Adopt a Room -- Historic Calumet Inn

Calumet:

        a long-stemmed, ornamented tobacco pipe used by North American Indians on ceremonial occasions, especially in token of peace.

Pipestone, Minnesota.

Rich historic legacy as a transportation and quarrying center. Known architecture for the Sioux quartzite and catlinite. Their high level of craftsmanship, sense of beauty and ability to construct buildings of lasting quality are part of Pipestone's tradition.

So here is a look into the room I did for the Historic Calumet Inn in Pipestone, MN in case some missed it or some are curious on this process.

So the back story...
    My husband and I went on our DisneyMoon in November/December and when we came back we decided to take on the 'Adopt a Room' offer from the Calumet, which some had already suggested I did after they had hear about it going on. So we picked a room and decided that in February, for a whole week, we would take on the project. Room 307 was going to be our task, it was a kitchenette room that over looked historic main street of Pipestone. As most people know I am a huge person on restoring history and making it usable again. So this was exciting to me! I was given a small budget from the hotel to redo the room. I quickly learned that my education didn't steer far from my memory, I started researching the typology, taking photos from the area and picking colors using Photoshop, looking at color psychology, and researching hospitality, do not want to forget to mention visiting the Pipestone Museum!

Here was my initial notes from the first time observing the space:

• Kitchenette: The kitchenette is outdated and looks very run down. There is little work space and the microwave being on the drying space next to sink creates a huge electrical hazard. There are no dinnerware in the cabinets so the cabinets are ultimately wasted space. Removing the top cabinets and creating a long shelf with open up an open storage feel and also create a usable space for the microwave. To the east of the kitchenette is a small nook. This space is looking at being utilized for an open shelving system or a small table area. Will be decided upon measurements. 
• Bed: As of now there is a large, chunky antique wooden bed frame/headboard. Upon arrival noticeably dusty and in general, becomes a dust collector and becomes extra work for housekeeping.  Also has a quilted bedspread. Looking at changing the headboard into a metal accent piece or a tufted headboard for attractiveness and accent piece. This will also solve the heaviness in the room of the piece and easy to clean. For the bed spread change to a white, crisp duvet linen as this is the first piece people look at and remove as a guest in a hotel. 
• Closet: Currently, the closet is open and basic. To change this we will be looking at to an accent wall color or pattern (to be decided with time constraint) to add a focal interest. With there being no doors adding two paneled curtains with tie backs for privacy of items and sense of cleanliness. 
• Decor: Ideas for decor will be a vintage modern. Simplicity with accent pieces. Accents being gold for a luxurious feel but to keep that vintage patina and charm. The Pipestone County Museum will be visited for possible photos used in the space for the look back into the past. The hope for repainting and retexturing already used items in the room is a hope for cost and that these pieces are in good shape and easy to reuse. Giving this a boutique hotel room is the hope for this room. Almost a feeling of being in a luxurious city, but making it feel like you're at home. 
• FF&E: All materials used will be chosen on not only the look, but the specifications. The two biggest ones will be how easy is it to clean and how durable will it be. 

Before:

This is what it looked like prior to the maintenance man, so about 1.5 years ago. YIKES! When we first went in the red carpet was still there and it was changed the week prior to us going in. 

So the room wasn't horrid when we arrived...but it was so blah, boring that it surely needed the help. It wasn't done but a year ago by the maintenance man, which I didn't get the vibe he was to pleased with me redoing what he already spent time doing, but I wanted to help and bring it into a time and place everyone wanted to stay.  So I decided this is a small town, small hotel lets give it a boutique hotel. Boutique hotels are usually small hotels but give the feel of a unique and urban setting.

First, I wanted to make sure that I made decisions based on my research (duh) so I wanted to make sure, as always, the guests interests came first. There are nine things that guests look for and want when they decide on a place to stay:

• Cleanliness - clean rooms, clean linens and clean bathrooms ‘no longer stays in hotels that have quilted bedspreads. He prefers duvets with crisp white cotton covers so he can tell whether or not they’re clean.’

• Amenities - Thick towels and comfortable sheets. Coffee maker. Fresh smelling room. 

• Food - fruit and edible goodies awaiting them upon check-in

• Tips - they’d like access to a change machine, or tips for the staff, added to their bills

• Connection - Free Wifi. Sufficient electrical plugs (a communications console) in order to charge all of their electrical gadgets including an IPod docking station.

• Beds - Comfortable and cozy beds. 

• Safety - Good locks on the doors and windows. Well lit areas. Camera surveillance. 

• Service -  Quick, to the point check in service. 

• Pampering - free wine tastings, free food at happy hour, a nice exercise room and helpful staff who remembered me. 

(http://consumertraveler.com/today/9-basics-i-expect-when-staying-in-a-hotel/)

With these findings cleanliness was the part that I could alter the most; so I ripped off the bed spread to get rid of the bed and breakfast feel and said 'see you later' to the plain white shower curtain. 

After this I needed to figure out the color palette, this has always been a struggle for me in the past. But I feel like I have been slowly getting the grasp of by using so many different tools. I decided to use a photo from the Pipestone Monument to find colors from the area and then change the tone and values of it to reflect that boutique and more luxurious feel to give to the Calumet's vintage type beauty. I decided to go for, sort of, a triad and it worked out really well! 

In the end the reddish woods were already in the room so I just wanted to reuse off of that. Then I picked the Navy as the accent wall Grey as the main color, and Gold as the accent color.  Here are some of the psychological characteristics behind these colors and you will see why these work so well together. 

• Grey-Often associated with giving a helping hand, strong character. Elegant and formal on the other, yet never glamorous. It can stifle and depress energy but it is also the stable base from which the new and positive can come.

