Transform Your Vacation Rental: Essential Design Tips for a Stunning Space in our Lake Almanor Vacation Rental

There are a ton of vacation rental home sites that give great advice about how to find a property, what to look for in a manager or what to key things to stock for guest, but I think a HUGE thing they overlook is the design of the vacation home!

I recently finished a lake house vacation home and I wanted to share my top design tips for creating a standout rental property. These tips will help you in making your vacation rental stand out among the competition.

1. Honor Your Locale

Whether it’s a rugged mountain cabin or a charming coastal cottage, staying true to the location is key to success! The lake house I designed was on Lake Almanor, CA –a picturesque vacation destination nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The serene lake is a blend of natural beauty and outdoor activities. The home is located on the lake in a gated community with a golf course. I wanted the space to have elements of the surroundings- the woods, the lake, and nature, but I was very (VERY!) careful about what type of elements to include.

I chose to incorporate aspect of lake life in the mountains with a few elements: Vintage golf tees, nature-inspired artwork, and a massive antler chandelier.

We wanted the space to reflect the location with nods to nature and a color palette that reflected the lake and mountains. We chose to use blues and greens in most of the rooms as a result.

Pro Tip:

I found vintage golf tees on eBay and displayed them in an antique wooden bowl I found at a local flea market on the console table in the entry. It was an inexpensive way to create interest and to highlight the location of the home on the golf course.  

2. Choose Neutral Paint

I’m already a big fan of using neutral wall paint, especially in a vacation rental home where it offers an opportunity to create a warm, cozy atmosphere that appeals to a broad range of people without startling them with bright yellows or intense reds. For this reason, I selected a neutral greige paint (Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams) for much of the house.

Neutral paint allows the landscape and architectural details such as the coffered ceiling in the living room and the wainscotting in some of the bedrooms to be the focus while creating a balance in the shared space. I love adding some color for interest and did so here with a muted navy blue in many of the rooms and modest green in the powder room- the home is situated in the woods after all!

3. Create a Homey Atmosphere… Without Overdoing It

Our clients really wanted their vacation house rental to feel like home. I worked to make the lake house comfortable where people would read books, gather to eat and drink, play games, make memories, and lounge outside

But, I was also very focused on making it not feel too much like home. You know, not the cluttered, mismatched, and overstuffed parts of home. We were focused on the good side of homey! This includes consistent comfy down throw pillows and fuzzy throw blankets, interesting books to grab when inspired to relax and read, and a bar space set up for an impromptu happy hour!

4. Include Greenery

I know what you’ve heard about rental properties and plants—they’re supposed to be a no-go because they’ll just die. And fake plants? Supposedly they’re a relic of the 80s, just sitting around collecting dust. But I believe that every home, including rentals, deserves some greenery or botanical touch. Plants or stem greenery infuse spaces with life and character, ensuring they don’t feel like a bland hotel room. So, how do we solve this?

Well, we broke the rules and invested in high quality faux plants and stems, which we used in doses around the home (a beautiful faux orchid in the primary bedroom, cedar stems in a large vase in the entry and faux succulents as an accent on the coffee table). Botanical art prints are another easy way to bring in nature, which we incorporated into the kitchen.

5. Keep It Simple

Creating an uncluttered and minimal design is essential in a vacation home rental (think adding appeal to guest and less things to replace). Seek out ways to create a design impact without accumulating lots of items. Take, for instance, the lake houses kitchen nook dining area that is framed in windows overlooking the lake — a true focal point of the space. By painting it a light greige (the Agreeable Gray by Sherwin Williams), we highlighted the focal point of the space, the lake and surrounding trees, accentuating it simply with a marble trivet, modern black salt and pepper grinders, some fun pinecone napkins with a cast iron mouse paper weight for some whimsy. It didn’t require much else to make you want to sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy the amazing view!

Not everyone wants to tackle the redesign of a vacation rental! There are a lot of details that can make it challenging: finding tradespeople to change out lighting or plumbing fixtures to update the space, wallpaper installers to create interesting spaces in the home, coordinate furniture deliveries for new furniture pieces or find painters to freshen up the space. Especially when a vacation home is in a more isolated area like our project on Lake Almanor. Should you need more support, we offer design services for vacation home. Reach out on our contact us form to get started!

If you’re curious about owning a rental home, I suggest doing all the research! Check out The Ultimate Vacation Rental Book which has practical advice on purchasing, setting up and managing your rental for success.