Bring the ‘Wow’ Factor Home: Decor Ideas Inspired by Your Favorite Hotels

It’s not as difficult as you may think to bring some of the luxuriant touches, unique interior design elements and cultural savvy you see in your global travels to your humble abode. Discover a few clutch ways to revamp your place and recreate the feeling of your favorite hotel, even when staycationing.

As always, check for travel restrictions and closures before planning your trip.

Embrace Dramatic Design Like the Bedouins

Take inspiration from the oral travel diaries of the original nomads, the Bedouins, by making design references to vast desert dunes, rugged mountains and the Arabian Sea.

Beachfront W Muscat, in the Omani capital’s exclusive Shatti Al Qurum district, pays homage to the Middle Eastern country’s dramatic landscapes and rich heritage with a rainbow of jewellike colors and monochrome prints. Contemporary three-dimensional works of art underscore a forward-looking attitude.

To achieve this look at home, invest in an Arabian circular silk rug centerpiece with a geometric pattern for your living or dining room and contrast it with a digital art print by an independent artist. Burn frankincense sticks to evoke the Omani tradition of welcoming weary travelers.

Light Up Your Nights

Take a hint from the laid-back Moxy Lille City and shine a new light on your boudoir. The hotel lies in the heart of Lille, a northern French town with a Flemish flavor.

All of the guest rooms at the property, which is housed in an ornate 19th-century building that originally served as a medical school, feature motion-activated LED guide lights below the beds.

Not only are LED mood lights affordable, eco-friendly and easy to install at home, they’re also handy for late-night trips to the bathroom. Best of all, they’re subtle, so they won’t snap you out of woozy sleep mode or wake your companion. Bonus: They’re a whole lot more stylish than the unicorn nightlight you had as a kid.

Go Simple Chic

As you look to revamp your home’s interior, follow in the minimalist-chic footsteps of AC Hotel Krakow, located in one of Europe’s hippest city destinations.

Throughout its common areas and 300 rooms and suites, a feeling of space and harmony abounds. Clear the clutter and let your living space breathe by subscribing to a philosophy of less rather than more.

You really can’t go wrong with matte-finish timber floors and dressers paired with a sofa and lounge chairs upholstered with fresh fabrics in neutral shades. Add touches of greenery in the form of indoor plants or a pair of matching shamrock-hued velvet chairs, along with simple black light fixtures, and you’ll feel like Marie Kondo has completely made over your pad.

Make an (Entrance) Statement

If you’re lucky enough to have high ceilings at home, why not take full advantage of them with big, bold statement lighting fixtures.

Element Al Jaddaf, Dubai, situated in the city’s Creekside neighborhood of Al Jaddaf, pulls this off beautifully with globe-shaped suspended ceiling lights in the hotel’s spacious, modern lobby. This eye-popping design element is the first thing you notice when you walk through the front entrance.

Replicate the look in your entranceway, making sure to keep everything else in the space decidedly spartan.

Dive Deep into African Influences

To label an interior design style as simply “African” would be a misrepresentation of the myriad cultures, traditions and contemporary creative output of one of the world’s most diverse continents.

Borrow a little inspiration from 87-room boutique hotel The Ivens, Autograph Collection in Lisbon, named after 19th-century Portuguese explorer Roberto Ivens. Together with his counterpart Hermenegildo Capelo, Ivens explored parts of southern Africa, notably the Congo and Zambezi river basins.

With those influences in mind, interior designer Cristina Matos graced the ceiling of one guest room with a palm frond mural that will have you dreaming about creating your own oasis at home.

Convey a Message Through Art

Express what’s most important to you in a singular work of art that’s guaranteed to spark an interesting conversation between you and your guests.

While a Banksy installation may be a pipe dream, you can certainly show your support for local creatives. Tour galleries in your area and track down an emerging artist whose creations convey a specific message that aligns with your personal beliefs and goals. Their work may depict the need to safeguard global freshwater resources, for example.

Look to The Westin London City, a five-star hotel positioned on the banks of the Thames, where an otherworldly bespoke art installation by Dutch paper artist Peter Gentenaar, who lets nature shape his creations, is reminiscent of swirling undersea flora.

Bring Out Your Animal Instincts

Inject a little playfulness into your everyday with fun styling elements inspired by the animal kingdom.

At Hotel U14, Autograph Collection in Helsinki, the rooms feature bright wallpaper that depicts deer, lions and cows; hippo figurines; palm-tree lamps; and glass tables with bronze flamingo bases. In the bar, cheeky monkey statuette lampshades make for amusing company.

In your own home, show your love for all living things with a different animal theme in each room, or mix two to three. Add instant flair with economical decor options, such as throw pillows and poufs in zebra, tiger or giraffe print.