Interior design is an ever evolving element of the hospitality business. From public areas to guest rooms, natural finishes remain a big influence on hotel interiors.
Chestnut wood finish for custom-built furniture in the guest rooms and meeting rooms, and walnut and smoked oak for partitions and panelling in reception areas, lobbies, restaurants and bars, are some of the popular trends, along with a huge demand for exotic timbers that have striking and unusual grains and colours.
Other finishes include stained and lacquered wood, with emphasis on mouldings that add a touch of ornamentation, as also natural and reconstituted wood veneers applicable in all areas of hotel interiors.
Flooring is one area where wood is finding increased application with the introduction of laminated flooring, offering realistic patterns of exotic hardwoods combined with low maintenance quality.
Furthermore, hoteliers are returning to the timeless beauty of real hardwood floors with wider planks and richer colours, the latest trend being hand-scraped hardwood flooring that adds an old-world appearance and rustic finish mainly popular in restaurants and bars.
The timeless classics include oak, cherry, pine, maple hickory, pecan, beech, birch, and walnut. Says Ramakant Mohapatra, branch manager, Mumbai region, Archidply: “Manufacturers are constantly trying to find new looks from wood, such as slicing or rotary cutting, that produces different patterns on the face of the wood. Colours too range from light beech to cinnamon, cherry, and caramels.”
There has also been a paradigm shift from treating carpets as a neutral background for room furnishings, to it emerging as the focal point in a room.
Says Menka Sehgal of Adlakha & Associates: “Carpets in the hotel sector are set to be bold and bright, which are great accents to white bed linen and also work well with light or dark wood; moreover, texture rather than pattern is an emerging trend.” Undoubtedly, the latest carpets now offer layered colour and more texture and pattern, adding interest to basic backgrounds such as subtle designs that emulate hard surface swirls, patterns and striations and contrast beautifully with smoother elements such as furniture surfaces, walls, and counters.
In terms of designs, while applied and woven patterns of leaves, trellises, or flowers, offer organic shapes that coordinate easily with patterns in other furnishings, the strong colours in multicoloured loops, cut loop surfaces and Berber styles as accents, add interest to the room in coordination with the patterns on furniture and window treatments.
In addition, area rugs are the latest addition in guest room decorating. Available in varying designs from the abstract to antiques, ultra shaggy flokatis to designer area rugs, they give space a personality, add warmth and comfort to a guest room and help unify any colour scheme.
This is more so when combined with wooden floors, for example, a heirloom quality oriental area rug atop a gleaming hardwood floor, or a handcrafted braided rug on timeworn pine planks. Natural fibres such as wool and silk are the preferred materials for rugs because of their preferential texture underfoot, insulating properties, warmth and customised attractive designs.
Integrating environment friendly products into hotel design is also reshaping the designing and layout of hotel areas. For instance, the latest modular carpet tiles have changed the way wall-to-wall carpets are installed in hotels. The carpet tile slabs can be removed individually during a spill-over or damage and can be replaced with minimal time and effort as well as wastage.
Explains Raj Menon, country manager, InterfaceFLOR India: “Our carpets are made with both the sides – the yarn and the back – of nylon fibre, that is recyclable, and can be refurbished and re-used. This technology helps in recycling waste yarn from discarded old carpets for producing flashy carpet tiles. Moreover, these tiles are fitted to the ground with ‘tackifier glue,’ an adhesive with low volatile organic compound (VOC) which reduces the contamination level.”
On the other hand, cork, rubber wood and bamboo, along with engineered or artificial woods, are eco friendly options. Bamboo flooring as well as door and window mouldings, parquet flooring strips, wall panels and stairway treads are available in number of colours and textures.
For instance, in The Park, Navi Mumbai, the guest room’s natural bamboo floors complement interiors based on classical natural palette, while at The Park Chennai, lobby area, the tall pieces of bamboo fringe the raised seating area, which sits at the bottom of a soaring atrium giving a stunning look.
Cork flooring too is offered in many colours in both planks and tiles and, like solid wood, can be finished and re-finished, stained, bleached, pickled, painted, etched, inlaid, and installed with a border in any pattern, resulting in an endless variety. As modern hotel interiors make a bold statement, the wood and carpet industry too is offering trendier options, resulting in designs that are unpretentious, yet revitalising.
Zeba
Zeba, a design-led manufacturer and retailer of coordinated textiles and handmade floor coverings, offers a range of hand tufted and flat weave kilims and dhurries catering to hospitality projects like the Taj Hotels, JW Marriott, Le Royal Meridien, The Park and the ITC Welcomgroup Hotels.
Says Krsna Mehta, design director, Zeba: “Fabrics and furnishings are essential to create a feeling of warmth and add stimulation in any given space. They need to be considered in totality with other elements of hotel design. As most contemporary hotels have minimalist designs or modern furniture, rich fabrics, carpets and area rugs, can add a sense of play in such interiors. What’s more, fabrics can be introduced to uplift an area not only in the form of carpeting or furnishing, but as a wall painting or art as well, as can be seen at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai.”
Adds RV Rao, executive housekeeper, Hotel Sahara Star: “While guest rooms have either basic beige wall-to-wall carpets or wooden flooring to highlight the furniture, the lobby and hallways present interesting wall panels. These use different tones of similar colour or combine yarns of different thickness and lustre that add quite a sensual feel to the area.”
