When we’re on holiday, one of the few things we remember (aside from the experiences we’ve had) is the place we slept at. Hotels can be one of the most luxurious places on earth. We’re pampered with room service, fresh sheets every day, and room service that comes and handles all of the cleaning. While hiring a maid to do this for your is probably expensive and a little over the top, there are ways to give your own bedroom a 5-star hotel makeover—and it’s cheaper than you think.
Here are a couple of ways to give your bedroom a much-needed boost to comfort. With a bit of work and a little investment, you’ll wake up feeling refreshed and go to bed feeling snug and pleasant as you slip under the sheets and drift off.
Stack up on Pillows
One of the hallmarks of a hotel bedroom is the number of pillows they give you in a luxury room. There are huge pillows that are thick enough to support your back and smaller ones that are comfortable to cuddle with while you close your eyes and get some rest. Stack up on pillows and buy a set. It might be annoying to clean all of those sheets, but it’s worth it to surround yourself with comfort each time you head to bed. If you rather not spend money on different sized pillows, then just get a couple of standard pillows and stack them up.
Change the Sheets Regularly
It’s recommended to change your bed sheets at least once a week to prevent the buildup of dust and mites. During the summer, it’s recommended you change them more often because you’re more prone to sweating during the night. Hotel room service usually doesn’t change the sheets until you’ve checked out, but anyone that’s ever stayed longer than a week at a hotel will have seen room service requesting to change their bed and pillow sheets. However, the quality of the sheets also matters. Rewashing tired and worn out bed sheets over and over will eventually reduce the quality, break down the fibres and the wear and tear will be noticeable when you go to bed. To remedy this, get something that’s good quality like Split King sheets and you’ll easily feel the difference when you jump in bed. Remember that quality matters—even if it’s just your bed sheets!
Remove Unnecessary Clutter
Luxury hotel rooms are simple. There aren’t many drawers and ornaments, they’re clean, well-presented and there’s plenty of space for the guests to put their own belongings. You should try and copy this trait. Remove anything that’s unneeded in the bedroom. Although hotels typically have some kind of electronics in the bedroom, you should try and remove these because you’re not living in a single room. Keep your television, computer and laptops out of the bedroom so that you can focus on sleeping when you go to bed, not staying up late at night to catch up on Netflix, only to realise it’s 4 AM and you have to get up for work in 3 hours.
Focus on Practicality
Another thing that hotel rooms do extremely well is separating spaces within the bedroom for practical reasons. For instance, you usually have easy access to things such as electrical outlets, storage spaces and makeup tables. These well-defined spaces are useful for a variety of reasons and they reduce the overall clutter in your bedroom because you won’t be leaving beauty appliances, creams and other items all over the bedroom. Most hotels will have empty desks or tables as well for the guests to do whatever they want with. If you want a hotel feeling, then having an extra desk for multiple purposes is a great addition, but it’s not very practical if you just want to feel like a 5-star hotel. If it’s a guest room then it’s understandable, but focus on practicality if you’re going to add extra furniture.
A Fresh Coat of Paint
The most commonly used color in most hotels is white. This is usually because white is much easier to clean in large batches, but it’s also because white is a color that gives the room a comforting cloud-like feeling. If the colours in your room are predominantly dark, then it makes the room feel a lot smaller and intimate. This could be useful if that’s the feeling you are going for, but most hotel rooms like to give their guests a sense of openness. White paint also makes a great background color to contrast with. Hanging decorations or paintings on a white background will make them stand out, and it’s also easier to mix with other colors to create fantastic color combinations that make your room feel luxurious.
Subtle and Controllable Lighting
First, let’s talk about natural light. Your windows should not be obstructed by furniture or appliances. Instead, they need to be completely open to let natural sunlight into your room. When it comes to the evening and the sun is low, you should have controllable lighting that can be both subtle or bright at the flick of a switch. You should also try to incorporate various different sources of light in your bedroom, but this might require renovations to get the best effect. However, if you’re not willing to go for expensive renovations, then the best solution is to simply install dimmers on every light you possibly can. Install a dimmer for the main ceiling light and buy lamps that have brightness control settings so you can adjust them to fit the mood.
Staying Cool Throughout the Summer
Most hotel rooms have some kind of air conditioning system to keep their guests cool in the summer. However, if this isn’t possible for you, then a ceiling fan would be a fantastic low-cost replacement that also helps during the winter. The cool air should be positioned to blow down onto the bed area, but this usually requires repositioning the bed. If it’s not possible, then you shouldn’t worry too much about it. Window tinting is also an option if the sun watches over those windows for long periods of time during the day. They can help to reduce the amount of sunlight in your room, but depending on the type of tinting or film you install, it may also reduce the brightness which could be an unwanted side effect.
