How to style your bedroom to get hotel quality sleep at home

Choosing and using furniture to style your bedroom for sleep

This feature is not about how to make your bedroom look like a luxury hotel, this is about how to get the kind of sleep you get in a hotel room. Furniture and accessories have a big effect on the quality of sleep you get. Hoteliers have plenty of ideas you can steal.

The most important thing is to engineer the space for relaxation and calm. After that you can play around with the details and up the levels of luxury. Let’s start with the sleep rules.

Start with the wardrobes

You walk into your luxury suite and the room has been arranged to get rid of reminders of the outside world. A giant wardrobe storage unit hides all the detritus of the outside world.  Hang that coat. Stash the shoes, boots and handbag. Put the shopping bags in and close the door. 

Our first tip for you to style your bedroom to get hotel quality sleep at home is to invest in the largest wardrobe you can afford to fit in your space. Hotels are all about the luxury of unused space. Check out some of the latest styles in wardrobes.

Using tables and chairs to get better sleep

Oh, you haven’t the space for tables and chairs? Really?

How about getting rid of the exercise bike?  

And while you’re at it, take the ironing board back to the utility room.  

Keep going. Laundry. Bye bye.  

Kids’ toys. Adios.   

Free standing furniture is the big secret of the hotel room at home. You might not have paid much attention to the armchairs and table when you last stayed in a hotel. But you probably slumped down and felt better.  This little decompression zone helps to ease you into the calm of your space.  

Fireside chairs can work well in bedrooms.  Who wouldn’t want to sink into something plush and comfy like this one?

If your bedroom is small, try adding a footstool or an ottoman. These will give you a place to set down your belongings without spoiling the bed. Start thinking of the bed as the sacred space. Keep it clear of clothes and sundry items that get in the way when you want to sleep.

A storage footstool is a clever way to keep the bed clear. When you are styling your bedroom like a hotel room, you are often looking at living room furniture. 

Hotels have a secret when it comes to beds - and it’s not pretty

Look closely at that glammy hotel photo and 9 times out of 10 the base is a good old chunky divan. Solid and hard working, comfortable and covered by bed-linen, the divan base is one of the hardest working furniture investments you’ll ever make!

Of course we have plenty of very pretty beds but divans support sleep. Simple as.

Also, a divan stops shoes, books and magazines from gathering under the bed. Under-bed junk is a psychological irritant that niggles away at your precious sleepy mood.

Mattresses are the magic of the hotel bedroom. We have explained in another blog that  support and comfort are the characteristics of a mattress and that medium firm suits most sleepers.

And speaking of bedding...

Get the nicest you can afford, but don’t sweat it. Clean, freshly laundered sheets are all you need. Ireland’s best loved hotelier, Francis Brennan, has a range of bedding  at Dunnes. As you can see, simplicity is the rule and white is the colour. With sleep as your goal the colour is no colour. How soothing are these lovely linens.

If you have a budget, we recommend this range by the Irish perfumier Jo Browne. Her website is full of products to aid sleep. Bamboo is the next big thing in bedsheets and the designer is from Wicklow.  

Some US hotels are mad for cushions but we’re not doing an Instagram shoot. Get the best pillow you can afford and upgrade to goose down only if you want to. 

Choosing fragrance for the bedroom can aid sleep

Jo Browne has developed a scented oil specifically for sleep. 

There are plenty of lovely smells to be had but we are urging you to think of the properties of the fragrance.  It’s not about picking a nice smell that you like. Essential oils have powerful properties and there’s a reason your aunt loves lavender, jasmine and rose.

With that in mind, try not to get distracted by the temptations on this Brooks and Shoals site. Head straight for the lavender, if you will. 

The right bedroom art can help you sleep

Art for your home is a big topic and we will talk about that another day. For now we are creating a hotel-like sanctuary in your home and here are a few ideas:

Choose images that are easy on the eye and brain. The wrong images can disrupt sleep. They say that whatever is on your mind 45 minutes before you fall asleep will fill your dreams. I know that the tiger is your spirit animal but we don’t want sharp toothed critters in the dreams.  

An image that you might think is bland is in fact helping you to mellow out. The art wall in our Bunclody outlet has a huge range of prints and wall decor. Gentle colours and beach scenes suit bedrooms. Art with nature can soothe the mind. Travel photography adds to the ‘virtual holiday’ mood.

Now, not everyone says they sleep well in hotels. That’s no surprise! You’d be alarmed at some of the artwork hanging on hotel walls. If you were listening to me at all you’ll be clutching your pastel pic of daisies - and wearing a contented smile cos you’ve got the secret to sleep-friendly art.  

Hotel-at-home mood music

How about a little Galinna table with a radio playing Lyric FM?

Sssshhh accessories, keep it down..

A writer in House Beautiful advises that bedroom accessories should be “low volume”. Decluttering should be the first step to any attempt at creating a hotel room at home. Clear spaces beat accessories if you are seeking sleep.

Turning your bedroom into a luxury hotel can be temporary

Have a bit of fun with your hotel. It helps if your family buys into the idea. Maybe your little girl delivers a cup of tea to your room - and you tip her handsomely for the delivery. Your teenage son negotiates the remote control and you give him ten euro to go away and give you peace. 

Little touches to make your room into a hotel an event

Maybe you are only doing the hotel for a weekend. Turn it into an event with magazines, pastries and fancy toiletries.

-Buy a few nice mags and lay them out.   

-Bring your own patisserie

For many hotel lovers it’s all about the pastry chef. If patisserie is your joy, there are plenty of Irish companies who can help.

-Choose toiletries with sleepy fragrances

Allow yourself the little luxuries that will transform your bedroom into a sanctuary where you feel super special and sleep like a baby. Whether you are creating a temporary space, or making some permanent changes to your room, we hope that you got ideas here that you’ll enjoy putting into practice. 

Sweet dreams, you’ve earned them!