Zeba
Contact: Sujata Amin
Tel: 022 24965861
Website: www.zebaworld.com
Shyam Ahuja
Shyam Ahuja has developed a line of rugs and carpets made of wool, cotton, linen and silk/viscose. Their design influence goes as far back as ancient Greek motifs and incorporates ideas from almost every era. Their flat woven area and rag rugs are also suitable for seaside resorts.
Says Ravi Mehra, marketing manager Shyam Ahuja: “There is a growing demand for customised natural material furnishings in hospitality such as wool, silk and cotton, as hotels are keen to adopt eco friendly options for the interiors. For example, our latest introduction – the South Beach Gold hand woven carpet – is an original 100% silk (viscose) pile carpet, suitable as area rug as well as wall-to-wall carpeting in any given hotel space, from guest room to public areas.” Some of the hotel clients for which the company has custom designed are ITC Maurya, The Park Kolkata, Hotel Leela Kempinski Goa, and Goa Marriott Resort, among others. Says Diya Basu, director public relations and communication, The Park Kolkata: “The custom designed wool rugs of a single dominant colour from the seven chakra colours contrast well with the elegant guest room décor in lacquered black, adding an individualistic ambience to each bedroom in keeping with the boutique style of the hotel.”
Shyam Ahuja
Contact: Ravi Mehra
Tel: 022 2492 6017
Fax: 022 2495 0502
Website: www.shyamahuja.com
Jagdish Stores
Jagdish Stores, a chain of furnishing stores in India, caters to leading five-star properties like Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, ITC WelcomGroup, Radisson Hotel and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts.
According to company sources: “Keeping in mind the exclusive tastes of reputed hoteliers and interior designers, we provide a wide range of furnishings in traditional, classic or contemporary styles, that amalgamate innovative designs, colours, textures and patterns from around the world to suit specific needs of hotel interiors. While carpet runners are a practical solution to cold corridors and hallways, adding warmth as well as sound-proofing, retro colours and patterns are the latest trend in hotels. Furthermore, traditional dhurries or kilims are in great demand in hotels nowadays as they can be used anywhere, in the guest room or for lobby seating; unlike a carpet which is knotted, a dhurrie is essentially woven and reversible.”
One of their popular products is the chenille dhurrie from Belgium that has a flatter look than carpets, with more intricate and refined designs to add a sophisticated look to the interiors. They can be used for decorative purposes as well. Moreover, they are easy to maintain and come with anti-slip backing for enhanced comfort and convenience.
Jagdish Stores
Contact: Nirmal Kanta
Tel: 011 42291100
Fax: 011 29844001
Website: www.jagdishstore.com
Pergo
Since wood equals warmth, more hoteliers are choosing engineered wood and laminated wood flooring that also gives the ability to customise the look of an area due to the distinctive grains and colour of various woods.
For instance, distressed floors present a more rustic appeal; exotic wood variety can create a distinctive bar and restaurant area; while a cherry or light coloured finish makes for homely guest rooms.
Says Nagaraj Shurpali, regional manager (west and south) Pergo India Pvt. Ltd: “Five-star hotels such as Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai as well as budget hotels, are using laminated wooden floors in their guest rooms as these are made of pressed, composite wood with a thin layer of veneer laid over the top, that can mimic almost any hardwood surface without the cost or the high maintenance issues. Besides, carpets can harbour dust mites; wood and resilient flooring options give the customer a more hygienic option.”
Adds Jaishree Sharma, executive housekeeper, Le Royal Merdien, Mumbai: “The entire hotel is designed along the lines of a 19th-century summer palace with a lively mélange of colonial era influences and modern amenities. Thus, to enhance the ambience of European elegance of guest rooms, the laminated wooden floors in dark tones help set off the room’s cream-and-beige soft furnishings and different hues of traditional wood furniture.”
Pergo
Contact: Nagraj Shurpali
Tel: 022 66627900
Website: www.pergo.com
Ventura International
Ventura offers a range of interior wood products; their latest offering includes Ventura Interart- premium architectural panels from Germany, Ventura Feblam- range of designer laminates from Italy, and ‘Lumiphos’ and ‘Metlam’ – metallic laminates from Germany and USA.
Says Tarun Saini, promotions manager, all India, Ventura International Pvt. Ltd: “The Interart and Feblam panels are being used in the hospitality industry for application in wall panelling, wardrobe shutters, doors and furniture, while Metlam, a real metal surface laminate, is a popular choice in restaurants, bars and lobby areas applied on vertical surfaces. This specialised laminate offers brushed, polished, matt, coloured, embossed and print patterns in aluminium, copper, steel and brass, that add glamour to the interiors. Some of our major hospitality clients include Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, Hotel Radisson Delhi, Hotel Ramada, Gurgaon, and Leela Kempinski Gurgaon, where the hotel has used Ventura Metlam Premium Metallic Laminates and Duro’s Nature Signature Premium Veneers and Plywoods in the interiors.”
According to company sources, one of their most popular products in the hospitality industry is the imported wood veneer from Duro, ‘Nature’s Signature’, that offers distinct effects, from fancy burls and figured woods to pommel grains.
Ventura International Pvt. Ltd Contact: Tarun Saini
Tel: 011 45536715
Fax: 011 4175 5165
Website: www.venturaindia.com
