Hello Friends,

Now that I got your attention!! Here we are…”Self-Isolating”…  “Quarantining”… “Social Distancing”. Terms most of us had never used before a few weeks ago. How’s everyone handling it all so far? 

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love to travel, and also knows how much I love hotels! 

Many of you have already seen this guide to making your bedroom feel like a hotel suite, but I felt like it has some special significance all of a sudden so I thought it deserved a replay! Who knows when we’ll be able to hit the road again? I’ve been looking around my bedroom the last week or so thinking about little tweaks I can make to have it feel ever more luxurious.

Stay healthy, my friends!

All my best,
Melinda

SEVEN WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MASTER SUITE FEEL LIKE A HOTEL SUITE

1. CLEAR THE CLUTTER

One of the things we love most about a hotel room is the serenity we feel upon entering the room. Usually very simply decorated, and with absolutely no clutter in sight, hotel rooms offer a calm serenity that many of us lack in our homes. Give yourself the gift of hotel room luxury by removing all of the clutter from your rooms. Put those tissue boxes in the drawer, remove the stacks of paper and the lotion and lip balm that are cluttering the bedside table. 

2. USE NEUTRAL COLORS & WHITE LINENS

Next, add the most luxurious linens you can afford. Start with white sheets of the best quality your budget allows. Add two pillows per person, and then a coverlet, add a duvet cover or “bed scarf” at the foot of the bed. While you are at it, add fluffy white towels to your bathroom. Hotels are known for using whites as they offer a crisp look, and can be bleached. Keep it simple here. A hotel suite is not a place for 15 throw pillows on the bed. Perhaps one accent pillow in addition to the sleeping pillows in a color that you’ve used elsewhere in the room. 

3. CREATE A SITTING AREA

It’s so lovely to come back to a luxurious hotel suite after a long day of sightseeing or meetings, and just be able to sit down with a magazine or a book and rest for a few minutes somewhere other than the bed. Create the hotel feeling by adding a comfortable club chair or chaise longue and add a small table to set a drink on.

4. CREATE YOUR OWN MINI-BAR

For those of us who live for our morning java, what could be more luxurious than having it right in our bedroom? Maybe it’s slightly more luxurious to have a white gloved footman bring it up on a silver tray, but since most of our households don’t include butlers, how about putting a Nespresso or Keurig on a pretty tray with some coffee mugs, and some bottles of water? Even better, one of those pretty bedside water carafes. If you have the space, add a mini-fridge to keep beverages cold, but if you don’t have the space for this add a decanter of brandy or sherry along with some pretty snifters for that last nightcap before bed.

5. UPGRADE  YOUR LIGHTING 

Hotel rooms are known for their various and varied lighting options. To get this feeling in your bedroom at home, make sure you have a lamp on each bedside table, and another on a desk or near your reading chair. A floor lamp in your lounge or reading area eliminates the need for a larger table there. Bonus points for putting dimmers on your lamps!

6. OUTFIT YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE 

Add a pretty alarm clock, or a high-tech iPhone dock to play soothing tunes or the sound of waves crashing. In the drawers, keep a high-quality hand cream, and lip balm as well as tissues. Add a small book of quotes or essays to read before turning in.

7. USE TRAYS 

One of the fastest and easiest ways to make disparate items seem organized is to put them together in a basket or a tray. It instantly pulls a space together and makes it seem less cluttered. Use a tray on your dresser to keep jewelry and watches corralled, or put all of your perfume bottles together on a pretty silver tray. On a desk, keep a pad of paper and a pen in a leather tray.

Bonus tip: When designing a hotel suite, we always think about the practical matters because, really, people want things to be convenient when they travel. Isn’t it wonderful when you open up the closet door in a hotel room, and the iron and ironing board are hanging right there next to your clothes? Why not put an ironing board and iron or even a steamer right in your master closet if there is room? No running across the house when you’re late for the party to press a wrinkle out of your favorite dress. 

FAVORITE FIVE

Just a few items to get you started on turning your own bedroom into a luxurious retreat…