There is something so deliciously comforting about a stay at a luxurious bed and breakfast. At the best bed and breakfasts, you get that feeling like you’re invited into someone’s home but treated like you’re in a five-star hotel. Wouldn’t we all love to feel like that all the time? Three designers share tricks to making your home a sanctuary so family and friends feel perfectly pampered.
Plan the Guest Room Early
If you are building or renovating a home, decide where your guests will stay early in the decision making process. Mariette Barsouum, co-founder of DIVINE Design Center, an interior design studio and showroom in Boston, MA. “The most welcoming guest rooms feel considered rather than fitted into whatever space is left,” says Barsouum. Give your guests the best bed in the house, a beautiful view, privacy from the family spaces, a private bathroom and the best linens for the bed and bath, she advises. “Invest in what guests actually experience,” says Barsouum, noting that decorative flourishes can’t top quality bedding and privacy. “Guests should feel comfortable following their own routine,” says Barsouum, who recently designed crisp white bedrooms and adjoining baths for clients in Sag Harbor, NY, with a modern and minimalist aesthetic. The design puts the focus on the beautiful views and a private, marble bathroom with soaking tub for the ultimate relaxation. “Consider the bedroom and bathroom together,” she adds. “A visual connection between them—perhaps a glimpse of a freestanding bath or a beautiful vanity—can make a suite feel more cohesive and hotel-like.”
Consider The Essentials
“I always start by imagining the first 10 minutes of someone’s stay,” says Elana Tenenbaum-Cline, principal designer at Carta Creatives in Southport, CT, who always starts her design journey by thinking about what the homeowner’s or their guest’s routine looks like as she decides the necessary components. “Where will they put their bag? Is there an outlet for their phone and a place to set down a glass of water, ideally on a pretty coaster? I always include a bedside lamp with a dimmer so guests can make the room comfortable for themselves.” She recently helped Bethany Evans, the CMO of fashion design brand Rhone, design her family’s whole house in Stamford, CT, with a playful mix of color and pattern that highlight the fashion executive’s sense of personality and style while also providing a comforting atmosphere where she could entertain guests. Tenenbaum-Cline took inspiration from the couple’s extensive art collection in choosing color and pattern for each room. In the couple’s own room, dark navy, a botanical wallpaper, deep red upholstery, and brass reading lights, feel dramatic when you walk in, but calming once you’re in bed.
In the guest room, the cane headboard and layered floral window treatments bring a lighter kind of personality. “Then I add the things that make a room feel cared for: fresh linens, a soft throw, a little space in the closet or dresser, and perhaps flowers or a few books,” says Tenenbaum-Cline. “Guests don’t need a perfectly styled room. They need to feel that someone thought about how they would live in it.”
Layers are Key
For the ultimate cozy vibe, layers are important, says Sage Conti, principal designer at her eponymous design studio in Concord, MA. It begins with selecting the right bedding for a comfortable night’s sleep: pillows, a quilt, a soft throw, high-quality breathable bedding. “The goal isn’t to make the bed feel overly formal, but to create that irresistible feeling of wanting to curl up and stay awhile,” says Conti. From there, soft, warm lighting and wallpaper or grasscloth envelope the room and bring layers of softness. “Bedside tables that feel collected rather than overly decorated, artwork, books and personal touches all contribute to that sense of comfort and hospitality,” she adds.
Make Room for Memories
Whether a bedroom, a living room, a library or a recreation room, take the opportunity to carve out a nook where you or your guests can make memories. A game table corner like this one designed by Swati Goorha, principal interior designer at her eponymous firm in New Providence, NJ, creates a vignette that invites exploration, relaxation and conversation. “I believe most of the luxury found in many B&B’s does not always come from extravagance but by discovering a comfortable chair, window seat, beautiful place to enjoy a nightcap, or other little corners created specifically for the enjoyment of each guest,” says Goorha. In designing this showhouse room, Goorha imagined a globe-trotting couple who want a corner in their bedroom where they can retreat at the end of the day and reconnect over games and a cocktail before heading to bed. If games aren’t your thing, design a nook for reading, writing, morning coffee or puzzles. For this bedroom game table, Goorha chose contemporary club chairs in a gold velvet and a pedestal game table in black.
A set of etched glass low balls and a decanter give a touch of glamor to the look and provide contrast to the wooden chess set. “I enjoy working with contrasting elements,” says Goorha. Pops of color and print like the window seat cushion upholstered in a Sheila Bridges Harlem toile bring out the colors in the hand-painted Fromental wall coverings. “Travel and cultural experiences are some of the many sources of inspiration for me,” says Goorha, adding color, craftsmanship and globally curated objects to that list. “What we typically remember about a great B&B experience is generally the progression of small individual experiences: a reading nook by a window, a comfortable sleeping area, a good sitting chair, a game table to enjoy in the evenings, etc...This room contains multiple examples of these experiences.”
By: Kristan Zimmer
