There’s something so appealing about a hotel room. You don’t have to clean up after yourself, everything is crisp (hopefully) and coffee comes free (usually). And most importantly, it represents travel—being in a foreign place and on vacation—unless you’re on the go for business. But even then, the hotel means the end of the day and getting away from your coworkers.
Unfortunately, most of us can’t live in a hotel room. But you can make it feel like you’re living in one by tweaking a few things in your own home.
Maggie Parker is Paste Magazine’s assistant travel editor.
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Get a Bathrobe
The best hotels have bathrobes for their guests. And nothing is better than slipping on a robe post-shower and falling into a freshly made bed. For some reason, bathrobes have become synonymous with a great hotel stay. But it doesn't have to be that way. Get your own fluffy robe so you don't have rush to put on clothes or uncomfortably drip in a towel. If there's something extra special to you about hotel robes in particular—we get it—and you're not feeling the whole thief-thing, you'll be pleased to learn that many hotels, like the Westin, sell their robes. Their Heavenly robe , sold in Westin's online shop, feels just like their sheets, so you can enrobe yourself in that smooth softness at home.
Photo courtesy of Westin Hotels & Resorts
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Slip into Slippers
Slippers and robes go hand in hand. Why walk around barefoot when you can float on air? Treat your feet with these scuffs from Dearfoams. They feature memory foam in the sole and top of the shoe, so your foot will be cozily wrapped, just like they are in hotels.
Photo by FotoEmotions, CC0
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Install Blackout Curtains
Hotel naps are quite possibly the best type of snooze for one reason: the ability to turn day into night with a simple swoosh (or click of a button, depending on how high-tech the hotel is). The curtains are almost always super thick, allowing for complete privacy and darkness whenever you need some sleep. Luckily, it's not that hard to recreate thanks to blackout curtains sold everywhere. Hook them up to a remote, if you're really fancy (don't ask us how, though) for an even more authentic hotel-at-home setup.
Photo by dantex1, CC0
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Get Ahead … board
The traditionally ornate and clunky bed accessory is making a comeback with a sleek twist, especially in hotels, which turn to headboards for modern touches. If you want a seriously hotel-looking headboard, look for further than Vänt panels , which may not be as easy to install as the old-fashioned standing headboard, but are a clean and posh bedroom accessory. They snap onto the wall in pieces and come together to create a hotel-worthy bed backdrop.
Photo courtesy of VANT Panels
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Make Coffee Table Books
You might not have noticed the huge magazines or coffee table books in hotels, not many people read them, but they definitely add to the aesthetic. Give your own guests something to look at with some hefty coffee table books. Better yet, create your own with a company like Artifact Uprising . Choose which photos you want to feature, format them how you'd like, and Artifact Uprising will send you a beautiful hardcover book of your travels, so that you can always keep your favorite destinations within reach. They even have super easy to create Instagram-friendly options.
Photo by karriezhu, CC0
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DIY Coffee
A hotel is incomplete without a coffee machine (take note, hotel owners without them). And it actually benefits the hotel to supply the caffeine in room— no front desk rep should have to deal with you pre-caffeine. Make like a proper hotel and stock the good stuff so you don't have to leave the house without being caffeinated.
Photo by davidlee770924, CC0
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Stock up on Pillows
Hotels are notorious for over-pillowing. And while it's kind of annoying when it's time for bed, having too many pillows is a good problem to have. Turn your bed into a hotel bed by layering on the fluff—and exhibit your personality with the best throw pillows you can find, like this personally accurate one that says, "Nap Queen."
Photo by manbob86, CC0
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Brighten Your Book
Hotels really want you to read—for some reason—which is why many now install reading lights in the headboards, or right above the bedside table. Create the same book-friendly atmosphere at home by installing your own above-bed reading lamps. Or, just keep one of the clip-on ones handy.
Photo by sasint, CC0
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Invest in a Desk
All hotel rooms have desks. Period. Many of them have never been used. But they are still there, and still installed in new hotels. If you have the space, outfit your bedroom with a great desk. You may never use it but knowing a tabletop is nearby will create that same reassurance all hotels have.
Photo by Unsplash, CC0
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Make Your Bed
We don't mean to sound like your mom, but making your bed every day really is a very easy way to bring home one of travel's greatest pleasures (besides everything that happens outside the hotel) without shelling out cash for your own personal housekeeper. Of course that would be ideal. But a crisp bed made by you is the next best thing. It might eat into your morning routine, but you'll thank us later when you come home from a long day of work and a neat bed is staring up at you.
Photo by englishjournalists, CC0