Renting a vacation home is often a wonderful way to escape—you can cook your own food, explore a new area, maybe enjoy a new view, and usually for less than you'd pay at a hotel. But for those of us who are design-minded, researching vacation rentals can be a harrowing experience. Spend a few minutes paging through VRBO and Craigslist, and you're likely to come away reeling from all the cheap veneer cabinetry, chintzy country curtains, and pleather easy chairs. So what explains the phenomenon of bad vacation rental décor? We've got some thoughts, along with a few ideas about how to seek out getaways that won't offend your sensibilities...
It makes good sense, when you think about it, that many vacation rentals should suffer from bad décor. A lot of rentals are second homes, and perhaps for many owners, buying a second place means not having enough money left to decorate it. Second homes might also end up with cast-offs partly because owners are reluctant to invest in interiors that are likely to become damaged or worn with many renters coming through.
This doesn't quite explain, however, why so many vacation rental interiors lack style; we all know, of course, that with some ingenuity, it's possible to furnish a stylish home for cheap. We suppose what it comes down to is that when you rent from strangers, their taste is bound to differ from yours.
That being said, here are a few research tips we've found helpful when poking around for vacation properties online:
• Use keyword searches, plugging in design words to find styles you like. Craftsman, mid-century, what have you... often the owners, if they've put some thought into their décor, will try to advertise in this way. You can also use adjectives like "hip," "stylish," or "tasteful," but often you'll find these are empty marketing terms. Still, they might help to narrow things down.
• Consider going in with friends. Sadly, many well-decorated vacation rentals also seem to be the most expensive properties. Often they're also larger, however, and will sleep crowds, so you might consider vacationing with friends to split the cost. Sometimes there are main house/guest house situations that will allow for privacy, so you can choose just how "joint" you want your getaway to be.
• Use word of mouth. Craigslist and VRBO are great, but as with any kind of travel, asking friends for recommendations will almost always yield better results.
• Give your design sensibilities a vacation too. In other words, try not to sweat it if the carpeting or bedspreads in your vacation rental make you cringe. Easier said than done, perhaps, if you're a design blog devotee; still, in any home there are bound to be some design choices you're not crazy about, so you might as well relax and ignore them.
Tell us your vacation rental stories! Have you had any bad rental décor nightmares? What are your tips for finding the best of what's on offer?
(Images: Vacation Rentals by Owner)
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Comments (32)
Is a sad state of affairs for vacation rentals. A while back, I tried to contact people who owned "dreadful" vacation rental properties to offer them my help... for free. No one took me up on it. Not *one* owner. They all thought their places were fantastic. Eeew.
Here are my tips:
1. Take a stack of white sheets, and drape them over everything offensive.
2. Take a photo of the "before," then remove all ugly knick-knacks. The photo will let you know where they go when you're ready to leave.
"We suppose what it comes down to is that when you rent from strangers, their taste is bound to differ from yours."
I would say that this is all that needs to be said about this topic.
What a smug, condescending post.
I was going to suggest what medusa12120 already has done. I suppose it depends on the clientele of any region as to what rents and what doesn't.
Susie got me wondering what IS out there. And I have NO idea what the going rate is for any vacation rental.
Live the dream, share the fantasy:
http://www.realtyrentalspalmsprings.com/PROP/lot-24-modern~50.html
It's also a great way to get inspiration for your own place, by living with colors to decide which colors are right for you.
STH, I agree. This post was pretty smug and condescending...not everyone shares the same style sentiments...and while style doesnt always have to mean expensive-- not everyone eats,sleeps, and breathes home decor either. If the decor is that 'offensive' then choose a different rental.
Agree with STH and abc!
Another one for STH!!
Talk about hoity toity!
It surprises me that these design mavens don't realize that most of America doesn't put that much emphasis on design in their homes... much less their second homes.
Be honest here... most American homes look like either the set from Everybody Loves Raymond, or Archie Bunker's house.
I mean, I do enjoy good design - but I've been saving for a couch for 3 years now - other things come up and my posterior doesn't really know the difference.
This brought to mind a trip to Chicago that I took with my cousins. We stayed in a beautiful hotel on Michigan Avenue, and my oldest cousin... the one with the big house and three grown children just couldn't get over the bright yellow and grey striped curtains and bedspreads... too modern/chic for her - she thought they were ugly, would never put them in her own house.
I wouldn't put them in my house either - but I could appreciate the design element.
Most homes are practical - furnished with stuff they don't have to replace every 2 years because the furniture is SO LAST YEAR.
And beyond that... (based on my experience with friends and relatives who have mountain condos - some of which are rented out to strangers) the main point is... you don't put gorgeous, of the moment - highly fashionable, expensive furniture in a place you only get to every other weekend at best.... and that strangers are going to spill beer and have sex on.
Duh.
So prentenious poster... the bottom line is - you're not worth it. No one is putting authentic Eames in a place they are just going to rent to you - person they don't know.
As the poster who wrote about hotel kleptomania learned, it's difficult to write "tongue-in-cheek" successfully. I sure hope this post was meant that way.
