French designer Patrick Norguet has created the interior for a hotel in Nantes featuring compact rooms with wavy white louvred walls enclosing en suite bathrooms (+ slideshow).

Norguet was invited by hotel chain Okko to develop the interior of its first urban hotel, and responded by creating a scheme that makes the most of the small bedrooms.

Each room has a footprint of just 18 square metres, and incorporates a wall-mounted desk and a small settee squeezed into a corner next to the bed, as well as the enclosed en suite.

"We began by removing useless things, to focus us on the wellbeing of the user and integrate more information and services using new technologies," Patrick Norguet told Dezeen.

The rooms feature curtains along one wall that can be pulled back to reveal a television and a small storage area with shelving and a clothes rail.

The louvred screens that provide privacy for the bathrooms are lined internally with curved glass to ensure the space remains bright and watertight.

Norguet used the slim Lines and Waves laminated porcelain slabs he designed for Italian ceramics brand Lea Ceramiche to cover the wall behind the headrest in the bedroom.

Elsewhere in the hotel, a large communal room is designed as a homely space where guests can meet and relax.

The lounge area is intended to evoke a comfortable clubroom environment, with sofas and armchairs surrounding low coffee tables picked out by accent lighting.

Textural wall panels, floor-to-ceiling curtains, rugs and upholstered furniture add to the relaxed feel.

A breakfast bar and facilities for making drinks and snacks can be accessed throughout the day and night, and there is a desk area where guests can work.

The design of the hotel's fitness centre features bright red surfaces, industrial lighting and tiled walls that lend it a more vibrant aesthetic.

The four-star hotel in Nantes is the first to be opened by Okko and Norguet's design scheme will be applied to future hotels in cities including Grenoble and Lyon.

Photography is by Jérôme Galland.

Here's some more information about the Okko hotel from Patrick Norguet:

The first Okko hotel opens in Nantes

Okko hotel is, first and foremost, the story of my encounter with Olivier Devys, the project's founder.

Starting with a blank page, we combined our visions and our determination to take up the challenge of upending traditional practices in the hospitality industry to create a bold and innovative concept, an all-included package for the best location, best service and best price! Thus was born the idea of a contemporary and urban four-star hotel where the human, design, and innovation are at the heart of the project.

I designed an adequate, simple, and timeless product around this "Okkospirit" to cater to customers' new needs: a place unaffected by time or trends and where the notions of service and comfort are essential; to be able to work, dine, relax, be waited on or use anything freely, any time of the day; to feel like being home away from home. The high-end amenities and services in the modern and relaxing Okko room and in the vast and convivial Club room make the Okko hotel a unique place that combines aesthetics and comfort. I wanted to create a brand, not just a hotel!