Bridge For Design Spring 2014 Bridge For Design Spring 2014 Issue | Page 46

DESIGN TRENDS | view point

SLEEPING IN STYLE
Boutique hotels spark demand for beds with the WOW factor says Wayne Clarke

B

outique hotel design has a powerful influence on
domestic interiors, especially bedrooms. The rise
of eclectic and vintage styles can be attributed to
iconic contract interiors, but equally so can both
a super-sleek, minimalist aesthetic and highly decorative
furnishings offering palatial levels of grandeur.
What unites these apparently disparate styles is their
emphasis on luxury surfaces and materials, their generous
- even oversize - proportions and, above all, a refined and
coherent offering which is designed down to the last iPod
dock.
Luxury, scale, lifestyle: these are the key elements
currently making the biggest impressions on bedroom trends
and buying patterns.
One of the most noticeable effects on domestic bedrooms
has been in the size of beds. At the mid/high end of the
market, Kingsize has virtually replaced Standard Double
as the most popular size, with Emperor and even Super
Emperor sizes catching up quickly.
Significantly bigger beds are a direct reflection of the
amount of space which people are now prepared to dedicate
to bedrooms, especially in the ‘master suite’ - another key
trend from the hotel world now making waves in high end
domestic interiors.
The luxury mattress market is booming as they discover
increasing wellbeing from a better quality of sleep. Specialist
retailers who understand how to match customers’
requirements to the many different mattress offerings on the
market are also driving the trend for people to move up to
better quality, more durable products.
The bed itself takes centre stage and whilst customers’
personal tastes vary from super-extravagant to pared-down
minimalism, there are certain key trends at work here
too. People want their bed to be really important; a major

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Bridge for Design Spring 2014

statement piece with a distinct wow factor. They are prepared
to pay for products which are custom made, or at the very
least personalised with bespoke elements.
And So To Bed’s ultimate statement bed, the Grand
Versailles, is hand encrusted with thousands of Swarovski
crystals. In both beds and bedroom furniture, And So To
Bed find bespoke finishes as much sought after by individuals
as by the trade: from high gloss lacquers and colour-matched
paints to new metallic surfaces, specialist finishes create
wholly personalised looks.
Design notes from chic ho FV