• Gold-Color of success, achievement and triumph. Associated with abundance and prosperity, luxury and quality, prestige and sophistication, value and elegance, the psychology of this color implies affluence, material wealth and extravagance. gold adds richness and warmth to everything with which it is associated - it illuminates and enhances other things around it.

• Navy - Idealistic, enhancing self-expression and our ability to communicate our needs and wants. It inspires higher ideals. Inner security and confidence.

Colors picked, research completed, decisions made! 

After all was decided it was on to purchasing materials and constructing and deconstructing. We first started with removing those clunky, ugly cabinets above the kitchenette, they really served no purchase since there isn't any dinnerware provided and the microwave was fire hazard-ly placed right next to the sink on the drying rack, so we removed them and put up a shelf so that there was more space to be utilized that just made sense. This left space for the ice buckets, coffee machine, food, etc that the hotel or the guest wanted to utilize it for. BUT removing the back splash that was there was a task in itself, sparks were flying as we chopped it off. Then we began the painting process. 

After the days of painting, touching up, painting, touching up, painting, touching up ended came the fun stuff! Actually moving the furniture in and doing the small details that make the space what it is. A late night trip to the big city we picked up the duvet for the bed, material for the head board, constructed our own hardware, fabric to make pillows and light shades, curtains, and all the other pieces that completed the room. For this space I wanted it to give a vintage modern feel, which I think in the end really came through. A lot of gold accents pieces were used such as the frames that included pictures of old downtown Pipestone I found on a Facebook page, the chains that held the once wide open closest, curtains, the pillows, the headboard, and the lamps. I tried to use a lot of things such as just freshening the lamps with spray paint and fabric, the chair we climbed through the mountain called storage in the hotel for, a pillow was just recovered, tie backs were spray painted, and the basic furniture was just left. I think the biggest challenge was constructing our own french cleft to hold the headboard, which was awesome and I am so very proud of my husband for figuring it out! 

Soon it all came together!! 

 Here are some of my reasons for doing what I did. Some people are totally angry I removed the antique bed frame, but then they look and I explain; they understand (and don't worry it was saved, not just thrown away). Some are confused on why would I just put a white duvet, well there is a reason for that as well. 

• Linens:

White is king when it comes to dressing the hotel bed with linens and soft goods. White linens offer a tranquil and calming factor to the bedding experience, and are favored by guests because they signal cleanliness, explained designers. White sheets, duvets and pillow covers eliminate the need for sorting by housekeeping, making laundry easier for the hotel staff. 

Offering washable accent pillows and throws is a growing trend in the industry as guests focus on not just comfort, but also cleanliness.

More is better when it comes to layering on pillows, according to designers. “There is no doubt hoteliers are making larger investments in beds and bedding, layering it on for maximum guest comfort,” Mortenson said. It also creates a perception of being more luxurious, she noted.

(http://www.hotelmanagement.net/linens-and-softgoods/hotels-layer-on-luxury-to-create-a-sleep-experience)

Hotel bedspreads became a hot topic when one featuring bodily fluids from several sources was introduced in boxer Mike Tyson's 1992  trial. The American Hotel & Lodging Association got so many queries at the time that it came out with a statement saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "has NEVER identified, seen, or classified ANY significant disease outbreak in hotel or motel rooms as a result of hotel bedspreads and blankets.”

While many hotels have followed in the footsteps of Westin Hotels and Resorts, adopting a duvet model of bedding mimicking the brand's Heavenly Bed, plenty of chains on the lower end still use quilted bedspreads.

While many hotels have followed in the footsteps of Westin Hotels and Resorts, adopting a duvet model of bedding mimicking the brand's Heavenly Bed, plenty of chains on the lower end still use quilted bedspreads.

(http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/25/hotel.hygiene/) 

• Design:

New trends in headboards and lighting design are helping the bed steal the show, designers said. Architectural headboards that are oversized and built onto the wall are growing in popularity and showcased at some of the newest hotels including the Melia Atlanta, a 502-room recently opened property in downtown Atlanta, designed by BBG-BBGM. This property features double-layered upholstered headboards in white over gray to match the beds’ white sheets and gray bed skirt. Upholstered, tufted with buttons, and often draped with fabric, new and dramatic headboard designs call attention to the investment hoteliers continue to make in their bedding experience.

Pendant lights at the sides of the beds, and in some cases even small chandeliers over or near the bedside tables or bed, are new design tricks being used to highlight what is in many cases the star of the guest room. White noise machines placed next to beds, aromatherapy on the nightstand and soothing music CDs are some other amenities hoteliers have incorporated into their bedding package to give guests what they hope will be an unforgettably comfortable night’s sleep.

(http://www.hotelmanagement.net/linens-and-softgoods/hotels-layer-on-luxury-to-create-a-sleep-experience)

Those are just little pieces of  research and work I put into giving this the face lift I did. I didn't just say, 'Oh that looks good, what a great idea,' everything had a reason and a story. 

Budget? I came in about $150-$200 under budget, which makes me really happy. I wanted to do as much as I could for as little as possible but give them BIG results, which I feel I can confidently can say I feel I did. 

Time? Well, it took us about 5 days to finish. Less than we expected, but we spent a lot of time on things we didn't expect to. 

I feel like a little piece of me will forever live in that little room and I am so happy I got to be part of a historic hotel in my own community. Little things go long ways and look where I am now! 

If you want to check out the hotel be sure to look them up on Facebook (Historic Calumet Inn) or find them online (http://www.calumetinn.com). They've been featured on the Travel Channel's Resort Rescue and Gordon Ramsey's Hotel Hell, but don't be worried the Calumet can hold their own without the shows, they have done a fabulous job on restoring what the Calumet is all about!