Furnishing/decorating my Airbnb

[Matthew2560]

New to the Airbnb space and looking into buying a few distressed properties to turn into rentals.

I'm curious, once you've done the work to get them up to par construction wise, how do you design them? Do you hire interior decorators? Do you do it yourself? Do you do something online?

Finally once you've done that, where do you source the furniture/decor itself from? What if I'm looking for a specific vibe across my properties?

[Heidi1060]

A few of my properties were furnished with help from a friend who is an interior designer, but I had a clear budget in mind from the start. We spent a lot of time looking on Facebook Marketplace for wooden pieces that could be restored. I also shopped sales at HomeGoods and Kirkland’s for décor, used Wayfair, Amazon, and local stores to find additional pieces. Before getting her help, I looked at other Airbnbs and used Pinterest for inspiration. I planned out color schemes for each room, sticking with neutral bases and adding a pop of color, which made it easier to find pieces that worked well together.

[Callum73]

Hi Matt,

Callum from the UK here 👋

When decorating my property, it started off as my own home. I went for light and airy - so mostly white walls with pops of colour. I like oak as a wood so have tried to use that throughout where possible. 

My property is a two bedroom bungalow so it was important to maximise light and available space using bright colours. 

You also want it to be inexpensive if you want to or need to replace items. 

Most of the items in the property are mine that I've repurposed. Some items were purchased from Facebook marketplace. 

I hope that's helpful. 

C

[Anton7762]

Здравей, аз съм от София, България и си обзаведох сам апартамента, като за собствен дом. Разбира се с помощта на дизайнер, за да може да се оптимизира максимално пространството. Необходимо е да се помисли за различни кътове, като място за дистанционна работа (бюро и т. н.), както и капацита на апартамента :  разтегателен диван за по-голяма заетост. И като за финал всичко е личен вкус, но с помощта на специалист. 🙂

Поздрави, 

Антон 

_______________________________________________________________________
 
Google Translation added by Community Manager:  

Hello, I’m from Sofia, Bulgaria and I furnished the flat myself, as for my own home.
Of course, with the help of a designer, so that the space could be optimised to the utmost.
It is necessary to consider different areas, such as a place for remote work (a desk, etc.), as well as the flat’s capacity: a sofa-bed for higher occupancy.
And finally, everything comes down to personal taste, but with the help of a specialist. 🙂
Regards,
Anton 

[Ashish197]

Hi Matthew, you have raised such an interesting and important question. And i'll be happy to give help you with what i have learned over the years as an art director and furniture designer, creating spaces that are cosy and warm yet maintains a certain theme or a vibe.

If you arent very familiar with designing the best bet is to hire an interior decorator. Explain him/her your vision and let them come back to you with moodboards, ideas and themes...

If you want to explore your creativiity and do something on your own, perhaps take inspirations, read articles and create a mood board yourself right before jumping into execution. It's like you are learning something and having fun at the same time.

I didnt really understand when you say "do you do something online?" if you are referring to designing online, you can. 

Now when starting to source the exact look, be open or flexible a little. But yes you can source certain things and make certain things(in my case i do that). and then arrange them all together to create a vibe. and do the addons like frame, paintings that accentuate your look or concept.

For me, having my own furniture brand, i get an advantage to source it from my own label and more from various artists, flea markets, ikea. Well that's what being creative is!! 

I hope i've helped you in some way. Would love to see what you build. Cheers!

[Rebecca]

Hi @Matthew2560 👋

You're getting some replies to your questions! Have you had a moment to read some of them? 😊

[Branton3]

Hi Matthew, A lot of hosts do not hire a full interior decorator unless they are building a luxury or highly design-driven listing. A more practical approach is usually to create a repeatable design system you can use across properties.

What has made the most sense for me is this:

First, decide on the guest profile and the feeling you want the space to create. That drives everything else. For example, a space for traveling professionals will look different from a family-friendly Airbnb or a romantic getaway.

Second, build a simple design formula instead of reinventing every property. Pick one style direction, a small color palette, 2–3 wood/metal finishes, and a standard setup for each room. That gives you consistency across properties and makes furnishing much faster.

Third, I would focus less on “decorating” and more on durability, cleanliness, and photo appeal. In short-term rentals, the best design is usually the design that looks good in photos, feels intentional in person, and survives turnover. Washable bedding, easy-to-clean surfaces, durable rugs, and furniture that can take abuse matter a lot.

As for how to design it, many people do a hybrid:
- use Pinterest, Airbnb listings, and mood boards online for inspiration
- choose the pieces themselves
- bring in a decorator only if they need help pulling the final look together

For sourcing, I use mix of places like Wayfair, Amazon, IKEA, Facebook Marketplace, and local liquidation or outlet stores. The key is not where you buy it, but whether the pieces fit your brand, hold up well, and can be replaced easily if damaged.

If you want a specific vibe across multiple properties, I would create a “brand kit” for your rentals:
- color palette
- furniture style
- standard bed setup
- lighting style
- wall art style
- one signature feature in each property

That way every property feels connected, even if the layouts are different.

The biggest mistake I see is people overdecorating before they understand the market. I would get the space clean, functional, attractive, and bookable first. Then refine the design as you learn what guests respond to.

