It’s around this time of year, when we realise that summer really has up and left, that we start thinking about taking a holiday to escape the winter.

We close our eyes and dream of warm beaches, icy cocktails, and hotel rooms with gigantic hurl-yourself-at-me beds.

Rooms that welcome you with serenity, crisp white sheets, chilled wine, and a bath that isn’t being colonised by bath toys.

But, at a time when the word ‘hotel’ has suddenly become synonymous with ‘quarantine’ and travel has become an uncertain prospect, many of us probably won’t be indulging in a five-star escape for a while.

So, how can you recreate that magical luxury hotel room feeling in your own bedroom?

Our FURNISHD. experts are here with a to-do list that’ll have every night in your boudoir feeling like a night in a five-star hotel. 

Unlike your bedroom at home, you’ll never find a cluttered luxury hotel room.

Part of the relaxing appeal comes from the minimalist design and lack of stuff everywhere, so before you can get started on giving your bedroom a hotel makeover, you’ll have to do a bit of a clear out.

Keep only the things that belong in the bedroom, and don’t forget about the wardrobe – there’s nothing less calming than having to wrestle your wardrobe door open and closed, or having to pull everything out to find your left boot.

The hotel bed is to sleeping what a sports car is to driving – they’re just better.

They’re always huge and crisp and clean, and so ridiculously comfy that you’ll happily forego the brekky buffet for a few extra minutes of shut-eye.

The sheets are perfectly tucked, the pillows plumped, and the linen starched and crisp.

There’s no question, the best part of a luxury hotel room stay is always the bed.

But the good news is, while you may not be able to turn your Mazda into a Maserati, you can turn your bed into a sleeping paradise that will rival any hotel room bed. 

• Headboard Give your bed some drama and gravitas with a headboard upholstered in a luxe fabric like velvet or linen. Choose a shape that suits your room and style, and use it as an opportunity to play with colour. Choose a neutral for a more traditional hotel vibe, or play with rich colours like forest green, crimson or navy to create an opulent feel. If a headboard is out of the budget, use a row of plump European pillows to anchor your bed and give it a sense of luxury.
• Mattress If your current mattress has seen better days, now is the time to upgrade to a hotel-quality mattress. If a new mattress is out of the budget, keep your current one and up the snuggle factor with a pillow top mattress topper.
• Pillows and doona Be honest, how long have you been sleeping in your current bedding? If you’ve had them so long that you can’t remember buying them, chances are they could do with being replaced. Look for ethically made down bedding for the full hotel experience or, if you’d rather animal-free products, go for high-quality synthetic down or bamboo-filled products. Remember that big is beautiful when it comes to bedding, so go for voluminous, soft, come-lie-on-me pillows, and a fluffy, high-loft doona that will sit beautifully on the bed.
• Bed linen If you have a limited budget for new linen, throw the bulk of your cash at the sheets. Treat yourself to a new set or two in 100% cotton, bamboo or linen in the highest thread count your budget allows, for a really luxurious skin-feel. When it comes to your doona cover, go for crisp white to create a true hotel experience. If you’ve got kids (and keeping anything white actually white for more than a nanosecond is laughable), go for a more practical plain colour that suits you.
• Everyone loves a throw cushion (said no man, ever) Never mind him, throw cushions make the bed, and allow you to add some colour to that delicious white cloud you’ve created. Go for cushions in varied sizes and shapes, and arrange them symmetrically to emulate a hotel bed. Finish it off with a luxurious throw blanket for a bit of texture and extra comfort on cold nights.
• Get familiar with your sheets Nobody tucks a sheet like a five-star hotel. You’ll find loads of tutorials online that’ll teach you how to tuck like a pro and make your bed truly hotel worthy.

Make sure you have side tables for each side of the bed, and style them identically to create visual balance.

Grab some stylish bedside lamps to create mood lighting or for reading in bed, and consider plants or fresh flowers.

Sliding into that fluffy robe and wriggling your feet into a pair of brand-new slippers is part and parcel of staying in a luxury hotel room.

Treat yourself to a new dressing gown in white or pale grey, and hang it in your newly organised wardrobe, or display it from a hook on the back of your door.

Tuck a new pair of slippers under the bed, and your new room will be almost there.

Ah the smell of an expensive hotel – is there anything better?

It smells like quiet, romance, escape – and absolutely nothing last night’s curry or a certain somebody’s discarded gym gear.

Giving your bedroom its own signature scent is another way you can elevate its star rating.

Scented candles have the added bonus of providing ambient lighting, while diffusers and room sprays are also great options.

If you really want to up the pamper factor, find a beautiful pillow spray with a relaxing scent, and pop it on the bedside table, ready to give that gorgeous new pillow a spritz before you lay your head down for the night.

Swishing heavy hotel room curtains closed is like closing the door on the outside world, tucking you into your own private world within the hotel room.

You can recreate this feeling in your bedroom by installing ceiling-to-floor drapes to block out the light for better sleep, and keep the room quiet and warm.

Curtains that hang from ceiling height all the way to the floor will make your room seem bigger, and bring a bit of drama and class.

You may not have a magic carpet to whisk you away Aladdin-style for a luxury escape (even though you probably wish you did), but a good (non-magic) rug is almost as good.

Sinking your feet into those deep hotel carpets is part of the five-star experience, so the bedroom carpet is an important ingredient in creating a hotel room at home.

Obviously not everyone’s going to go so far as to lay new carpet in their bedroom to make it feel like a hotel room (let’s not get crazy), but sprucing up the carpet you have with a deep clean, or laying a luxe rug over your floorboards will go a long way to making your room feel like it’s worthy of five stars.

If you have the room, adding a chunky ottoman, couch or armchair will give your five-star bedroom an extra layer of luxury.

After all, you’ll need somewhere to recline while you sip your pre-dinner drinks or finally tuck into that book you’ve been meaning to read, right?

What self-respecting five-star hotel room isn’t packing an impressive mini-bar?

So, it stands to reason that your five-star bedroom should follow suit. 

Gather a few of your favourite bottled friends and some glasses, a shaker, and an ice bucket and set up a drinks tray.

Or, if you want to go all out, get yourself a bar cart and deck it out.

Have a poke around online for tips on how to style it up so it looks fancy and worthy of its place in your five-star room, tuck in a few edible treats, and you’re all set for a luxury staycation. 

Now that you’ve set the room up, the only thing left to do is to ship the kids off to the grandies, order some indulgent takeaway, and give that drinks cart a work out.

Enjoy your staycation!

If you’d like some help to hotelify your room, the FURNISHD. team are here to make it as easy as ordering room service.