'Durable look and feel thanks to earthy colours'

Project furnisher creates timeless look hotels

Choosing the right materials and colours contributes greatly to the appearance of a hotel interior. As a leading project designer, Homint knows this like no other. At Landgoed Zonheuvel in Doorn and the Park Plaza Hotel in Eindhoven, for example, Homint's creative concepts gave the guest experience a completely new impulse.

Hotel interiors are particularly time-sensitive. What was hip and trending ten years ago is now long outdated. For Landgoed Zonheuvel in Doorn, located in the heart of National Park Utrechtse Heuvelrug, this prompted the company to modernise bit by bit in recent years. "Previously, Homint has redecorated our restaurant, a conference room and the outdoor terraces, among others, and now it is the turn of the reception and lobby," says the estate's general manager Kim Staal. "As such, this project designer has made a significant mark in modernising our interior in recent years. Previously, our interior - with a lot of black and white - was actually out of date. The use of earthy colours and sustainable, natural materials in the furniture - so no more plastic, but a lot of wood and fabric - has given our interior a completely different look and feel."

Sustainability

"A good example of this is our restaurant: where you used to feel like you were stepping into a company canteen, so to speak, this space has now become much cosier and has acquired a timeless look thanks to the use of different materials. This natural look, with its many green and brown tones, also fits in perfectly with the idea of sustainability that we hold dear. For instance, Landgoed Zonheuvel is a proud holder of the Golden Key Hallmark, the sustainability hallmark for the Dutch tourism and recreation industry."

Ensuring continuity

A key concern when redeveloping hotels is to minimise inconvenience to guests. According to Homint commercial manager Matthijs Snikkenburg, this is also the reason why hotel modernisation is always done in stages. "Of course, it is essential that the continuity of business operations is always guaranteed. Thus, we have also been continuously modernising the hotel in stages at Landgoed Zonheuvel in recent years." Staal can agree: "For example, if the restaurant furniture is changed during the day, as a hotel you would like to be able to receive guests for dinner in the evening. We have always been able to reach very good agreements with Homint on such matters." 

Emergency stock

Another company where Homint succeeded in creating a unique experience is the Park Plaza Hotel in Eindhoven. "Here, the assignment was to develop a new concept for the bar, lobby, restaurant and hotel rooms," says Snikkenburg. "And here, too, stylish and timeless design was paramount. In our own design studio - Studio Homint - at our headquarters in Emmeloord, the furnishing concepts come to life. In this case, we allowed the look of the public areas to return to the hotel rooms as well, by working with the same materials and colours. The complete concept can be seen in the smallest details throughout the hotel. This involved choosing large armchairs, beautiful custom-made sofas for the lobby and bar and comfortable seating areas for guests." 

From its central warehouse in Emmeloord, Homint delivers an extensive range of furniture directly from stock. "The warehouse has space for around eighteen thousand pallets. This has the great advantage that we always have a contingency stock for our customers and they are never faced with unpleasant surprises," says Snikkenburg. "If, for example, furniture is broken or needs to be replaced quickly, we can usually help a customer out quickly."