I decided to treat myself to a quick trip to New York in January. Why New York in January you might ask? Well, I am a bit of a frugal traveler and wanted to do some shopping while taking advantaged of seasonal sales.

I booked myself at the chicest and most affordable hotel in NYC; The Pod Hotel where room rates run US$69 to $189 per night.

The rooms are simple, no-nonsense, colourful and hip. An old traveling salesman hotel called The Consolate Hotel was entirely updated and renovated just a few years ago and given the new name The Pod.

I was quite inspired by some of the space-saving tricks the designer used. I'm thinking some of these ideas might work quite nice in my own guestroom that I am planning (when I get around to renovating my basement).

Hotel bed drawers

Supplying a bed with under-drawers is a great way to save space in a small room; you'll need no extra floor space for a bulky dresser in the room.

I love this headboard too! It's a free-standing piece of upholstered foam which sits on top of the mattress. It is easily moved and the cover comes off for simple cleaning.

Hotel bath nook

What a great innovative idea; hollow out the space between the wall's studs and create a nook and shelf. Finally a place for a drinking glass and hand soap without taking up precious space on the sink's ledge.

Old closet conversion!

I thought this was genius! An unused, spare closet is removed and a built-in desk is added for a workspace. A simple curtain rod and fabric panels could close off the workspace to hide clutter!

Double room with bath

I just love the idea of the sliding door that lead right off the bedroom and into a small, compact bathroom. The entire guest area is self-contained within a room. This idea actually inspired me when I renovated my upstairs guestroom a while ago.

Guest bath

This inspired me when I was renovating my 3rd floor guestroom in an old house I had purchased. The look is certainly more country than The Pod Hotel's modern rooms, but the idea worked fabulously. I used narrow, rippled-glass swing doors instead of the sliders. It added to the charm I wanted for that bedroom and created a self-contained room for guests. (PS: the room was originally 10'x 15'. By dividing the space of for a bathroom, the bedroom's is now 10' x 11' and the bath is 4' x 10'.

Guestroom

Here's the opposite end of that room; it was a nod to 'Country Nova Scotia' with the framed fish prints, birch log lamp, painted beadboard and natural elements used in the room. Although the overall bedroom was made smaller, it is very comfortable and cozy.

To get in touch with Karl regarding something you've seen on the show or his appearances, please email: homedecor@ctv.ca