As long as the beds are comfy, the house is cleaned and affordable, the location close to what I want to do or see, I'm happy to ignore the decor.
Against the great show of unity, I'd like to disagree
Agreed, most people don't put expensive designer items into rental properties. And yes, there's different styles.
But then there's what a lot of people seem to put in their holiday home. And not just in the US. Here in Sweden it's like all that landlords can think is how they can buy the absolutely cheapest furniture to put into their expensive holiday rentals.
When I'm paying what's like half a monthly salary for a stay of a week, I'm not expecting to sit in a white plastic garden set without cushions in a kitchen that hasn't seen a lick of paint since the 50s (and we're not talking retro-charm here - just plan chipped and mouldy).
It's not difficult to find a decent second-hand table and chairs. So why bother with the "let's just go to the local 5 dollar store to buy everything even though we charge a fortune in rent" attitude? It takes so little to make things look decent...
clickchick put it best:
"most of America doesn't put that much emphasis on design in their homes"
I went through a similar exercise when planning a recent vacation to Door County, Wisconsin. Almost every inn/hotel/condo had country or northwoods decor that made me cringe. But I got over it pretty quickly, and focused on the truly important things about the various choices--views, amenities, price and location. If you're on a great vacation you're probably not spending much time in your room anyway, so why not just go with the flow and be grateful for a clean room, warm bed, and the luxury of a few days off? It worked for me. :)
All I can say is that the rental should be clean and well kept. I recently stayed in a rental home that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a year. The sheets did not fit the bed, the DVD player was not working, and the kitchen had limited materials to cook with. And, it's not like this place was cheap either it was actually pretty expensive. So, for all of you who own a vacation rental make sure its clean and has a little bit of style to it, so that people will want to come back to rent again. It's not that hard of a task!
Not only are there differences in taste, but who is going to put their favorite, cherished furniture in a rental for strangers? If it's really that much of an issue for you, then I think a staycation is the best bet.
Am I nuts or is the point of a lot of vacation rentals is to be in a new or different environment? Like a beach bungalow or mountain cabin or apartment in a new city? So maybe the point is to spend time out and about rather than obsessing over the lack of stylishness in your temporary abode?
I don't care about the aesthetics of the place as long as it is clean and habitable. Do you guys cringe if you visit relatives' homes and they're not up to your standards?
I've rented in Hawaii, and been pleased that everything was Ikea-ish, clean, tidy, and maintenance free. IF I wanted a design experience, I'd stay at a hotel.
Are the photos posted supposed to be examples of how godawful these places are? Because I'm guessing that Vacation Home by Owners won't be advertising, and might be preparing that cease and desist letter right now.
:-D
i have spent several summers in a small Danish holiday home. the furniture is okay, the "art" is anything but - but i just put it all into one small storage place, and hang it back when i leave. no problem at all - to the contrary, it has been a source of holiday hilarity :-D
of course people do not decorate a place in the way they do and are happy to hear you want to "help them redecorate". they like it that way.
I don't think this post is inherently condescending.
Some people are magnitudes more sensitive to their visual environment than others. Preferences differ. Some people get acclimated to their surroundings faster or more thoroughly than others.
I'm one of those people who is immediately cheered when I'm in a beautiful environment. I also have to consciously manage my response when I find an environment ugly. I've been like this since I was a kid. I don't think it's something I can easily change. I'm pretty sure I know people who are the exact opposite from me in this sense, and who seem aesthetically at ease in any environment.
Like other commenters, I've taken photographs before reorganizing decor so that I can put everything back the way I found it upon leaving. When I can't do this, I try to imagine how others view this space. This is an especially useful technique in foreign places, whether Wisconsin or a developing country--they might see beautiful handiwork and fantastic color, while I see overwrought chintz. Reactions are obviously so influenced by what palettes and lines we're accustomed to, what kinds of things are rare versus common and easy to obtain, our particular associations with eras, etc.
I think it's totally fine to cringe at the decor of some vacation rentals. Some people don't want to have to deal semiconsciously with what they perceive as ugly. Indeed, it seems strange to me to vacation in a "beautiful" place and be indifferent to your immediate surroundings.
As we have been planning to get a place in SF, we have talked of renting it out occasionally. I would furnish a second home the same as I do my first home, with good quality furnishings but I would also keep the minimalist look that I like so much. Would that please everyone? No, but they wouldn't have to rent the place if they didn't like it.
One thing I have noticed in renting others' places is the lack of good quality kitchen gear. I can only think that the owners never cook there and believe renters want to eat out. I would have very good kitchen gear in my vacation rental.
I'm not a huge complainer when it comes to decor. I try not to be. My apartment isn't amazing. But I really do like a nice environment when I'm renting somewhere for vacation.
My first wish would be that people would just decorate more simply. I hate plaid and floral patterns (for the most part) esp. on couches. I know everyone has different tastes, but you would think more people were catching on to this and decorate...well, under decorate. Simple furniture, simple colors, simple art work. I do like when it's decorated in local reflection (i.e. wicker at the beach, etc), just done simply. The pictures above really aren't that bad. I've seen worse. It's just nice to have an environment that isn't busy with patterns and furniture and colors, it's a bit more relaxing.
