What is it about a hotel that makes one feel all posh? Is it the 750 thread count sheets or the opulent bathrooms, the view of the lush, landscaped gardens or the soft mattress with all those different types of cushions, one wonders. We all have our reasons to love the hotel we prefer and pick. This week we get you an inside view of one of the luxurious suites at the Taj Lake Palace Hotel and take some inspiration from all its splendour to bring home ideas for a romantic decor. Located amidst the lake Pichola in Udaipur, this hotel has all that can make you fall in love with it. Located, as it seems, on a small private island, it has a warmth of its own and a grandeur par excellence. The property has 83 rooms and we get you in on one of the suites with a lake facing window to decode its interior to derive some motivation to get a bit of the snazzy hotel room glam into our homes as well.
To describe the view as you enter suite, you can’t but notice the beautiful hues of light blue and pink plastered on the wall with beige being the base colour. As per the architecture of the palace and Udaipur being the location, Rajput paintings and thikri work abounds and the suite’s walls feature little flower motifs and dull gold border running around the painted panels – intricate and elegant.
Tip: Contrary to the normal belief that a bright shade of white is perfect for just any room it must be noted that if a room does not get ample direct sunlight, it’s better to choose a hue that’s not too bright lest the bright white looks too gaudy. Instead you can go for colours, but choose those you can live with or tap into the trend, or get an interesting wallpaper. The jharokas, in the suite above, can easily be replaced with an interesting painting on the wall behind the bed, adding a lot of personality and colour to the room.
Rajasthan is also famous for its camel bone inlay work and the study furniture is a beautiful example of great local artisanal work. Not to miss the matching bin, the little calendar and the vintage table lamp, all of which along with the Venetian mirror and some fresh local buds, fit in like a dream.
Tip: Having a statement piece in a room makes it a lot more interesting than just all teak wood around. If you are skeptical about having a room like a potpourri bowl, then you can take a leaf out the Lake Palace book and keep the basic polish of the wood in same colour but change the style of the furniture. Also, remember that a small vase with some local flowers is always a good idea to freshen up your table décor and an interesting mirror makes the room look bigger.
We all have one corner which is ours to curl into, a cosy place where you can just lie down and read for hours or just take an afternoon nap. In the Lake Palace suite, this alcove with a window opening onto the lake was that place for me. I felt, the blinds, rather than flowing curtains and the big window panes with the views of water outside, transported me to Venice for a moment. And the big bolster to prop up against with a book was all one would need to live here happily ever after.
Tip: Alcoves are cosy extensions which become the me space everyone wants to have but, looking at constricted spaces in the city, very few get to make one. But then, setting up a corner of your own, in a room in your house or even in a shaded balcony, can be done. You just need a nice thick mattress made according to the size of the nook/corner, throw on some big cushions, flank it with a rug and you are done. You can also set a tiny table on the side for those books you’ve been eyeing at.
The lounge chair, by the side of the window in the suite, was just divine and my spot for an afternoon nap. Tilting it a bit towards the window to look out, I could even count the boats and see the tourists milling around, while in the night, the other side of the lake was all lit up, making it look magical.
Tip: Don’t have much space to make set up a lounger by the window? Fret not as you can try getting a comfort chair, a lazy boy or a high-backed statement chair to put in a corner, or against a free wall, in the room with some lighting to go with, and this can very well be your niche to sink in, read, work or just snooze.
The solid, old world bed in the suite came with a simpler side table, but what made it handy was the plug point in it. The cute minimalistic brass knob looked just perfect on the dark teak side table which had enough space to put essentials in.
Tip: Side tables are so much more than countertops for a book or a glass of water. With a little help from your local electrician, you can easily get it some plug points embedded on its side or at the back of it so that gadgets don’t take up all the space and there’s still some for your jar of night-cream, or even a little figurine. And this is a much needed addition which just takes a little planning.
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