Hotel room transformation: before

I was fortunate enough to be given a great commission a few weeks ago: the refurbishment of some hotel rooms in the Dunalastair Hotel in Perthshire. My brief was to give the rooms a new lease of life but avoid anything too trendy, making sure the place retained it unique identity and didn’t end up looking like a franchise hotel chain.

As you can see from the photographs the rooms were in real need of an overhaul.

I was asked to look at two different room types, the Malt, a four poster room and the Blend, a standard double room. For the Malt, I wanted to create a classic look with a lot of contrast for dramatic effect.

The existing four poster bed featured a traditional floral pattern fabric made into to a valance and pelmet. This cut out a lot of light and had a very overpowering effect. The room also had an oversized wardrobe, a writing bureau and two large wing back lounge chairs. The framed prints on the walls were a mismatched set of Victorian etchings and water colours. The carpet was a royal blue and clashed horribly with the bright orange/yellow walls.

The old four poster bed had to go, no amount of reupholstering and restoration would deliver the desired effect. As a replacement, I found a traditional painted, white carved wood, French period style piece which set the tone for the whole room. I was able to source a complete range of furniture to match the new bed.

A lot of the old furniture from the hotel was in very good condition and just needed reupholstering. Two blue lounge chairs from the Malt room were revived with a new covering in a fantastic fabric from Romo. As with any hotel project, the material had to be fire retardant. I use a specialist company based in Nottingham for this process, they apply a fireproof coating that doesn’t change the look or feel of the product and supply a certificate that guarantees effectiveness in emergency situations.

One of the most difficult challenges was introducing a new feature, the large flat screen television without ruining the period theme. There is no point into trying to make the screen look like something it isn’t. I suggested hanging the screen on the wall and creating a simple bespoke wooden veneer housing with clean lines, this makes a feature of the new television but complements the room.

The hotel is well worth a visit: http://www.dunalastair.co.uk