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By Lisa Kadane

What happened to the curtain-inspired bedspreads I remember from the motel rooms of my youth? When did hotel rooms -- those cramped utilitarian spaces with cheesy art, worn carpets and stained bathtubs -- become trendsetters in interior design? 

The last three rooms I've stayed overnight in have been nicer than my bedroom at home. Softer pillows. Snugglier duvets. Higher thread-count sheets. And that's just the bed. 

The ultrasuede upholstered furniture is nicer, too. So are the curtains and lamps. The final insult? No more garage-sale paintings -- the art on the walls is downright classy. 

The good news is I'm not the only Calgarian afflicted with hotel-room envy. So in demand is the boutique-chic look, it's rapidly crossed over from hotel to home. A case in point: "boutique hotel" is the theme of this year's Designer Showcase house (see story at right). 

Other examples abound. Calgary interior designer Douglas Cridland tells of clients who have said, "I stayed at the W in San Francisco and I really liked the towel warmer or the flat-screen TV." So he'll take some of those elements and incorporate them into residential bedrooms. 

"The boutique hotels have become very clever in that they're condensing a lot of stuff in a small space," Cridland says. 

"They're using good contemporary design." 

Think low-profile furniture, dark-stained wood, textured throw pillows in trendy tones and that ubiquitous end-of-the-bed leather ottoman. 

To see the look in practice in Calgary, check in to Hotel Arts, the city's newest boutique hotel. The rooms are a study in uses for ultrasuede and shades of brown. The luxe material covers much of the furniture and some of the duvets, while the colour imbues everything from the mocha-hued sofas to the chocolate throw blankets to the leather and espresso-stained wood headboards. 

Even the hotel's lobby feels like your rich friend's funky lounge. Its olive-coloured, button-tufted chaise lounges, lime-green throw pillows, futuristic pod seats and faux zebra-wood stools would likely inspire mod-mad Austin Powers. 

Or, pick up a book to check out interpretations of the boutique look in other parts of the world. India Chic, the latest armchair-hotel book from theworldsbesthotels.com, follows on the success of Australia Chic, Bali Chic, Mexico Chic and South Africa Chic. It illustrates exquisitely appointed, make-you-want-to-call-your-travel-agent rooms from India's finest accommodations. 

For closer-to-home inspiration, The Hotel Book: Great Escapes North America showcases interiors of hotels across the continent. Both books write the story that there's no place like a hotel away from home. And since more Canadians are travelling, our first-hand exposure to hotels is increasing. 

Some of Cridland's clients wonder, "Here I am in a hotel and why am I not living this way?" It's no surprise once they return home the desire to recreate the look and feel of such rooms, inside their own abodes, takes hold. 

Like a petri dish growing something new for science, "Hotels do tend to be the laboratory," for design trends, says Lucille Fares, a Vancouver-based interior designer with LMF International. 

Of course, it wasn't always thus. "Twenty years ago, in hotels, you (essentially) woke up in the same place," she says. The rooms, from one brand of hotel to the next, were virtually alike. 

To differentiate themselves, luxury hotels embarked on room refurbishments to elevate the standard, says Fares, who recently finished applying that luxury look to the 25 deluxe homes that form Whittakers, a luxury community on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast. 

(Upscale hotels are still in a one-upmanship contest: the Fairmont Newport Beach just completed a $32-million makeover, adding Bose stereo systems, pillow-top mattresses, Egyptian cotton sheets and 32-inch flat-panel HDTVs to its guestrooms.) 

Boutique hotels such as the Kensington Riverside Inn in Calgary emerged in the 1990s. They carved their own niche in the hospitality industry by offering more personalized service and the trademark cosy but contemporary rooms, says Calgary interior designer Jerry Chong. 

A new style was born. 

Although Chong agrees a well-travelled populace craves the same catering at home as it receives on the road, he says there's more to the trend of "boutiquing" the home. 

"It's the other version of nesting," says Chong, who designed one of the boutique hotel-inspired guest rooms inside this year's Designer Showcase home. 

People still gather items for the home, but they're being more selective about what they choose. "They're looking for things that will endure over time, that have a quiet elegance." 

Boutique and luxury hotel rooms provide inspiration because they're built for longevity, designed to resist wear. That sexy modern look, with its luxurious fabrics, smart colours and clean-lined furnishings, is accessible and enduring. 

So just where does boutique chic sit on the design style spectrum? 

"It's the new classic," Chong says. 

lkadane@theherald.canwest.com 

Get the Look: 

Calgary interior designer Jerry Chong and Vancouver-based consultant Lucille Fares say these elements are key to attaining boutique chic inside the domicile. 

- Colour: Use warm, inviting colours such as chocolate brown, mustard or even hits of red. 

- Products: Choose quality furniture and bedding (a good mattress and high thread-count sheets) that will endure years of use. Clean lines and strong shapes will stand the test of trends. 

- Lighting: Ugly lighting stands out and illuminates a room's other flaws. Pick nice fixtures and don't forget the dimmer. 

- Gizmos: No boutique hotel room is complete without the wall-mounted flat-screen TV. Other gadgets to consider are the bedside iPod and an Internet portal for late-night surfing on the laptop. 

- Size matters: Large master bedrooms mean more room for relaxation. "It's not, you walk in and all you see is a bed," Chong says. "You have a sitting room and sometimes even a wet bar."
 

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