Recreate the Ambiance of Your Favorite Hotels at Home

What do you notice first when you open the door of a hotel room? The furniture? The lighting? The smell? If it is a quality establishment, there’s a whole host of factors that come together to create an ambiance that really knocks your socks off—and you can recreate it all in your own home.

Just take a look at these four simple ways you can add a touch of hotel luxury that turns any bedroom into a personal retreat.

1. Creating a Serene Style

Once you get past the front door of the hotel room, the décor is usually one of the first things to catch your eye. Elizabeth Chamberlain, certified Feng Shui consultant, explains that hotels are designed to encourage relaxation. Clutter sends the opposite message.

So, in your own home, walk around the room and decide what you actually need in the space and relocate or get rid of anything that lacks purpose. Once you killed the clutter, turn to your layout.

Organize the room to develop balance. For example, place an upholstered bench next to the footboard to soften the lines. Don’t be afraid to mix and match the furniture styles to promote a feeling of elegance and comfort.

2. Putting Together a Hotel-Worthy Bed

The bed is the power piece of the room; how you make it up will define the space. Design consultant Genevieve Shaw Brown says that mostly white bedding, from pillowcases to duvet cover, is a safe design choice for any room. The tone on tone style is an easy way to create a sophisticated look in your hotel bedding.

It’s the layers that really make a well-styled bed stand out. Brown recommends layering the bed like a sandwich:

• Bottom fitted sheet
• Top flat sheet
• Down comforter
• Duvet cover or another top sheet

Add a coverlet to the bottom for a pop of color and make up your bed every morning, tucking everything in to make it tight, to make sure that your room feels put together.

All Women’s Talk recommends you take your bed design even further, starting with your mattress. Quality mattresses can be expensive; but a worthwhile investment in your own comfort, well-being, and productivity.

3. Adding in a Few Extra Touches

Once you get the basics down, add a few touches here and there to give the room the warmth. Candles create mood lighting, but well-placed reading lights are a more practical approach. Put a dimmer switch on the overhead to make the lighting flexible.

Add in some standard luxury hotel amenities, too.

• Hang a plush robe on the back of the door.
• Add some fresh flowers in the master bath and on the dresser.
• Place scented lotions around the room
• Keep a water carafe by the side of the bed

You can even hide a box of fine chocolates in the nightstand for a special treat. Make them dark chocolates for an added health benefit.

4. Recapturing the Hotel Smell

Many hotels use a pricey aromatherapy diffuser to create a unique, welcoming scent for guests. If you want to go all out, you can invest in the same kind of model used at your favorite hotel, complete with their signature scent, but the less expensive oil diffusers that fit into an electrical outlet work just as well in the home environment. For those of you who prefer greener options, add a few drops of essential oil to a spray bottle and then fill it with distilled water. Use this spray to freshen up the linen and upholstery.