The man who, with Eric Goode, designed the polished Bowery and Maritime Hotels in New York, shares his advice for how to make your home guest-worthy.

Q: What's the biggest difference between home and hotel design?

A: Hotels are designed to be spotless. Virtually every item in the Bowery Hotel is made to be cleanable. You don't want to give that hygienic impression at home.

Q: So what is it, then, that makes some hotel rooms so appealing?

A: I used to live in the Chateau Marmont, and I loved that it was utterly immaculate all the time. Hotel rooms are optimistic and hopeful places. The stress is gone.

Q: How do you re-create that feeling at home?

A: Throw away your junk. I apply Jackie O's advice: When she got dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror. The first thing she saw she'd take off before she left. Monica Khemsurov