Hotel designs are instantly welcoming spaces that reflect the best of the location, telling stories of people and places and feeding our travel experiences and memories. What is it about staying in a luxurious hotel that promises the best night’s sleep and the perfect escape? Whether it’s the crisp, freshly laundered sheets, floor to ceiling windows, or the well-curated style and design, there’s a simple magic found in a beautiful hotel suite. As travel returns we asked Federico Toresi, Global VP Design for Accor’s Luxury and Premium brands, what we should look for in our travels and why hotel spaces are so special.
Federico Toresi has over 20 years of experience in architecture and design, he’s one of the world’s most stylish fonts of knowledge when it comes to creating the beauty of a luxury hotel. With a year of lockdown, it’s no surprise that our homes are becoming a little less inspiring, so with this in mind, we’ve rounded up the very best ways to refresh your living space. Inspired by Accor’s luxurious properties, from Fairmont to Sofitel, Swissotel to Raffles, Federico has put together his top tips on how to replicate that hotel feeling at home and what to look for in your travels later this year to inspire your home interiors.
MAKE IT PERSONAL
“Many guests love staying in hotels because they’re clutter free and it’s an escape from the sometimes-messy reality of our homes. But one thing I have learnt over the years, is the importance of personality in design. When designing a Fairmont or Sofitel suite, one of my favourite ways to bring warmth is all of the personal touches and statements that create individuality – so no two suites are ever the same. It might be a beautiful vase, an incredible lamp, artwork on the walls or a vintage mirror; these are the details that add the character to the design of our luxury brands. So, while we want to make sure our homes feel fresh and simple, it’s so important to bring happy memories from our travels into our spaces. For example, I have gorgeous Russian porcelain vodka glasses and tiny, handmade, individual Turkish Delight silver serving dishes which are both stylish and nostalgic.”
Hotels that bring personality to their design:
BRING NATURE INDOORS
“Placing plants in our homes is one of the best ways to reconnect with the soothing impact of nature. Biophilia literally translates as the ‘love of nature’ and so it’s no surprise the positive influence it can have on our living spaces. We always try and weave in as many natural elements as possible in our hotels – beautiful floral arrangements, indoor shrubbery and spectacular potted plants all add to an overall soothing and stylish design which is truly about making our guests as physically and spiritually comfortable as possible. Try adding a beautiful houseplant to your bedroom – that, combined with some crisp white sheets, will make the world of difference.”
Hotels inspired by nature
DEDICATE SPACES
“Working from home has taught me that, if at all possible, you must not work in your living room or bedroom. It’s so important to dedicate spaces and ‘travel’ to different areas to stimulate creativity and imagination, and to even add structure to your day. Sometimes it can be as simple as placing an armchair by a window specifically for reading the morning papers with your coffee. This can add to that feeling of separation to the rest of your home and can create something magical about that time of day. We always look at this structure when designing our guestrooms and suites, and when including a workspace, we think about how we might separate this area so our business guests have a guestroom or suite that is both productive and relaxing.”
Hotels with beautiful dedicated spaces to inspire your home design:
HIDE THAT TECHNOLOGY
“We all love technology, but there’s something about it that can really take away the magic of a stylish living space. When introducing technology into both our public hotel spaces as well as the guest rooms and suites, we always try and find the most subtle way to work with the surroundings. Whether that’s hiding televisions, disguising cables and wires, and curating the best space for guests to work on their laptops, each area is designed so technology doesn’t dominate the design. Since we’ve all been working from home over the past year, it’s never been more important to disconnect at the end of the day and hide the gadgets.”
Stunning hotels with hidden technology:
CREATE FLEXIBILITY
“Flexibility remains key in creating an ever-inspiring living space. We explored this last year with our Room 2035 concept; this is all about changing and modifying a room. Adaptable spaces were key during lockdown when we were all confined to our homes, but it’s never been more important coming out of lockdown to freshen up our living spaces. I’m a huge fan of finding new and inventive areas for living room furniture or perhaps a fresh new angle to arrange a bedroom. It’s important to also play with lighting – perhaps placing a sofa opposite a window, or a dining room table below a skylight – it can open up the room and change the entire energy. I recommend giving this a go in the coming weeks, I guarantee a space you might have once thought was boring, is now completely magical.”
Inspiring living spaces:
“As travel returns, bring the joy of travel and discovery home with you to inspire your interiors, the use of your home spaces and your next trip.”
Source: Accor Hotels
