Think boutique hotel bedroom
We all love the beautiful, pure luxury of a boutique hotel bedroom. A super-sized bed so deep you just want to dive into it, plush fabrics that are gentle to the touch, giant fluffy pillows, soft lighting that creates the perfect ambiance and luxurious wall coverings.
A boutique hotel is nearly always glamorous, chic, upscale and intimate, sometimes quirky. In fact it’s the perfect blueprint for a main bedroom that’s as inspirational as it is luxurious. But remember, while you want it to have depth, drama, colour and texture, it should also remain a restful space and place of sanctuary.
Choose your colour
Soft, tranquil neutrals create the perfect backdrop and can even help to induce sleep. Soft greys are a good choice, as are chalky whites, mushroom, taupe and stone. Adding deeper, contrasting shades of those same hues can create a luxurious, layered look – deep charcoal against pale grey for example – or bring in a subtle accent colour such as dusky pink or baked elements and warm desert shades including burnt orange and brown-toned reds.
Alysha Alli, Interior Design Manager for Redrow, has some favourite colours of her own: “I love green, it’s so calming and fresh. A strong green feature wall - Rosemary Green from Dulux Heritage range is lovely, or sage green, waxed khaki, stone green – works well with a simple clean Wiltshire White on the remaining walls. And it looks great with blush pink as an accent. Dark blue with ochre/burnt orange is also a particular favourite of mine."
Tantalisingly tactile
From wallpaper that’s woven, is imitation silk or infused with subtle metallic threads, to heavyweight floor to ceiling curtains, luxuriously thick throws, soft accent scatter cushions, crisp white cotton bedlinen, flat velvet headboards with a contrast skinny pipe edge, mixed metallics and ceramic crinkle glazed accessories, there are so many dramatically different ways to introduce texture into your principal bedroom. The layering effect of different textures is key - everywhere you look you should want to reach out and touch.
And so to bed
Go into any boutique hotel bedroom and chances are it’s the bed that will stand out. The bed – and its headboard – should be the focal point in any main bedroom.
"When designing your own bedroom go for the biggest bed the space will take and choose the best quality, deepest mattress you can afford,” Alysha advised. “It’s a long term investment and you can’t put a price on a good night’s sleep."
The majority of Redrow’s main bedrooms feature a super kingsize bed - and a big bed needs a big headboard. We have ours bespoke made and use them to really make a statement. Recently we’ve been making them wider to go over the bedsides as well as the bed itself, which can really accentuate a large space. Although in a smaller room, a headboard with design detail and shape can encourage a feeling of height and space.
We like experimenting with profile too, such as a velvet winged headboard or a sectioned headboard with padded geometric shapes. Inset piping or a framed headboard brings the opportunity to add contrasting colour, while deep buttoned upholstery or wenge detailing introduces another element of texture.
Let there be light
An opulent pendant or chandelier light is an important part of perfecting the boutique hotel-style look. However, make sure you team it with softer, diffused ambient lighting from your bedsides and essential task lighting at your dressing table.
"An oversized art deco brass and opal glass pendant light fitting can look wonderful teamed with glass and brass deco bedside lamps,” says Redrow’s Alysha. “We often use very tall or wide bedside lamps which make a real statement and will balance an over-sized headboard and add to the overall impact."
If you’ve got the space, consider an upholstered accent reading chair – perhaps in a flat velvet or woven bake neutral - with a tall, slender free-standing LED reading lamp.
Read our tips on bedroom decorating ideas including the best bedroom colours for sleep and how to choose the right curtains.
