It's more than a coincidence that recently several of my interior decorating clients have all had
the same request during our initial meeting: "I want the bedroom to look like a great hotel room."
This begs the question, just what makes a great hotel room great?
A great hotel room is a comfortable, relaxing retreat that makes you feel like your problems are a million miles away. Many times people save up their money, time and energy to enjoy a hotel as a place to rest, recharge personal batteries and share intimate moments. Why not experience that at home every night?
Here's how I do it for my clients ... and myself.
First of all, I have to mention what is NOT in a great hotel room...clutter! There is nothing
relaxing about clutter. It doesn't make you feel like you're getting away from it all; it feels like
you're waist deep in it.
As a Feng Shui consultant, I talk a lot about clearing clutter. It's pretty much the last thing people want to hear, but it's the first thing on the list of Feng Shui Do's. Why? The root word for clutter is 'to clot.' Clutter clots up the energy in the area where it's found. Instead of creating a relaxing retreat, it creates a clogged up mess and a feeling of chaos.
The pressures of work are not relaxing either. So banning the desk, computer and piles of files is crucial. Sometime a stack of books you've been meaning to get around to creates sense of work rather than leisure. If so, move them elsewhere.
Now, what to add...
Gotta start with the bed. A comfortable, supportive mattress with soft linens, plump pillows and a fluffy comforter are mandatory in a great hotel room. At home, go for the highest thread count your budget will allow. After all, you spend one third of your life in bed. Rather than spending money on a shirt you might only wear a few times, get quality sheets that you will use every night for years.
Where is the bed in a great hotel room? Design-wise, it's the focal point of the room. It has a headboard that let's you know this room is all about the bed and what's gonna go on in there.
If you can style the bed to create a 'come hither' look, your room rate just went higher. That
being said, ladies, men don't like too many pillows, so go for quality over quantity. (Gentlemen,
you're welcome.)
From a Feng Shui perspective, the bed is best placed in the Power Position. Because you spend
so much of your time in bed, it's position is vital according to Feng Shui principles.
When you are in the Power Position, you have the largest view of the room, without being in
direct line of the door. The idea is that you can see anyone enter the room before they see you.
Place the head of your bed on the a solid wall area so that you are fully supported (as opposed to your having your back against a window).
If your bedroom leaves you no options for moving furniture, arrange a mirror so that you can lie
in bed and see anyone coming through the door. You might want to watch me demonstrate this in my video How To Find Your Power Position from my webseries, "Space Lift: Feng Shui Your
Life".
It's worth noting that a cheap hotel room has matchy-matchy furniture with drapes made out of
the same fabric as the bedspread. A great hotel room has a mixture of furniture styles and multiple layers of coordinating fabrics.
Creating a sense of balance is another tenet of a great hotel room. Not too feminine, not too
masculine. For example, a hard-edged wood furniture piece next to an upholstered chair. An interesting, yet restful art piece is found somewhere in the room. That doesn't mean expensive, it means interesting. And restful. For extra Feng Shui points, find art that downright inspires you.
And don't forget the lighting. Well-aimed reading lights and dimmers for all switches.
Last but not least, a great hotel has equal-sized bedside tables with equal-sized bedside lamps. In Feng Shui this represents an equal-sized, balanced relationship.
Remember, it's not about the amount you spend, it's the way you pull it all together. Try this
yourself and perhaps your next vacation will be a staycation. You won't need a ticket to get
where you want to go.