Designing a Vacation Rental That Doesn't Feel Like One

Oct 13

3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Living room under a beamed pine ceiling with black and white abstract art, a cream sofa and black tub chairs on a Beni Ourain rug

We know the feeling well. You open the door of a rental, and everything is fine. Grey sofa, white walls, a print that says "relax". Nothing is wrong, and yet nothing stays with you.

A great rental shouldn't feel like a rental. It should feel like someone's home, one you're lucky enough to borrow for a while. Every place, however simple, has a soul of its own. Finding it is where good design begins.

Read the place first

Before we choose a single fabric, we spend time getting to know the place: its light, its views, its quirks, the town around it. Every property has something no other one has, and finding it is always our first job. At Clear Lake, it's the whole lake opening up below the house, so we kept the rooms soft and gentle and let the windows do the talking. In Ravenna, it's the courtyard: a plum tree, birds coming and going, a fountain that never stops singing. At Sea Ranch, where our client's home sits back from the famous cliffs, the interiors had to become the view.

Entry steps up to the living room with a pine ceiling and lake view at sunset — Clear Lake Hearth & Horizon

Give it a personality

Once you know what makes a place special, you build its story around it. Every rental we design begins with a name and a feeling. Salt & Saddle sits between the beach and the Ojai hills, so we let both worlds in: sea air and sun-washed linen on one side, worked leather and a little Western spirit on the other. A rental with real personality stands out without shouting. It doesn't need loud colours or gimmicks, just a clear point of view and details that could only belong there.

Dining room with a glass table, black cantilevered cane chairs and framed textiles — Salt & Saddle

Be creative before you spend

A fresh look doesn't always mean a new kitchen. At Salt & Saddle, we painted tired, pinkish wood cabinets a garden green and gave them leather pulls. At Clear Lake, we refreshed the whole house in just a couple of weeks, painting the walls, the kitchen and bathroom tiles and even the countertops. Guests never guess.

Garden-green kitchen with granite counters, leather pulls and a cowhide rug — Salt & Saddle

Dare a little

The detail people remember is often the one that felt like a risk. I hung a velvet drape in the bathroom at Salt & Saddle. My partner wasn't sure. Now friends and guests ask how to do it at home.

Hallway bathroom with patterned wood mirror, green vanity, black shower curtain and hydrangeas — Salt & Saddle

Choose materials that age well

Guests are not gentle, and they shouldn't have to be. We reach for things that look better with a little wear: solid wood, leather, wool, stone and linen. Nothing precious, nothing that needs a warning sign.

Living room with oak shelves of ceramics, a linear fireplace, linen armchair, leather lounge chair and slatted oak screen — Ravenna Ritorno

Design for real comfort

Beautiful is not enough. Is there a good reading lamp on both sides of the bed? Somewhere to drop a bag, hang a towel or pour a coffee? A chair you'd actually curl up in? Look at every room through a guest's eyes, and the answers become obvious.

Guest bed with kuba-cloth pillows, linen lamps and black-and-white ink art — Clear Lake Hearth & Horizon

Make it photograph beautifully

Most guests meet a home online first. We style each room so it reads clearly in one photo: one strong moment per room, good natural light, layers of texture and nothing extra. When the listing tells a story, guests arrive already half in love.

Primary bedroom with framed kuba cloths, tufted bed, olive tree and rust linen curtains — Salt & Saddle

The small things guests remember

A handwritten note. Real coffee. A basket of throws by the fire. A shelf of books someone actually chose. They cost very little, and they're the details that show up in reviews.

Study corner with oak floating shelves, black leather chair, cowhide rug and plants — Ravenna Ritorno

We design and host our own rentals, and we create them for other owners too. If you have a place that could feel more like home, or a property getting ready for its very first guests, we'd love to help, from a virtual refresh to a full design from the ground up. Let's talk.