft, white light for an inexpensive way to really set the mood. Light placement is also key, so be sure to play with adding sconces and overhead lighting in essential areas to create just the right amount of glow. 

In our new home, dimmers were non-negotiable for all our light fixtures. You can cue to your mind that it's time to wind down and go to sleep by dimming your lights an hour before bedtime. If you have incorporated Smart Home technology, it is even possible to have this done automatically every evening.

7. Little Luxuries

When you dine at a nice hotel or bed-and-breakfast, the food is not served on a paper plate. Treat yourself to special versions of things you enjoy every day, such as a fine china cup for your morning coffee, a glass carafe for water on your bedside table, and a crystal frame for a favorite photo.

8. Fabric Covered Walls

It may sound like an antiquated idea, but fabric-covered walls are back in style among luxury hotel interior designers. Smart homeowners have taken notice and for good reason. Fabric-covered walls dampen noise, create a visually soft texture, mask imperfections in drywall, and provide your decor an overall elevated look. Covering your whole home in wall-to-wall fabric may be a little drastic, but by picking specific areas to cover, such as behind a sofa or your bed, will help add an unexpected, designer touch. Consider adding a textured wallpaper or a soft, velvety accent to one specific area.

9. Feng Shui Flow

Experts say you can use Feng Shui for better sleep. Whether intentional or not, hotel rooms tend to follow the natural layout and flow of Feng Shui design principles. The effect always feels comfortable and looks visually pleasing. Positioning beds and chairs to face entryways, keep pathways clear, and use mirrors to strategically amplify natural light are all secrets of designing a hotel room that you’ll want to come back to again and again.