Designing a room of 18 square meters for a 4-star superior hotel. It was a challenge. Not only for us as designers, but also for Hotel Stiemerheide. During the Covid-19 crisis, they were rebuilding their hotel, starting with a mockup room.

“How are you going to achieve that 4-star superior rating?”

Before we started our design, we were challenged by our client. Newsflash: it is not easy to comply with all the rules within 18 square meters. So we did what we always do, we questioned everything. Everything, as in everything the client expected of us, but also the classification standards of the Flemish tourism organization. Because…

What if we offer all the comfort and facilities of a 4-star superior while coloring outside the lines just a little bit here and there?

Because life happens outside the lines. And a strong interior design does too.

First, the hotel needed a rebranding. The logo and the graphics are inspired by the environment of the hotel. Literally. Our graphic designer went into the woods to collect twigs, leaves, berries, etcetera. He used these objects from nature and experimented with them by making scans and stamps and turning those into a collage.

This experiment resulted in beautifully developed prints that were used for the carpet and the headboard of the bed. The new logo and the color palette of the rebranding also refer to the calm nature that surrounds the hotel. Stiemerheide is a classic example of how graphic design can contribute greatly to the authenticity of a hotel room.

Next, the design of the hotel rooms. You have to meet many criteria to acquire a 4-star superior hotel ranking. And it is not easy to fit all of these criteria into a total surface area of 18 square meters. We had to be creative with the available space. The idea was to combine some functionalities. The bed- and bathroom for example are basically one element. A cleverly designed bathroom cabinet and some custom made panels enable guests to determine their own space and privacy. You can either close all panels to seclude yourself in the bathroom or you can open them to basically take a shower in your bedroom. Through using these panels, we have bend the 4-star criteria in a smart way.

As you can see, it is better to question things than to simply copy/paste them. Because why install a towel radiator in a room in which bed- and bathroom are intertwined, a room that has an excellent climate comfort system? A towel radiator seemed redundant to us and definitely not sustainable.

Comfort over rules, that goes for the office as well. It would normally need to have a surface area of half a square meter. We offer you every comfort, but in a smaller space. No need to drag out your entire desktop computer on your business trip, a laptop will suffice.

Contrast baby! Light colors in the bedroom versus dark colors in the bathroom. A nice play of colors and light in the room. Also, have you seen the mirror perpendicular to the small window in the room? From the bed you can look in the mirror and enjoy a view of whatever is happening outside. A wonderful detail if you ask us.

Not only did we design some beautiful pictures, we also invented some new products which we produced ourselves. And that is, almost, rocket science.

All the lighting was custom designed. Some highlights:

By the headboard there is a modular night lamp table. A piece of furniture with a special design, because it makes the room modular. The room serves as both a double room and a twin room. When moving the beds apart, both the table and the lamp turn along with them. A big advantage for our client, since it enables them to easily create different setups.

Another showpiece is the lamp by the mirror. If you have a close look, you’ll see some beautiful details: the new logo we designed for Stiemerheide and the moiré effect. The lamp has two disks with a perforation which allows guests to adapt the light intensity to their preferences.