Making It in Commercial Interior Design: Boutique Hotels

One sign of success for an interior designer is the opportunity to design luxurious boutique hotels.

by Joe Cooper
Interior Design School Search Columnist

There are many ways to be successful in an interior design career. One of them is to design boutique hotels with unique character. The hotel industry is constantly searching for a new definition of luxury. For interior designers, this can mean great opportunities to exercise their creativity on a grand scale.

Hotel interior design is a huge industry, and represents one of the most exciting areas of commercial interior design. Both the high standards and challenging environment make hotel interior design a great career milestone for interior designers.

Boutique Hotel Design

Hotel interior design demands a high standard of luxury and good taste, and boutique hotels in particular have set new standards for luxury accommodations. Interior designer Candra Scott is currently working on a hotel design for a yet-unnamed boutique hotel in Sacramento, CA. As the primary designer for the new, 197-room hotel in Sacramento, Scott is working with a budget of $55 million.

Pleasing Some of the People Some of the Time

The process of hotel design also presents a unique challenge for the designer. Unlike residential interior design, which typically involves working with a single homeowner to create a custom design, hotel interior design is about working with a whole host of stakeholders. Hotel general managers, facilities managers, contractors, city planners, federal regulators, and others are involved with a hotel’s interior design. It can be a challenge to develop a design that makes everyone happy—as a result, successfully completing a hotel project is a real triumph for the interior designer.

Specializing in Commercial Interior Design

In interior design school, you can specialize in a specific area of the interior design industry. Some interior design school students specialize in residential interior design, while others choose commercial.

If you have your sights set on a hotel design career, it’s best to specialize in commercial interior design. An internship at a commercial design firm while attending interior design school can help put you in the best position to land a job designing boutique hotels.

Source(s)

Sacramento Bee

About the Author

Joe Cooper writes home services and design articles and edits medical literature. He holds a bachelor’s in American Literature from UCLA.

Posted on February 27, 2007 at 5:28 PM

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