When a guest browses and ultimately books a hotel stay, they will often take into account both the facilities on offer and the comfort of the rooms, as well as package options, price, location, and the overall vibe and atmosphere created. A hotel is a business which is built around offering experiences – with even the most standard touch points contributing towards the overall guest experience and how your guests feel both when they’re in and when they leave your hotel.
As the pinnacle of the hospitality world, hotels often combine restaurants and bars with other communal spaces both inside and out and of course the bedrooms themselves – meaning that as a hotel interior designer, you need to be thinking about how to bridge the different areas and create an immersive and lively but also intimate and private collection of spaces.
It’s very easy to say that space equals luxury. However, there are many top level hotels located in the heart of a city centre, or in the setting of a quaint local setting, which do not rely on size, and instead maximise the space they have available through clever design features.
In this blog post, we’re exploring innovative ideas for maximising the space in a smaller hotel room.
Does size really matter?
Space is something that many guests will look for when booking a hotel room, largely due to the need and desire for storage space and sufficient room to navigate the room and use the different facilities in a relaxing way. While there are plenty of ways of integrating storage into other furnishings, which we will go on to discuss later in this piece, a few quick and easy ways of maximising the footprint of a hotel room include sliding doors which open out onto a balcony to extend the living area, mounting the television on a wall instead of on an unnecessary desk furnishing, and installing floating bedside shelves rather than full units.
All of those ideas are about minimising the number of items which sit on the floor – thus maximising the amount of carpet or alternate flooring on show, and making the room look and feel bigger for guests.
Keep décor light and neutral
One common approach when it comes to dressing a more compact inside space, is using neutral décor and light paints. The light a space is, and the more neutral the colour palette used, the larger and more open it feels. Dark and bold colours draw the eye and create corners and darker sections of the room, whereas light neutrals are great for illuminating all areas of a hotel room.
Install large windows to maximise natural light flow
Don’t underestimate the importance of natural light. It can create that coveted inside-outside vibe without even trying, while making the whole inside space feel much brighter and more open. An effective way of making a smaller hotel room feel more spacious and welcoming.
Forego curtains in favour of blinds
While we’re on the subject of windows, curtains are an easy switch out – replacing them with blinds which take up less space and which suck less light out of the room. While curtains can often look and feel more opulent and luxurious, the reality is that they stick further into the room and make it look smaller.
Select furnishings with multiple uses
Another way to maximise space in a small hotel room (or really any room in a home or commercial setting) is to find furnishings and fittings which tick multiple boxes.
- Wardrobes with mirrors installed on the outside of the doors, reflecting light to make the space feel larger and also ensuring that guests have easy access to a mirror.
- Bed frames with storage drawers built into the base.
- Floating shelves which use the height of the room as well as its floor plan. This needs to be approached with caution to ensure that the room remains accessible for all users including those in wheelchairs.
Making a compact hotel room feel larger
A smaller hotel room is no less luxurious, provided you make small changes which maximise the use of space and which ensure that despite its more compact footprint, the room still feels comfortable and provides all the necessary amenities.