Battling the Stereotypical Hotel Room

This week, I have been working on redesigning an existing hotel's standard bedroom. The hotel is historic and on the coast, but is having trouble filling rooms. The hotel is looking to break in to the market of young, adventurous couples, reuniting friends, and young families. 

The existing floor plan is just a long, rectangular hotel room with a bathroom and a closet by the entrance. If I add the necessary two queen beds, side tables, and TV on a dresser... what do we have? A Hampton Inn. So what can I do to win the project? What will make my furniture plan stand out against the rest? 

As a designer, I had to go beyond putting in more updated furniture and finishings. The interior architecture has to be elevated in order to create a more functional and enticing space.

First, I began battling the bathroom. A current trend in hotel design is spa-like amenities in bathroom. Uses of glass, light-colored finishes, and high-end features are what guests are now looking for. I have changed the shower walls of the bathroom to glass, starting at 4 feet above the finished floor. This adds a less obstructed site line from the entrance to the room, a more indulgent experience while showering, and a new provocative edge to the space. There will be a horizontal stripe of fogged glass as well as clear glass for privacy.

The existing space has very high ceilings. Instead of battling the height with tall furniture and art, I created a double volume space. I created an alcove with two parallel twin beds separated by built-in storage. This gave me the ability to put a king size bed beneath, rather than two cramped double beds. Each bed has significantly more privacy as well as appeal. My design will stop the argument of siblings having to share beds (a common one in my family) that often comes from family's taking a trip to the beach. Also, its a sexier option than bunk beds. Sleeping in a lofted space with integrated architecture isn't going to make an adult feel out of place, the way a bunk bed might. Also, the suspended sleeping area gives a lot more functionality to the space. The furniture can be readjusted for board games or an order-in meal. Hopefully these two changes in the space, along with many others, will bring in a larger market for the historic coastal hotel. 

These are just my preliminary concept sketches, but check back for further development of the hotel redesign! Soon I will be tackling furniture, finishes, and renderings. 

-Sara.