02. Hotel room design

Having done a deep dive into The Substance in terms of its visual makeup, atmosphere and key details, I turned my attention to some key elements of the interiors on a slightly more zoomed-out scale. I questioned which aspects of the film might best be adapted into the interior of a hotel room to give a sense of place without creating a predictable guest experience.

With some rough ideas sketched out, I was reasonably happy with the development of my idea. I had drawn from memory a couple of spaces I was familiar with and which I thought might be useful in terms of spatial arrangements – one of the best rooms in a hotel I had previously worked at myself (Malmaison St Andrew Square, room 605), and my old studio apartment which had a similarly sized floor plate to a larger hotel suite.

Interrogating the possible layouts and room amenities when taking into account potential space constraints.

While much of the film takes place in Elisabeth’s private domestic sphere, there is little delineation between her private and personal worlds in terms of the use of colour and time period. The details I decided might give most scope for play were the long corridors which featured in a variety of shots and the white tiled bathrooms (how might this be adapted to have a similar look and feel, while feeling a little more welcoming?).

“Nordic Project 46” by Elemental Design, via Behance.net
Blueberry Nights Hotel in Tblisi, via Dezeen

Design by Ruben de Saavedra, from ‘Bath Design’ by Philip Mazzurco, 1986. via Reddit