Behind the Walls of Fairmont & SLS: How Hotel Wall Art Programs Work

Walk into the lobby of a great hotel and the art seems inevitable — as if the paintings, murals and textured walls had always belonged there. In reality, hotel wall art is one of the most carefully orchestrated elements of hospitality design. At Deep Design House, we have contributed to art and wall-covering programs for properties operated by groups such as Fairmont, SLS, Emaar, Accor and Miral, across cities including Dubai, Casablanca, Riyadh and Madrid. This article opens the door on how these programs actually work — and what any hotelier, architect or FF&E consultant should know before commissioning one.

What is a hotel wall art program?

An art program is the structured process by which a hotel selects, commissions, produces and installs every piece of art and decorative wall treatment in the property — from the signature work behind reception to the framed pieces in hundreds of guest rooms, and increasingly, large-format custom wallpaper in corridors, suites and restaurants.

Unlike buying art for a home, a hotel program has to satisfy several masters at once: the brand's identity standards, the interior designer's concept, the operator's durability and safety requirements, and the owner's budget and schedule. A single opening can involve hundreds or thousands of individual pieces, each specified, approved, produced and installed on a construction timeline.

Who is involved — and who decides

Most luxury hotel projects involve four voices in the art conversation. The operator (a brand such as Fairmont or SLS) provides brand and design guidelines that define the atmosphere the art must support. The interior design firm develops the creative concept and typically issues an art specification. An art consultant or design house — the role we play — translates that specification into real, producible works: sourcing or creating the pieces, managing artists, and handling fabrication. Finally, the owner or developer (groups such as Emaar or Miral on large destination projects) approves budgets and signs off on key pieces.

The best results happen when the art partner joins early, while the interior concept is still flexible. Art that is layered on at the end always looks like it was layered on at the end.

From narrative to artwork schedule

Serious programs begin with a narrative, not a shopping list. What story does this property tell? A beachfront resort, an urban business flagship and a desert retreat each call for a different visual language. From that narrative, the team builds an artwork schedule: a room-by-room, wall-by-wall document listing every location, the intended medium, dimensions, mounting method and budget allocation. It is the single source of truth for the entire program.

Hotel wall art formats: originals, editions and custom wallpaper

A modern program blends several formats, each with a distinct role:

• Statement originals — one-of-a-kind commissions for lobbies, lounges and signature restaurants, where guests linger and photograph.
• Limited editions — numbered works that bring gallery-level quality to suites and club floors at a controlled cost. Our abstract and contemporary collection is frequently specified for exactly this tier.
• Guest-room multiples — carefully produced series that keep hundreds of rooms consistent without feeling repetitive.
• Custom wallpaper and murals — increasingly the backbone of hospitality interiors. Large-format papier peint sur mesure turns corridors, headboard walls and F&B spaces into immersive environments, printed on contract-grade substrates that meet fire and durability ratings.

Why hotels specify custom wallpaper

Wallpaper solves problems paint cannot. It delivers scale (a single design flowing across a twelve-metre corridor), texture and depth under hospitality lighting, and repeatable consistency across identical room types. Because it is printed to measure, the design adapts to each wall's exact dimensions — no awkward cropping, no visible repeats where the eye would catch them.

Durability, compliance and the realities of hospitality

Hotels are demanding environments. Everything we produce for hospitality clients is specified against that reality: fire-rated substrates and finishes, scrubbable and impact-resistant surfaces for high-traffic zones, secure mounting systems, and materials that tolerate humidity in spa and poolside areas. Operators audit these specifications — a beautiful piece that fails a flame-spread test simply will not be installed.

Timelines and logistics

Art is installed near the very end of construction, but it must be designed near the beginning. Approvals move through renders and physical samples; fabrication for a full property takes months; and installation is choreographed floor by floor alongside snagging and deep cleaning, often in the final weeks before opening. Working across markets — as we do between Morocco, the Gulf and Europe — adds shipping, customs and on-site supervision to the plan. An experienced partner builds all of this into the schedule from day one.

What smaller properties can learn from the big brands

You do not need a 400-key flagship to think like one. The principles scale down beautifully to boutique hotels, guesthouses and restaurants: start from a narrative rather than décor-by-accumulation; invest in one true signature wall rather than spreading budget thinly; use custom wallpaper to achieve architectural impact without structural work; and specify materials for the traffic your space actually receives.

Commissioning hotel wall art with Deep Design House

From Casablanca, we design and produce limited-edition works, bespoke murals and made-to-measure wallpaper for hospitality projects across Morocco, the Gulf and Europe — and we manage the process from concept boards to final installation. Whether you are an operator building an art package, an architect specifying an F&B interior, or an owner preparing a renovation, we would be glad to talk through your project.

Contact our team to discuss your hotel art program.