T H E D E S I G N I S S U E
Use miniature amenities wisely
Temptation to take all the miniature amenities provided in the hotel bathroom is great: no one resists. They usually end up cluttering boxes in bathroom drawers. As for bars of soap, simply use them in the powder room. And take out a fresh one when friends come to dinner. For the shower gels and shower caps? Start by finding a second home for them in guest rooms. In my vacation home, I place a welcome kit: shower gel, shampoo, and any other product I have in stock, an antique glass with a couple of fresh flowers, 2 or 3 books and a lovely water pitcher. My friends feel as if they were staying in a hotel. And should the name of a hotel appear on a bottle, it becomes a conversation piece, "oh, you stayed at the Hotel Am Konzerthaus as well? We’re going to Vienna next month and we’re going to see Klimt at the Belvédère Palace" etc.
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Create your own curiosity cabinet. Like at the Hotel Rotary Genève At first, it seems like a challenge, but then once started what joy to make up your own imaginary museum. A shelf in a bookcase, a credenza, a chest of drawers are enough to try. Avoid trying to fill an entire bookcase to start with. Any object can find its place: a pebble found at the beach, an old lamp, a candle, a ceramic bowl, a silver cup with a fresh flower in it, a handcrafted object, one of the marvelous gifts that your child has made for you in school and you have kept hidden away to his or her dismay. I have a weakness for children’s drawings, especially done with charcoal on craft paper and chalk more than felt tip pens and standard typing paper. Variety is marvelous because it makes trivial objects precious and desacralizes the precious ones you don’t know what to do with. Anything goes. Mix periods and dimensions: avoid displaying tiny objects, and by creating contrasts, objects become curiosities, as they did in the 19 th century. Marin Montagut’s instagram ( @bonjourmarinmontagut ) can be a source of inspiration.
“VARIETY IS MARVELOUS BECAUSE IT MAKES TRIVIAL OBJECTS PRECIOUS.”
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