[Bonnie524]

Hi,

I only have one Air BnB; 2 bedroom with one bath.  It does have a combo living, dinning and kitchen area.  since I live in San Diego, It has a beach theme.  It also has a large covered porch with a huge fence yard. There is a laundry basket of outdoor toys since we have great weather most of the time.

 I like to decorate for the season with door mats, table cloths, outside with flags and different lights.  

My son did the construction with a friend of his so that saved on costa.  Since the kitchenette is not lodge, I put in a 2 burner stove and a combination sink with dishwasher.  But there is a full size refrigerator.  

I like to bake so I leave out home made coffee cake from my Grandmother's recipe.  If there are children, I leave out movies, coloring pages, and little activities for them.  There is a Kurig coffee maker with a drawer of teas and coffees as well as creamers and types of sweeteners.

Free wifi is available with TVs , stations, and a DVD player. 

 For Birthdays, I have a sign and table cloth for the occasion.  

To welcome guests, there is a big sing in the front yard to welcome them with their name on it.  

I hope this helps in some small way.

Best Regards, 

Bonnie

[Aaron1480]

Hi Matthew, For budget purposes, I start by identifying one or two areas of the house where I would like to have a unique furniture piece that helps make the property unique. For those 2-3 areas, I search high and low online and in-store to find something special. In all other areas, I'm buying low-cost but nice furniture from Amazon and Wayfair to keep costs down and have standardized furniture that is easy to assemble and replace if needed. If you have a bigger budget, you can hire a designer on fiverr or find an interior designer in the city who can physically visit the homes as part of the design process. 

[Beacon-Rentals0]

If budget isn't a constraint and time is, hire an interior designer. Otherwise, Pinterest and Google are solid starting points for DIY inspiration — just make sure the style you choose actually suits the space.

If you're furnishing multiple properties, stick to a single source like Wayfair or IKEA or Amazon. It keeps the look consistent and makes replacements easy.

[Annette1137]

Hi Mathew !! Annette here 

Think like a guest, not a homeowner

Guests don’t care if it’s “perfect”—they care if it feels:

• Cozy
• Clean
• Thoughtful

Add small touches:

• Throw blankets
• Bedside chargers
• Coffee/tea setup
• Soft lighting instead of harsh overhead lights

[Matthew2563]

When I bought my STR it was already furnished, but with really dated stuff. I kept it for a while thinking it was fine until the reviews started telling me otherwise — guests were polite about it but it was clearly holding the listing back.

I looked into hiring a designer but for one property it just didn't make financial sense. We're talking $3-5K just for the design plan, before you buy a single piece of furniture.

So I went down the AI interior design rabbit hole. Tried a bunch of them. Most were either expensive or basically just generated pretty pictures of furniture that doesn't actually exist — so you'd get this beautiful render and then spend hours trying to find something that looked even close. Frustrating.

I eventually found one that actually shows real furniture you can buy, with links and prices. It was free to try so I figured why not. Ended up redesigning my whole property room by room and ordering everything directly. Total game changer for keeping a consistent vibe across spaces, which is exactly what you're asking about.

I don't think we can post links here but if you search for AI interior design with shoppable furniture you'll find it pretty quick.

For sourcing, I buy almost everything through Amazon and Wayfair. Fast shipping, easy returns, and the prices are way better than going through a designer's trade accounts unless you're furnishing at serious volume.

Let's just say it made my new rental feel like a Timeless Home

[Apg4]

I can tell you for us.It was a family affair. We spent time there and seeing the things that we wanted to make ourselves comfortable and then we sourced for those things to make them sturdy reusable long lasting and cost efficient. You definitely use a number of places from antiquing to marketplace to definitely some secondhand things from your own home as well as from family members. But the big purchases need to be bought new with receipts to be able to back up a claim, if something gets damaged or broken and needs to be replaced. Hope this helped you.

APG Inc.

[Emily2419]

Hello, I have 4 properties now over an 8 year time period. I am an interior decorator so this was all fun and fairly easy although the first 2 were a bit of a learning curve.  My third one I have had for about 6 months, I purchased almost everything from home goods and amazon.  READ REVIEWS! Now my 3rd one is almost completely booked every month with over 50 reviews and all 5 stars.  The decor did it for me!  I have people message me about it, how much they love it etc. Unfortunately , it isn’t something everyone can just pull together.  My best advice and where i learned a lot of do’s and dont’s was on TikTok.   The investment to hire a designer can really pay off !  It’s hard for people who don’t have the eye for it. I say invest on hiring someone, especially for the master, kitchen, and living.

[Britt1397]

Hello! We converted an ADU that we built for my mom who moved out. We had her furniture and everything she had in there. I have recently replaced the couch (added a unit that lays flat for sleeping). I would say make sure that all the furniture is easy to clean. I would steer clear of White. I would also say that we are having a lot better experience but really cleaning the place out. Guests only need bare necessities and if you have a lot of extra pots, pans food anything thats not really necessary to the stay it will come across as clutter. Make sure that the place is as bare as possible. People bring luggage and will take over so keeping it clean and free of excess stuff is a game changer that we realized.