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Interior design is an ever evolving element of the hospitality business. From public areas to guest rooms, natural finishes remain a big influence on hotel interiors.

Chestnut wood finish for custom-built furniture in the guest rooms and meeting rooms, and walnut and smoked oak for partitions and panelling in reception areas, lobbies, restaurants and bars, are some of the popular trends, along with a huge demand for exotic timbers that have striking and unusual grains and colours.

Other finishes include stained and lacquered wood, with emphasis on mouldings that add a touch of ornamentation, as also natural and reconstituted wood veneers applicable in all areas of hotel interiors.

Flooring is one area where wood is finding increased application with the introduction of laminated flooring, offering realistic patterns of exotic hardwoods combined with low maintenance quality.

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Furthermore, hoteliers are returning to the timeless beauty of real hardwood floors with wider planks and richer colours, the latest trend being hand-scraped hardwood flooring that adds an old-world appearance and rustic finish mainly popular in restaurants and bars.

The timeless classics include oak, cherry, pine, maple hickory, pecan, beech, birch, and walnut. Says Ramakant Mohapatra, branch manager, Mumbai region, Archidply: “Manufacturers are constantly trying to find new looks from wood, such as slicing or rotary cutting, that produces different patterns on the face of the wood. Colours too range from light beech to cinnamon, cherry, and caramels.”

There has also been a paradigm shift from treating carpets as a neutral background for room furnishings, to it emerging as the focal point in a room.

Says Menka Sehgal of Adlakha & Associates: “Carpets in the hotel sector are set to be bold and bright, which are great accents to white bed linen and also work well with light or dark wood; moreover, texture rather than pattern is an emerging trend.” Undoubtedly, the latest carpets now offer layered colour and more texture and pattern, adding interest to basic backgrounds such as subtle designs that emulate hard surface swirls, patterns and striations and contrast beautifully with smoother elements such as furniture surfaces, walls, and counters.