One of the most vital ways of maintaining good health and wellbeing throughout your life is by getting enough good quality sleep. It protects both your physical and mental health and, subsequently, your quality of life. Sleep plays a major role in stimulating growth and development, repairing muscles and tissue as well as boosting your immune system, allowing you to wake up feeling energised, refreshed and ready to tackle the day ahead.

As any good hotelier knows, creating the right environment and ambience for sleep are important factors in producing the best possible experience for hotel guests, and interior designers should always have both comfort and style in mind when it comes to creating the best hotel room.

Setting the scene

For the best night’s rest, it is essential that beds offer the right type of support and the room provides a calm environment to allow guests to fully relax. Mattresses made from natural materials are best to achieve this as they help to create a microclimate in and around your body, and it’s this which helps manage and regulate sleep patterns. And while comfort is king when it comes to the bed, the aesthetics of this piece of furniture are equally as important and need to be carefully considered to ensure the room has the right feel. Choosing the right divan and headboard in the perfect colour, pattern or fabric can mean the difference between a room which is purely practical, to one that has it all – style and substance – meaning guests will want to come back and stay time and time again.

Getting the room temperature right is key to creating a relaxing atmosphere within a bedroom. The perfect environment for the body to relax is slightly cool, the optimum being between 16-18°C, so choosing the right mattress to regulate guests’ body temperatures can help.

Designers should opt for a mattress that is made from natural, sustainable fibres – such as wool, cashmere or silk – with pocket springs for additional comfort. This ensures the mattress is breathable, promoting healthy airflow, helping to regulate body temperature and reducing body moisture while repelling allergens and enhancing the sleeping experience.

When designing a room, it’s vital to carefully analyse the space and look at how it is going to be used. Whether it’s one person staying in a room or a whole family, it’s important that everyone can sleep soundly in a relaxing environment. Filling a room with two or three separate beds can look cluttered and uninviting – not what you want when you’re trying to design a relaxing, harmonious environment for guests. Hotel designers should consider a more practical solution, such as a double bed with an accompanying sofa bed. By doing so, designers can create a multifunctional bedroom that is practical, stylish and includes comfortable additional seating. Furthermore, it offers hoteliers the opportunity to turn a guest suite into a family room when needed, meaning there’s the possibility they can generate additional revenue without having to find additional space or sacrificing the visual appeal of a room.

The activities that guests do hours before sleep also have an impact on the desired REM, which is the deepest and most restorative stage of sleep. Designers should consider creating an environment which offers guests the option to easily limit technology within the bedroom so that they can switch off and wind down before going to bed. Mobile phones, TVs, tablets and similar items emit a blue light that can slow or halt the production of melatonin – the hormone that tells our brain that it’s bedtime, making it harder for us to drop off.

The design of the bedroom should be relaxing, so providing units that can easily conceal TVs and iPads is ideal in creating a calming haven that offers no distractions.

Setting the tone

At Hypnos, we have witnessed a rise in demand for stylish, attractive upholstered headboards which add a boutique and luxurious style for any hotel bedroom. While leading hotel chains and brands have dominated the hospitality industry for decades, there can be no doubt that smaller, more niche boutique hotels have emerged as a global phenomenon, setting the tone when it comes to both style and experience for customers.

We’re seeing more and more consumers who now want a truly special hospitality experience and expect stylish and practical interiors to be typically offered as part of this. As such, it is important hoteliers don’t overlook the importance of bespoke hotel rooms, rather than a standard, uniformed look across all their guest suites or bedrooms.

With more and more hoteliers creating beds which are the focal point of the room and really have that wow factor and impact, large format winged headboards, which run all the way to the floor to create a striking look, are a hugely popular choice for creating this effect. These designs are suitable for both small and large hotels, with further flair being added to a room by pairing a designer headboard and divan base upholstered in matching fabric – perfect for recreating the boutique look. It also provides a cost-effective way of giving rooms a unique look without having to install completely new furniture in each one.

Setting the mood

Getting a truly restful night’s sleep can often be difficult for guests, with noise, light and other outside influences having an effect. Adjusting bedroom lighting to create a calming and restful environment can help encourage your guests to relax, wind down and, ultimately, drift off to asleep.

Creating a soft, understated level of lighting using table lamps is an ideal solution. For an added level of lighting that generates both ambience and style, choose a floor lamp which fits in the corner of the room to emit a warm glow. To make an instant impression on your guests, consider ceiling lighting that focuses the eyes on the centre of the room. With great lighting, even an ordinary room can look fabulous and have a strong impact on making guests feel welcome.

It will come as no surprise to hoteliers to hear that neutral tones, such as soft greys, are always the best choice when it comes to a tranquil bedroom design. Muted shades will create a sense of calm in your colour palette and combining this with hints of colour can make a huge impact in a simple space.

Go for comforting pastel tones to add a soft, feminine and welcoming touch to an interior scheme. While pastel-based shades are renowned for their mood-enhancing and lifting qualities, be careful not to pair them with too many colours in one room as this can make it feel busy and jumbled. Instead, pick a dominant colour and complement it with smaller doses of the secondary shade to create a grown-up and sophisticated look.

Whilst it’s important to use beautiful fabrics that create a sense of tranquillity in the bedroom, it’s vital that they also offer ultimate functionality, durability and cleanability that stand the test of time, so opt for something hygienic, protecting against potential risks such as bed bugs.