How to Create a Residential Feel in Hotel Design in 2024

With cross-sector expertise as international art consultants, Artelier specialises in curating art for luxury hotels which meets the standards of a discerning luxury clientele. As well as sourcing contemporary art by leading global artists, Artelier also collaborates with artists to create custom art commissions tailored to the project. In this article, Artelier's curators discuss how our insight into the exclusive world of private residential art curation informs our approach to hotel art consultancy.

How Art creates a 'Residential Feel' in Hotels

A personal art collection is at the heart of a residential interior – each thoughtfully selected piece speaks to the owner's interests, travels, and tastes. When curating contemporary art for residences, whether for a private client or a development, it is essential to create the sense of an identity for the collection. To achieve this, the art must be go far beyond formulaic and predictable options, and instead have true personality.

Hotels are now moving in this direction: dull, corporate collections are moving aside, and engaging artworks that tell a narrative are taking centre stage. Much like a residential art collection, the themes that hotel artworks explore should have a strong connection to their context, and reflect varied creative inspirations.

The artworks that discerning collectors choose for their homes are a useful indication for the possibilities of hotel art. Residences have original art or limited edition prints: hotels likewise can transcend the limits of mass-manufactured and off-the-shelf art, and benefit from the impact that original artworks have. Art that is bold and adventurous will not look dated with time, and instead remain dynamic enough to be compelling for years to come.

A Rare Insight into Exclusive Contexts

Being immersed in cross-sector projects has given Artelier's curators a unique insight into meeting the standards of a luxury clientele. Initially established as an art advisory for private clients, over half of our projects involve consulting directly with private clients and their team to deliver bespoke art in their residences, yachts, and private jets. Likewise, through collaborating with luxury designers and developers, our curators have been privy to every stage of the design process behind the world’s most exclusive contexts.

In order to protect the confidentiality and privacy of high-end clients, projects of this nature are always wrapped up with non-disclosure agreements; therefore, images and awareness of these elusive projects never surface, and remain tight-lipped amongst a closed community.

Having established a trusted reputation within this sector and elite community, Artelier’s professional experience of working directly on these projects gives them an exceedingly rare insight into the artistic standards and tastes of the high net worth client.

This gives Artelier's curators an intimate understanding of what it takes to bring the best to luxury travellers.

This expertise is valuable for hotel clients, who appreciate the first-hand experience of working in the world of residential art. When approaching hotel projects, it's essential to go through the same in-depth process as with residential art: dig deep into authentic research, and develop art options that form a nuanced response to themes. All artworks represent originality, and avoid mass-production. In residences, this approach allows a collection to stay ahead of the curve of current trends, and stay exciting – for hotels, this is an invaluable asset.

Meeting the Expectations of Elite Travellers

When travelling the world in pursuit of new experiences or as part of a sophisticated business trip, what does the high-end traveller look for in a luxury hotel? How could a hotel lobby or presidential suite be given an added edge, so that it exceeds the expectations of the discerning traveller who is accustomed to the highest standards of worldwide luxury?

When not travelling, these guests are now accustomed to purchasing stunning residential properties, together with a custom art collection that has been specially commissioned for the property. In comparison, art in the hotel sector may veer into leaving an unremarkable impression – it can be tasteful and pleasing, but altogether unsurprising, as it blends into an invisible layer of the interior design scheme. They key to an art collection that doesn't feel lacklustre is to take onboard the principles of residential art collections.

Artelier's curators explore the ideas for how the private residential world can inform hotel design and art curation – a concept that has previously remained ever-elusive, and behind closed doors. The typical hotel art consultant has had limited or often no involvement with the residences, private yachts and aircraft of this clientele. However, with the two worlds closer than ever before, the need to understand the expectations of the elite hotel guest has rarely been greater.

1. Merging Worlds of Hospitality & Private Residential

Recently, the distinctions between hospitality and high-end residential have become increasingly blurred. London developments like the Mayfair Park Residences and 20 Grosvenor Square are examples of a new generation of super-prime private residences. They have not only been designed by the most revered interior designers with no expense spared, but also provide for a lifestyle where the property is fully managed and serviced by 5* hotels. The two worlds have seamlessly merged, whereby the private overseas home transcends into a permanent and completely exclusive presidential suite.

Within hotels, a residential feel for interiors is leading the way. Timeless elegance and elevated interior design is being blended with the concept of creating easy, truly liveable spaces. This offers guests a premium level of comfort, and encourages them to form a connection with the hotel and return time and again. An art collection that is worthy of a collector encourages this feeling of being 'at home', whilst also elevating the design.

2. Dismantling the Typical Luxury Aesthetic

It goes without saying that anything that is easily found, ubiquitous and characteristically similar to its counterparts will fall not even close to the aesthetic criteria of a sophisticated and discerning client. The boom in internet art databases, online mood boards and interiors trends has provided a ready-made database where many art consultants simply browse for inspiration, often following trends and popular themes which leads them into a generic pool of luxury aesthetic. For Artelier to meet the expectations of its clients, it is vital for to avoid this type of research in order to create collections which present true originality of ideas, and innovative use of materials.

A guiding principle of our research methods is to discover artists organically, from the ground up – they seek to become embedded into international artist communities, and build a strong repertoire of associated artists through in-depth research and networking. This is the level of research that is required to curate a collection that feels original and never seen before, and resembles the quality of a private collection found in residences.

Artelier’s database of 15,000 artists is a culmination of 20 years of research and art market expertise. With a trained eye, it is possible to maintain the highest standards by looking for artistic integrity and quality of craftsmanship, rather than being driven by popular trends. Drawing on these artists, they can then respond to any theme that the client is interested in with high-quality artworks created by professional artists. Since they do not rely on generic online searches for their research, it is possible to bypass the trappings of the “typical” luxury aesthetic, and present dynamic art collections that are ahead of the curve.

3. Rarity is Key

The rarity of an artwork is a fundamental consideration for the luxury market – an artist's work should be sought after, yet have an element of exclusivity. Artists who produce a limited number of artworks for selected projects offer this kind of exclusivity, since they invest time and craftsmanship into their work.

The client understands the value of high-quality pieces created specially for them, enjoying the knowledge that few others will have comparable artworks in their spaces. Commissioning your own bespoke art is an ultimate mark of rarity, as it allows the client to own an artwork unique to them. Nurturing artistic talent through commissions is often deeply important to private clients, as the most exclusive clientele seek something that is not available elsewhere.

While this has been a key approach for residential art for some time, an entirely bespoke collection is less common in hotels, and is often the key to creating a unique and memorable impression on guests. A sense of luxury often comes from ultimate customisation, as hotels therefore receive art that is tailored to their context. A key part of Artelier’s role is therefore collaborating with artists to explore concepts and to develop new artworks that are wholly customised to the hotel client, and true to the vision of the project.

Artelier's expertise in curating art for private collectors as well as for designers and developers gives a unique insight into how cross-sector trends can inform each other. As specialists in developing a collection from initial research to final installation allows our curators to develop nuanced narratives and themes, which give an art collection true personality. Discover more about our process and services by visiting our Art Consultancy homepage.