Decorating a Short Term Rental Home on a Budget
The short term vacation rental business is growing by leaps and bounds and the competition is fierce! In order to win over discerning guests, you need to get one key factor right- interior design. How your home is decorated can make or break a deal. However, this doesn’t mean spending thousands of dollars on furniture and major renovation on the vacation house. Even on a budget, you can still manage to decorate your house and have guests hitting that Book Now button. Here a few tips even the thriftiest owners (just like me ) can get on board with.
- Bargains and amazing deals
You don’t have to empty your wallet just to furnish your vacation rental home. There are inexpensive ways to get that homey feeling. By checking out yard sales and thrift stores, you can get quality furniture at amazing prices. I love to ask yard sale sellers if they have anything else or know anyone else selling home furnishings. This question recently led me to an amazing estate sale where my team and I found truckloads of goodies.
Let your fingers do some bargain hunting, hop on online sites like Wayfair and Amazon, browse around and you can stumble upon great furniture being offered under affordable prices. Take your time to comb through all the deals, look for coupon codes and really bargain hunt before settling on good bargains that can help transform your vacation rental.
2. Paint that old furniture
If you can’t afford to have a piece of furniture refinished by a professional, spray paint or chalk paint are great alternatives. Chalk paint can give new life and a vintage look to used wooden furniture. It’s a little more time consuming to strip and refinish your old pieces, so if I’m in a time crunch, I’l reach for the spray paint. Using quick and inexpensive spray paint, I have transformed lamp bases, book ends, vases and metal patio furniture into trendy high end pieces and saved a lot in the process.
3. Guest’s style
Before decorating your vacation rental, first understand the kind of guests that will be renting the place and the kind of style that suits them. This will guide you on the kind of decor to go for such as a modern loft look, woods, beach etc. However, do not go “all out” for a specific theme or bold colors as it can be a deal breaker for a guest who doesn’t appreciate your safari themed master bedroom, for example.
4. Minimalism
You may be tempted to cram every space in your vacation rental with objects but it can come off as cluttered and overwhelming to the guest. There’s a reason why minimalism has risen in popularity- such spaces feel clean and have a relaxing effect on people. So for the bedroom, keep it simple with a bed, a nightstand or dresser, mirror, lamp and an alarm clock. Living spaces also need to be clutter free but not barren..there’s a fine line.
Back to guest rooms, make sure your guest rooms are comfortable to guests and that beds have headboards because it just pulls the space together. You can make them at home or order inexpensive headboards online, some assembly may be required.
Decorating a vacation rental is one of the creative endeavors that homeowners can take part in and they are equally rewarding when guests start giving great reviews. I love it when a guest gets excited about their vacation based on the pictures of the spaces. With the tips, you should be able to do it under a budget and still win.
Still need some advice on your vacation rental decor? Send Megan and Alicia a message under Contact Us and we’ll be happy to help!
