Decorating a holiday home is vital to making it appealing to potential renters in photos shown on holiday home rental sites and then after the guests arrive. Sure, today’s photos were taken out of desperation for photos to share. But, as I look around this lovely house, I see many items that the owner thoughtfully placed, some familiar, some unique.
After the guests arrive, pleasant decorating and design undoubtedly enhance the rental experience. It doesn’t have to be “Architectural Digest” worthy unless it’s a high-end property. But, the holiday/vacation properties we rent don’t require expensive accouterments and decorator items.
The simple addition of pleasing inexpensive artwork, throw pillows, candles, clocks, area rugs, and interesting lamps are all a house, condo, or apartment need to create an attractive homey feel, which is so vital in providing vacation properties.
We’ve been lucky over the years that most homes we’ve rented have been attractively staged and presented for rental, many of which we’ve shared in photos as we’re doing today and tomorrow. Although some of the items in this house may be “dated,” they create a pleasing atmosphere suitable for short-term renters.
Of course, if we rented considerably lower-priced rentals, it may have been an entirely different scenario. But, over the years, we’ve been fortunate that the houses we’ve rented appear as represented in the photos provided to such sites as VRBO, which we have listed on our site here.
We’ve been fortunate not to encounter any scams regarding holiday homes over the years, except for our first rental of a house on the beach in Belize in January 2013. The house was a disaster, with running water only three hours a day and window screens with holes too large to keep no-see-ums out of the house. Within 24 hours of our arrival, I was covered in bites. Unable to shower due to a slow dribble, within a week, we moved out, finding a fabulous resort where we stayed for over two more months.
The owners refused to reimburse us, and we took the hit. At that point, we’d only been on the move for three months and were discouraged. We each wondered if we’d done the right thing, selling everything we owned and leaving to travel the world. But, after those two months in the fabulous resort, which may be found here, we were thrilled with our decisions and have enjoyed our unique lifestyle since then.
At that time, we expected to spend less money on holiday homes. But that rude awakening made us realize that even outside the US, you “get what you pay for.”
Over the next few days, we’ll share these photos, giving our readers a greater insight into the pleasant surroundings in The Villages, Florida, USA.
Have a wonderful Sunday, and be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, June 4, 2013:
