How do I prepare my holiday home for renting?

Living in the Southern Hemisphere is perfect for those of you with a holiday home somewhere nice. You see, many city dwellers enjoy escaping the urban jungle and heading out into the country in order to relax during summertime. As our summer also falls during the festive Christmas/New Year season, there is also the added extra of those looking for a family escape to celebrate.

Anyone with a holiday home in a desirable location is in the perfect position to open it up for short-term rental. Not only will you make somebody's holiday dreams come true, but you get to make a little money out of it to put towards your own plans. 

Is your holiday home ready for renters? To make sure, try out some of these decorating ideas. 

Bedrooms

Bedrooms are one of the most important rooms to get right, as guests will be spending critical time in them. After a long day of adventuring, nobody wants to come home to an uncomfortable bed or a room they dislike. 

To that end, look at the spaces you already have and ask yourself, 'How cluttered are these?'. Clutter might be acceptable in your eyes, but a stranger is unlikely to approve of somebody else's mess. You don't need the entire floorspace to be blocked with furniture when there are plenty of other options available.

For example, if there is a cupboard in each room then already you can eliminate large storage units. Guests can hang clothes inside the cupboard, and you can add smaller sets of drawers and baskets to store their underwear and any other smaller items. 

As for the bed itself, don't be hesitant to splash out on it as a comfortable sleep is important. Think about a large queen or king-sized bed as the main feature of the master bedroom, with slightly smaller beds in each subsequent space. Single beds are OK for kids, but most adults prefer a double. A room with bunk beds in it would be exciting for children, too.

As everybody's taste is different, painting with the right colours is important. Rather than lavish a space with colours you enjoy, consider instead that guests may simply prefer a neutral colour scheme. Resene Orchid White is a good option, or try Resene Sea Fog for something cooler. If you want colour, consider a feature wall instead of an entire paint job and don't go for anything too over the top.

Living Room/Kitchen

The amenities of your holiday home need to suit more than just your own tastes. Pictures your niece painted might look great to you, but a guest may disagree. Art is OK on the walls, but try to keep it simple and not too drastic. 

Unless your home fits with a particular theme (such as cabin in the woods or beach house), a neutral colour wheel works best in the living room and kitchen as well. Using neutrals also means that should you have a mixture of furniture in the space, collected from numerous sources in order to fill the home, you are less likely to have a clash. 

You don't have to use the same colours as the bedrooms if you want something different, so instead why not try Resene Sea Fog with a feature wall of Resene Half Masala or a medium-hue colour behind the TV? 

Carpets can stain easily and are hard to keep clean, but a wooden floor with some rugs will be much easier. Resene Natural works great on timber floors, though to contrast with your walls you could try something deeper such as Resene Dark Oak

As for the furniture itself it needs to be both durable and easy to clean. Invest in higher quality couches, tables and anything else that will be used frequently as anything poorly made could be damaged easily.

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