Airbnb Design Challenge 1: Design and Stage an Airbnb from 3 States Away
The Challenge: Design and outfit a new Airbnb from the ground up and from 3 states away
We get a call from a realtor that we work with who has a house in Mesa, Arizona that needs to be up and running as an Airbnb ASAP. We need to design, source, purchase, pick up all items and have it decorated by the end of the month We are 3 states away in Oregon. This means we need to source EVERYTHING from mattresses to rugs to sippy cups to pool toys. All. Of. It.
Step 1: Inspiration
The Desert, Arizona, light color palette and fresh feel
Moodboard for Primary Suite
Moodboard for Extra Bedroom Space off of Kitchen
Step 2: Sourcing - Facebook Marketplace to the rescue!
Facebook Marketplace is no joke when it comes to sourcing affordable items. We bought most of the beds, tables and smaller furniture off of there and it was a relatively painless process.
Here are some tips that are especially useful if looking for items far away:
1) Be clear on your intentions - there are lots of scammers out there, so let sellers know what you’re up to and if this is for a business purchase. Include links and social media pages for them to verify your true existence.
2) Pay in full and up front - Paying asking price and up front (we used Venmo for all purchases) will usually entice sellers to hold items for you and ensure you get the item over someone else. Once it’s paid, it should be yours with your risk being that they will not be at the location when you go to pick it up. Thank goodness for reviews and star ratings, right!?
3) Get really good contact info - You will be communicating with them for the days and hours before picking up. Get emails AND phone numbers.
4) Be nice! - We honestly had ZERO problems sourcing this way. Everyone was nice to work with, flexible and able to work with our off-beat project!
Outside of Facebook, we sourced everything else from IKEA, HomeGoods, At Home, Home Depot and general merchandise stores. Pics or it didn’t happen??? Here you go….
Once in town, we took several trips like this to the store…all hands on deck!
Step 3: Getting there and Getting around
After flying into Phoenix, we went right to work using Jacquie’s Aunt’s van who just happened to live in the area and had a great work van we could borrow for our project. Our van-for-the-week was lovingly nicknamed “Bessie” and we filled her up more times than we could count!
Luckily Bekah was down for squeezing in wherever she could find a nook within crazy Tetris maze of furniture pieces.
Step 4: Set up and Stage
After a couple of days of gathering materials and with everything back at the house, we could finally start putting it all together!
The Living Room Before
We needed to make a statement as this is the first impression guests have once walking in the door.
The Living Room After
We scored this great sectional on FB Marketplace and sourced the other items at HomeGoods, IKEA and Target, starting the light, desert theme off with appropriate patterns and graphics.
The Dining Room Before
In addition to the desert landscape, this light fixture served as inspiration for the entire design!
The Dining Room After
After sourcing the table and chairs, we repurposed a hutch the former owners left behind. Originally shabby chic and cream, we updated the piece using a blue/grey paint, added inside shelving and cute bottles and accessories to make a one-of-a-kind bar.
The Primary Bedroom Before
The dreamy mid-Century bedside tables sourced on FB went great with the seafoam green bedframe from Target.
The Primary Bedroom After
Adding fresh bedding and a trendy basket wall mural is all this space needed for a new look.
In addition to these main spaces, here are some more before and afters throughout the house…..
After four weeks of pre-planning and sourcing and four days of “on the ground shopping and staging” we completed our project and our clients had a newly outfitted Airbnb ready for the high season starting in Spring. We had so much fun that we have expanded our services and are now eyeing local Airbnb properties in our area to redesign get top dollar for those nightly rental rates.
Stay tuned for highlights of our next project….a local Airbnb near the Rogue River in Grants Pass!
