Upgrade Your Vacation Rental With These 7 Style Tips
The Delicate Balance
Furnishing and styling a vacation rental is not as easy as it may seem from the lens of an outsider to the short-term rental world. It’s more than just finding random art or picking matching furniture sets–there’s a balance to be struck.
No matter if you decide to go minimalist or maximalist with your rental’s styling, we’ve gathered 7 tips that will help you turn your vacation rental into an interior designer’s dream.
#1: Choose Durable Materials and Fabrics
Whether you're a fan of bright, bold patterns or someone who wants to provide a minimalist and modern experience, one piece of advice that will serve you well is to choose durable materials and fabrics.
Once a piece of furniture or flooring is put into your short-term rental, it’s likely to see a lot of use, meaning you’ll want to invest in pieces and materials that will stand up over the long-term.
#2: Don’t Neglect Outdoor Space
Chances are, if someone is staying at your vacation rental, they want to utilize every inch of the space that they can. Paying attention to your outdoor space can pay off for property owners in the long run. When designing an attractive outdoor space, think about guest experience. If you book with lots of families who have kids, for example, purchasing a few outdoor games or investing in a small play area could be a game-changer.
#3: Mix and Match Furniture For a Unique Feel
One of the biggest mistakes that we see short-term rental owners make is matching all of the furniture in the house. Sure, it’s much simpler to purchase a few matching furniture sets online or at IKEA and call it a day with your interior design, but that approach is quickly falling out of style, and for good reason.
Mixing and matching furniture is a great way to add some character to your short-term rental. Take this as an opportunity to scour thrift stores and secondhand shops for the perfect focal points and centerpieces, then build your rooms around those. The best vacation homes mix a blend of decorating styles together, and going a little bit out of your way to fuse these different styles makes for a unique and stunning design that will pull guests in from the very first pictures they see.
#4: Anticipate Guest Needs
The best short-term rentals put guest experience at the forefront, and this means anticipating how guests will behave when they enter the space. Sometimes, owners decorate in whatever way is easiest for them, but that doesn’t take into account the vastly different habits and routines of the guests who will stay in your rental.
Are there enough empty outlets, for instance, for guests to plug their devices into? If not, you might want to place down a power strip in lounging areas or near a dedicated workspace. Are the coffee cups placed on a high shelf, where a shorter guest might not be able to get to them? Think about placing them lower, to accommodate a smaller guest’s needs. Not only will your guests be pleased with your thoughtfulness, anticipating small but important things like this can get you better reviews.
#5: Get Creative and Display Local Art
When guests enter your property, they want to feel like they are at home, and that starts with thoughtful and tasteful pieces of art. Rather than just grabbing whatever photos or prints that you think will fit in your home, take some time to see what’s out there, especially in the galleries local to your short-term rental. Purchasing from artists and galleries in your area is a great way to help your local economy and add a bit of local flavor into your home.
#6: Light Up Your Vacation Rental
Lighting may seem like a small consideration when you’re decorating your short-term rental, but it makes a big difference in guest experience. Take advantage of any natural light that you can with your decorating choices, like placing a comfortable chair in front of a large window for guests to sit down and read a book in the morning. Even if you don’t get much natural light, you can replace the feeling of the sun by investing in a few stylish lamps that bring more character to the space.
#7: Add Some Green Flair
Plants are all the rage in the interior design world, and adding a few splashes of greenery can definitely take your rental to the next level by giving it a more cozy and homey vibe. However, the reality is that it’s tough to care for live plants in a space that sees so much traffic. So instead of investing in a paradise of living organisms that would require a gardener to care for, we recommend adding a few fake plants to liven up the space. Fake plants add all the greenery you can ask for with none of the work, and they stand up to kids and pets a lot better than their live cousins do.
More Vacation Rental Tips and Tricks for Homeowners
In the highly-competitive industry of short-term rentals, putting some effort into your interior design can help you stand out on distribution channels like AirBnB and VRBO. Sometimes, the best design improvements can be found without spending a lot of extra money, if you’re willing to invest the time into finding unique pieces that will help you to set yourself apart from the competition.
For more tips and tricks that can launch your vacation rental to success, check out our writeup on the common mistakes that rental owners make or our guide to getting more five-star reviews on your property. But if you’re hoping to take some of the work out managing your property, put it in the hands of our local experts. We’ll manage every aspect of your rental home for you, from listing and distribution to revenue management. For a peek inside of our property management services, take a look at our Program page.