Looking for ways to attract more guests to your Airbnb? As an Airbnb host, you should know that following Airbnb interior design trends to make your rental as attractive as possible is key to having your vacation rental calendar packed with bookings.
This is especially true if your property is in a popular location. Remember, you’ll not only be competing with other Airbnb rentals, but also with other types of vacation rentals and hotels.
Essentially, your offering needs to stand out amongst countless others. But before you start scrambling to make home improvements, hold up. You don’t want your Airbnb to end up resembling a patchwork of different design trends – or worse, looking dated or uninviting.
That’s why it’s helpful to learn about the Airbnb interior design trends that will make your rental more stylish and inviting. Below, you’ll discover the top interior design ideas recommended by interior stylists.
Scandinavian interiors focus on simplicity, functionality, and beauty. Key characteristics of this interior design trend include plenty of natural light, wooden floors, muted tones, and soft furnishings. It’s a trend that has quickly gained ground and sees no sign of slowing down.
To incorporate Scandi style into your own home, take the color white as the overall base for everything and then layer subtle hints of color over the top. Think about your Airbnb as a space that’s put together to communicate and encourage an easygoing and simple lifestyle.
Minimalist design
Taking a minimal approach to home styling is a tactic that has been used by home stylists for years. If you like the sound of Scandi design, but find it quite limiting in terms of color palette, opt for a more general minimalist design. You can still inject a bit of color, but focus on keeping it simple.
An easy way to make your Airbnb reflect a minimalist design is to declutter the space. Ensuring your rental is free from clutter and doesn’t feel cramped will make it far more inviting and comfortable for guests.
Keep in mind that cluttered, cramped, highly personalized, and dated properties are common reasons guests look elsewhere for accommodation options. So prioritize the decluttering of your property and work with a “less is more” mindset.
Simple and consistent color palette
If you want your Airbnb to look more stylish and inviting, it’s a good idea to be really strict with your color palette. Adding a lot of colors and objects to your Airbnb may seem like an easy way to make it memorable, but it’s likely to make your Airbnb look too busy and could be overwhelming for some guests.
It’s important for your guests to feel a sense of cohesion throughout the property. Stick to tones from the same color family. Doing so will allow you to add some interest without making your Airbnb design look confusing.
While it’s fine for the palette to change slightly as you progress through the property, the colors should have a close enough relationship to each other that as you enter a new room, the change won’t be jarring.
Beach-inspired design
Yes, a beach-inspired design is the antithesis of minimalist design. But it’s still a popular design trend, especially if you own a coastal property. Like any interior design trend, there’s a way to get this right. Don’t start filling your house with every beachy item you lay your sights on.
Keep it stylish by focusing on incorporating beach accents, rather than transforming your rental into a surf shop. There is a range of prints, wallpapers, furniture, and decorations that fit within this theme but are still fashionable.
You could even make a beach-inspired welcome book or welcome basket for your guests. If you’re stuck for ideas, a quick Pinterest search will point you in the right direction.
Use texture sparingly
Interior stylists typically recommend sticking to simple lines and shapes. So you may need to say goodbye to any items with overly intricate details. Focus on ramping up the texture in your home with throws, cushions, and objects in the same color family.
Elevate interiors with dark wooden flooring
When it comes to rental properties, long-lasting and low-maintenance flooring is a must. Vinyl might seem like a cost-effective solution, but it’s easily damaged. Unless you’re happy to swallow the cost of ripping up and replacing every few years, spend a little more on a hard-wearing alternative.
Dark wooden flooring is the obvious choice to combine high-end aesthetics with low maintenance. Some people find dark wood too overwhelming, but it’s an effective choice for interiors of any size. It can add charm to smaller rooms and serve as a first-rate foundation for larger spaces.
More importantly, dark wooden flooring is easy to clean. It won’t scuff or show evidence of scratches easily. When the time comes to sand away any damage and refinish your flooring panels, darker boards will make quick work of your renovation efforts. For more advice, this dark wood flooring guide is essential reading.
However, hardwood flooring isn’t always the best option for your Airbnb. Everyday wear and tear is unavoidable, so you’ll want a durable alternative. Engineered wood flooring is the perfect compromise. You’ll enjoy all the aesthetic benefits of real hardwood, with none of the backbreaking maintenance and upkeep.
Be selective with the art you display
You can use art and plants to bring your room to life, but make sure you keep your art muted so that it doesn’t command and take over the entire space. Interior stylists know that you can use large-scale photographic pieces to anchor a room.
Striking photographs in muted tones are having a moment in the real estate styling industry. Think large-scale black and white pieces and desert landscapes in soft muted tones. These pieces are often cheaper to buy than original art, and can look just as beautiful.
Go green
You’d be hard-pressed to find an interior stylist who didn’t recommend at least a little hint of greenery. Stylists love using plants to brighten up a space. Studies show that plants in a space are linked to increased creativity, productivity, and overall wellbeing.
So it’s no surprise that they’re so popular in Airbnbs and homes alike. There are plenty of indoor plants to suit your maintenance style and personality. From the humble fiddle leaf fig through to cacti, orchids, succulents, and peace lilies, you’re bound to find something that looks at home in any room.
Sustainable and environmentally-friendly spaces
Sustainability and environmental-friendliness are two design trends that Airbnb guests are increasingly looking for. Some may even be willing to pay a premium to stay in a sustainably managed and environmentally-friendly Airbnb.
So what can you do to transform your Airbnb in this way? Here are a few ideas for you to consider. Instead of installing an air conditioner, think about investing in more eco-friendly options like insulation, sunroofs, windows, and feature curtains. These can make all the difference during the hot summer days, and help to reduce your electricity bill to boot.
Sunroofs and open window plans let in natural light to make a home bright and inviting. Insulation, meanwhile, serves a double purpose: it can keep a house cool during the summer and hot during the winter, and is the most practical and cost-effective way to make a property more energy efficient. Insulation can even save you more than 40 percent in cooling and heating bills.
Revamped outdoor living spaces
If your Airbnb boasts an outdoor living space, you’re in luck. People searching for accommodation often give preference to rentals that come complete with an outdoor living space. Families, in particular, will look for this feature. Needless to say, if your outdoor space isn’t appealing, it’s more likely to detract than attract guests.
There are many simple ways to showcase your outdoor living space and show guests that your Airbnb has something that no one else has to offer. ‘A living porch’ can be achieved when an outdoor area such as a patio, balcony, or porch is designed in a way that offers the comfort of a living room along with the benefits of being outside.
Soft upholstery, drapery panels or curtains, and outdoor lamplights can allow homeowners to convert the space between the indoors and outdoors into a relaxing paradise.
Your design updates will be well worth the effort!
The Airbnb interior design ideas highlighted above should give you plenty of inspiration to transform your Airbnb into a more stylish and inviting property. The prospect of improving your Airbnb may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.
Start off small and work your way up to bigger improvements. Even simple things like decluttering can make a big difference to the ambiance of your place. Having a property known for boasting a great Airbnb interior design is a surefire way to attract guests. So we think you’d agree that making a few updates to your Airbnb design will pay dividends in the long run. Let us know how you get on.
More about the author
Monica Mizzi is a senior SEO and content marketing specialist at Doorsteps, where she aims to help demystify the process of buying, selling, and investing property. When she’s not working, she enjoys dining out with friends, exploring new places, and yoga.
Disclaimer: Lodgify is an Airbnb Preferred Software Partner. This post, including any claims or statements within, is solely from Lodgify and is not endorsed by, directly affiliated with, authorized, or sponsored by Airbnb in any way.
