Upgrade your bedroom with quality bed linens and this plush rug from Covet House. Courtesy Covet House
Upgrade your bedroom with quality bed linens and this plush rug from Covet House. Courtesy Covet House
Upgrade your bedroom with quality bed linens and this plush rug from Covet House. Courtesy Covet House
Upgrade your bedroom with quality bed linens and this plush rug from Covet House. Courtesy Covet House

Tips on how to create your own hotel-inspired home


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The majority of us probably spend no more than a few weeks each year staying in a hotel room. But what if we could enjoy the same sort of luxury all year round? Well, there's no reason why you shouldn't enjoy that sense of style in your very own home.

While you might not have the budget to transform your abode into the next Hilton, there are tips you can learn from interior designers that will help you recreate the feel of a chic hotel in your very own space. Here are some ideas to apply around your home.

First impressions

Hotel designers know that the reception or lobby can make or break a property in terms of how guests perceive it. Likewise, your hallway will shape people’s first impressions of your home. Make sure it is tidy, with all the clutter hidden away. Plenty of hooks to hang up bags and other items will help with that. If you don’t have an especially big hallway, use mirrors to bounce light around and create a sense of space, and put up decent lighting so it’s not gloomy in any way.

Hotels understand first impressions count. Up the ante at the entrance to your home with this vintage Essential Home console table. Courtesy Essential Home
Hotels understand first impressions count. Up the ante at the entrance to your home with this vintage Essential Home console table. Courtesy Essential Home

Luxury bedroom

When it comes to home interiors, we can often neglect our bedrooms. After all, this is the one place where guests rarely venture. But a hotel bedroom is a very different space. It serves as an entire home for a short period, and needs to be functional and restful in equal measure. The bed is clearly the main focus, so spend as much of your budget as you can on this. Quality sheets in plain colours work best, with layers that can be stripped back during the hotter months.

Depending on the size of your room, you can add items of furniture such as an ottoman – ideal for resting a breakfast tray or a stack of magazines – and an armchair. A dressing station is another nice touch and doesn’t actually have to take up a lot of space, especially if you choose a narrow console and wall mirror combination. A TV is another luxury to add. Don’t forget smaller accessories such as a tray to keep trinkets safe, a carafe and glass by the bed for water, and a small shelf of books for entertainment.

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Read more:

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Spa bathroom

Second in importance to the bedroom, a hotel bathroom is an oasis of calm – a place to relax and unwind after a hard day’s sightseeing.

If you’re planning a remodel, make sure you choose soothing colours and plenty of luxury finishes such as marble or granite. Black, slate and other rich, dark colours can work, too. And don’t cut costs when it comes to your fittings and fixtures – a waterfall shower or pressure jets in the bath add that extra touch that will make you feel like you’re on holiday. And if you’ve got space, a chair where you can place your discarded clothes is a decadent touch.

Turn your bathroom into an oasis of calm with soothing colours or go all out by fitting this Delightfull chandelier. Courtesy Delightfull
Turn your bathroom into an oasis of calm with soothing colours or go all out by fitting this Delightfull chandelier. Courtesy Delightfull

Of course, you may not have the ability to make such substantial changes. In which case, do what you can with hotel-inspired accessories. Fluffy towels are essential, ideally displayed in an artful way on open shelving. You’ll also need hooks on which to hang equally fluffy robes, and why not get yourself a pair of spa slippers? Branded products, scented candles and a bath tray where you can prop a book and a glass of something nice are all simple and cost-effective ways of adding a little extra luxury.

Atmospheric dining

The hotel theme doesn’t have to stop at your private spaces. Continue it in the dining area to extend the holiday vibe. Spread the table with a cloth or runner for maximum glam points and be sure to have a centrepiece to draw the eye. This doesn’t have to be floral – glass vases filled with baubles, for example, or a vintage mirrored tray full of candles, would work just as well.

Turn lights up or down as the mood dictates, with a statement piece overhead. This Brubeck chandelier is a striking option. Courtesy Delightfull
Turn lights up or down as the mood dictates, with a statement piece overhead. This Brubeck chandelier is a striking option. Courtesy Delightfull

The lighting in your dining room is important. Make sure it’s layered so you can turn it up or down as the mood dictates, with some overhead lighting above the table, as well as wall and floor or standing lights. Incorporate a sound system, too, so you can have a suitable soundtrack playing as you dine.

Restful living

To complete the hotel scene, make sure your living spaces echo the sense of luxury and serenity that you’ve begun to instil in the rest of your home. Whether you choose understated neutrals or bold design statements, theme is important and should tie in with the overall look you’re going for in the rest of the house.

Luxury finishes should be extended to living spaces. This Brabbu Design Forces armchair is perfect for curling up in with a book. Courtesy Brabbu Design Forces
Luxury finishes should be extended to living spaces. This Brabbu Design Forces armchair is perfect for curling up in with a book. Courtesy Brabbu Design Forces

Hotel designers use textures to great effect, contrasting opulent glossy and metallic surfaces with welcoming natural materials such as warm wood, tactile fur and chunky wool. Layer up lighting in the living room as you have done in the dining space. Ensure you have a suitable spot for anything you might want to do, whether that’s writing at a side table or reading while curled up in an armchair.

Finishing touches

Wherever you look in a hotel, you’re bound to see flowers. Choose big, architectural displays in oversized vases that make a statement. If you can afford fresh, that’s brilliant, but there are some very authentic-looking fake blooms around these days. Artwork is another good way to add that hotel-inspired feel throughout your home. Again, be bold and choose large frames.

This faux bouquet by Bridgman proves that your flowers don’t need to be real to pack a punch. Courtesy Bridgman
This faux bouquet by Bridgman proves that your flowers don’t need to be real to pack a punch. Courtesy Bridgman

There’s also plenty of hidden technology that can have a big impact on your living space. We’re not just talking espresso coffee machines and fancy TVs – think integrated sound systems that can be operated from your mobile phone or blinds you can open with the touch of a button by your bed.

Finally, make sure everything is spick and span, highly polished, and smelling clean and fresh – as if housekeeping has just left.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

BIG SPENDERS

Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Result

Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')

West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')