Each year the Independent Hotel Show partners with a range of innovative design studios to elevate the look and feel of the event, bring its stages and features to life and give designers the opportunity to 'show not tell' when it comes to promoting their brand at the show. 

We caught up with Luke Edwards of Luke Edwards Interior Design who will be bringing the event's Sales Lounge area to life. A space for the event organisers and hotel suppliers to do business, the Sales Lounge is a spaces that needs to be comfortable, functional and reflecting the theme for this year's edition of the show: 'Beyond the hustle and bustle'. 

Luke explains more:

Tell us about your design for the Sales Lounge at the Independent Hotel Show this year?

It could simply be boiled down to a few words, flexibility, sustainability, nature, peaceful, and luxurious comfort - but they don’t do justice to the deeper context.

I wanted the Sales Lounge space to ultimately be multi functional and more than just a space at the event for conducting meetings. I wanted it to have the feeling that it could easily be the interior of a hotel lobby but with the flexibility of 3 spaces; being able to hold private meetings, have more open small group work areas, and also providing a luxuriously comfortable space to relax.

These 3 areas are subtly defined by the wallcoverings really, but the way they’re executed makes the space still feel open and connected. It’s better if people see it for themselves, but for example the beautiful wood slat panels by WoodUp (on the left hand side of the wall) and the luxurious biophilic framed velvet leaf (on the right hand side of the wall) by Greenmood are seamlessly tied together by the central arch featuring our own ‘BLOK - Forest’ wallpaper.

Everything about these 3 products fit the design narrative perfectly, and the idea of the central arch (for the wallpaper) is that the curved arch shape will help guide people’s eyes across the entire space end-to-end when approaching the space from either direction, and elegantly tie the entire space together. One of the objectives was to be as sustainable as possible too with the furniture choices etc, and I’ve attached the caveat on to that of taking the colours and materials of nature as reference and inspiration. So every piece of furniture has been carefully sourced and selected because they contain these qualities, plus more that were determined when building up the characteristics of the design narrative through my design process.

What inspired the design?

Well, I started this design like any other, and ran it through what I’ve now termed our ‘golden triangle approach’. This includes taking what’s required from ‘The Brief’, and then incorporating elements from the design philosophies and principles of ‘Method Design’ and ‘Neuro Design’.

In this instance I wanted the space to still do it’s job in terms of how it relates to being a space within an exhibition environment and enhancing that experience, whilst still presenting it as an actual space you could find within a hotel. The theme I was given for the design was ‘Beyond the Bustle’.

From looking at the meaning of each of the words ‘Beyond’ and ‘Bustle’ separately, I began to develop associations with what ‘Beyond The Bustle’ is and how that can translate into the design ideology for this space. Which resulted in the following associations: Calm, Serenity, Quiet, Tranquility, Peaceful, Relaxation, Away From Crowds, Nature.

On top of this was then developing characteristics of what the space needed to include in response to all 3 parts of the ‘golden triangle approach’. The results of this included things like: Luxurious Comfort, Sustainability, Biophilia, Zoning Spaces, Acoustics, Colour Associations & Psychology, Roundness, Wood, Mixture Of Textures, Pattern/Shape, and there were about a dozen or so more.

Most of the design concept then just began to fall into place, which people will be able to see for themselves if they visit the space.

How does the design relate to the show's theme of going beyond the hustle and bustle?

Like a comfortably inviting hotel lobby, the sales lounge space will stand as a natural oasis of calmer and quieter surroundings (thanks to acoustical plants, cork planters, and various cork and moss screens supplied by Greenmood), providing respite and a slower paced escape ‘Beyond The Bustle’ as you cross the threshold, away from the noise and activity of the crowds.

With it’s luxurious comfort, and inspired by nature's own rejuvenating colour palette of rich earthy tones and shades of green, this space visually, physically, and psychologically catches the attention from the outside, inviting you to relax in the beautiful harmonious surroundings within.

The careful curation of sustainable materials and thoughtful design elements (such as the lighting by Good & Mojo in one part, and R&S Robertson in another, as well as various coffee and side tables made of materials such as cork, tree trunk, and welsh mountain wool with ash wood, all supplied by Greenmood, Wood Connexions, and Solid Wool respectively) elegantly touch on and refer back to the natural environment, while simultaneously cultivating an atmosphere of peaceful understated luxury.

Whether seeking a short break to recharge and explore the wonderful diverse array of sustainable products on show, or whether sinking into the comfortable lounge seating (by Hill Cross Furniture and RV Astley) to have larger group meetings and talk business matters in private before venturing back out onto the exhibition floor, this multifunctional space is designed to make people feel utterly at home, allowing them to think clearly whilst being inspired by the richness, yet soothing feeling, of their interior surroundings.

What sort of work does Luke Edwards Interior Design do with hospitality businesses?

We’ve worked mainly on other hospitality interiors in the past like restaurants, cafes, and bars. We provide interior design services mainly, although we’ve began to delve into products too over recent years with the introduction of our own wallpapers and rugs.

Why are you eager to meet with independent hotels?

We’ve designed other hospitality interiors before such as restaurants, cafes, and bars, so having the chance to finally work with independent hotels and designing interiors for them would be a great next step. Hopefully everyone will get a glimpse of what we can offer with what we’ve done with taking on the challenge of designing the Sales Lounge space.

I believe our design approach can really help independent hotels improve everything: their brand, their interiors, the experience for their customers (and staff), and ultimately their entire business. Even if there are independent hotels just looking for quick and easy solutions to enhance their interior spaces we can also help them with our uniquely designed wallpapers and rugs too.

We’ve got one of our own wallpapers on show within the sales lounge space we’ve designed for the exhibition called ‘Forest’ from the ‘BLOK’ wallpaper collection, so if anyone likes what they see they’ll be able to order some from the QR code on the wallpaper, as well as check out the rest of our wallpapers (and rugs) we have to offer by visiting our website.

What trends are popular in the world of hospitality design this year?

This may be the first time you’ve had this kind of answer, but I’ve got to stay true to my beliefs, so honestly, I’m not interested in design tends, and I’ll tell you why:

• Following the latest ‘design trends’ may not necessarily be what’s best for whatever that particular interior is and what that company/brand is trying to achieve. Our design approach is a much more efficient way to design interiors and provide tailored solutions.
• Design trends are too short term anyway. Take the yearly ‘colour trends’ for example, that particular colour might not work within the interior being designed, and even if it did it would need constantly changing to keep up with the next trend. I believe interiors should be designed in a way which still makes them look & feel fresh and up to date several years down the line.
• The easy answer most people would reply with is technology and sustainability, but for me technology is (and always has been) something forever changing and ‘trendy’ anyway. And sustainability is so common now in products and things that it’s just become a standard feature to include in designs - which is a great thing, just not really a trend as such anymore.