When you’re taking a break, whether long or short, near or far, there are certain things that holiday homes and hotels do to make your stay as relaxing as possible. And it’s those home-away-from-home elements that we can recreate in our own house to turn out bedroom into a sanctuary.
Just a few easy DIY projects can completely transform your bedroom into the guest room of your dreams and can help us to feel like we’re taking a break by simply enjoying a weekend at home.
At this time of year, it’s especially important to take restful breaks for your own well-being, especially with the summer holidays feeling so far away. And a lot of feeling peaceful is to do with the ambience in the room – the lighting, the temperature and even the fragrance.
Let’s start with the first of those and find out how you can DIY those welcoming vibes for yourself.
Lovely lighting
While you may think it’s all down to using lovely lamps and maybe even a sprinkling of fairy lights to get a holiday home feel in your own interior, that’s just part of the scheme.
Sure, switching out your bulbs for warm-white lights is a quick and very low-cost way to create a cosy atmosphere. But have you ever noticed what it is about holiday homes that make them feel so light and bright? It’s that many of them have window shutter blinds instead of heavy curtains.
This means that ample light can pour into the room at all times of day and throughout all seasons, and you’ve got the ability to control the strength and direction of the light by angling the shutters appropriately. That way, you’re not blocking out any of the available natural daylight but you still have privacy in your room.
And it’s a project you can DIY yourself. You can take down your curtains and install affordable wooden plantation shutters yourself with the help of online step-by-step guides and videos. I’ve installed blinds on all the windows in my home and it’s made the whole house feel lighter and airier – just like a holiday home.
Now you can move onto the light fittings within your home – a dimmer switch is another easy update that will help you to create a relaxing ambience in your home. That way, the light can be bright when you need it for cooking or doing tasks and can be lowered to create a cosy feel.
Also, try to layer the levels of light that you use in the evening. So, turn off the overhead lights and switch on floor lamps, bedside lamps and strings of fairy lights. The room can still be illuminated well, but with pools of light rather than harsh, bright light from the ceiling fixture.
Keep it clean
Another thing that all holiday homes have in common is cleanliness. Of course, the property has probably just been cleaned from top to bottom when you arrive, but it’s more than just vacuuming and dusting.
If you look around a holiday home, you’ll notice that there isn’t any clutter. Everything is carefully chosen to create a relaxing ambience and, where items are provided for that home-away-from-home feel, they’re things that’ll help you to unwind, such as games, books, magazines and even a hot chocolate ‘station’ in the kitchen.
So, take inspiration from the interior of holiday homes and have a clear-out. Declutter open shelves and coffee tables, only putting back items that you love or things that inspire you to relax. Anything else can be hidden from view inside cupboards, storage boxes or can be given away to make space and help you keep it tidy.
An easy way to freshen up a bedroom is to change the sheets. There’s nothing better than getting into a newly made bed at the end of the day, is there? It makes me feel like my weekend has started when I climb into my fresh white sheets on a Friday night – it feels just like arriving in a hotel.
Did you know that March is National Bed Month? So, there’s no better time to make your bedroom feel like a luxury hotel. Plus, fresh sheets always smell lovely – and that’s another thing we need to focus on when trying to create a holiday home vibe. The scent.
I recently went into a holiday home and was delighted by the way that the home smelled. It wasn’t overpowering, it was just clean, fresh and slightly floral. When you’re in your own home, you rarely notice its aroma – let’s face it, you’re too busy cooking and doing the washing to care – but once you’ve been away and come back after a while, you’re more likely to notice its real scent.
So, to get that effect of walking into a holiday home, try using room fragrances or beautifully scented cleaning products that you’ve never used before during a ‘deep clean’ before your weekend at-home getaway. Then leave the house for a while, just as though you were travelling to your holiday home and when you come back in, you’ll feel like you’ve arrived at your destination for the weekend.
Finally, add those touches that you would find in a holiday home, such as fresh towels and treat yourself to some flowers or luxurious bath products – I’ve previously written about creating a spa vibe at home so be sure to check out that article too. This will really encourage you to relax and unwind on your at-home break. Enjoy!
Let me know your own hacks for making your home feel like you’re on holiday in the comments below. I’d love to hear your tips for turning your bedroom into a hotel-like space.
Pin it for later
This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