My second wish would be that places were easier to find. Maybe like when you're searching for apartments and have search options like: garage, wood floors, dishwasher, etc that you can choose, there should be something like that for vacation homes. Decor: country, woodsy, clean-line, modern, etc. Just a thought.
i think this is a fine post because some vacation home renters need to get a clue. A case in point is the stunning vacation homes of Bodega Bay California. I don't understand the owners who leave their tchotchkes allover the place...so we can bask intheir love or something. (Every few years my family rents a house there, the views are stunning. The last time there was a detail from a Gauguin print in a nasty frame in the middle of a V shaped windowed dining room).
The best part was walking outside with my ten year old niece at 7am, looking at all the different styles of slanty geometric homes, my niece telling me which ones she thought were compelling; i hope she turns out to be an architect, i'm going to try persuade her to be.
What explains the phenomenon of bad vacation rental decor? Vacation rentals.
I have a vacation rental, and furnished it simply and comfortably but, I hope, with some sense of style. I know that some wear and tear is to be expected, but in the past year I have had renters leave gobs of gum on the couch, break a pricey piece of Murano glass art, somehow drill a hole in the middle of the kitchen table, and break off a chunk of the bedframe (I think they put the suitcase on the bed to pack and then dragged it off, catching an edge). No one fessed up to these damages.
This is on top of a dozen broken glasses and plates, people "borrowing" books from the library, leaving black dings or even taking out chunks of the walls from suitcases, ruining the good kitchen knives, breaking the front loading washing machine handle despite instructions to wait after the cycle finishes, and on and on and on.
My rental is super clean and well maintained. I do a major overhaul at least once a year, replacing worn linens, painting, and updating. I constantly make improvements. But knowing what I know now, there is no way I'd put expensive furniture in a vacation rental.
I think some owners are probably worn down from fixing the abuse rentals take, and can't be bothered to upgrade beyond strictly functional decor.
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http://www.31islandview.com/images/483_31islandview2_001.jpg
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Ugh, this is so true! Looking at apt rentals for NYC, there were so many with gaudy and/or incredibly dated decor and it's a major turn-off. Some of the bedding looked like it had been there since the 1980s and seemed very worn & thin! I don't get why you wouldn't update the bedding at the very least when trying to rent an apartment. It makes the apt look so much more clean & appealing, esp. when renters will spend most of their time in the apt sleeping. It's not that hard to find something cheap & modern either- just go to Target or shop clearances.
I'm not saying rental owners need to go all out with expensive furniture and fancy decor, I'm fine with a couple mattresses and a futon, but at least make it look clean and like you care enough to update it once a century. If you don't maintain some simple decor, why would I think you maintain anything else?
Really? When you are on vacation you spend that much time worrying about your rentals decor?
My work makes me travel for months at a time in various cities so I usually end up finding a local rental. I see a lot of different styles. The last one was in Seattle amazing floor to ceiling windows overlooking the lake. The decor was fake Italian, ornate crap everywhere and an overabundance of horrible horrible art. The lease said I couldn't move anything and the owner lived behind me. But the view was amazing, the location perfect and the kitchen well stocked with good enough utensils.
I could have done without the red and gold bedding, the brass faucet, the dining table for 10, the couch that faced the tv rather than the lake - but it wasn't my house!
We would sit at night and play - what would you change and how would you decorate.
Aw, c'mon: Vacation is about immersion. Doing a little like others do and and thinking about how others think. Anything put (thrown) together by an individual is going to be more interesting than a corporate-wide design pallet. I remember staying in 1990 in a traditional half-timber house in Northern Germany that had these crazy--at the time repulsive--floor-to-ceiling curtains from ca. 1972 in green Pantone waves and accented with modern orange (handmade?) vases on crocheted doilies. It was clear that the room was furnished partially from Oma (grandma) and partially from Sperrmülltag (large item trash day). What were the owners thinking? And yet, I was smitten. This was "bad taste" central and here I was totally diggin' it. Against the plaster and timber walls? Ancient against space age? Awesomeness. It was 20 years behind AND ahead of its time. It gave me a new appreciation (or maybe just similar bad taste).
Maybe I could grow to love giant vases filled with dusty feathers. I'm not holding my breath, but I won't count it out.
I agree, fledgling; vacation is about opening yourself up to new experiences! When my honey and I spent a weekend in Leavenworth, WA--pretty much kitsch central--we chose a B&B based on the photos on the website of the cheesy mural above the Jacuzzi and the over-the-top timber four-poster. We went all out on the kitsch factor and it was a blast--the room fit in with the whole Leavenworth experience and we were very sorry to leave at the end of the weekend.
Personally, I don't want to go somewhere on vacation that looks just like home.
I agree 100% with Ellebee. no one takes care of your house better than you do yourself. we rent our beach house out for a month every summer to help make ends meet.
every summer we do the same song and dance; no wet bathing suits inside (especially not on the couch), leave the sand at the beach not in the living room (we provide a hose and foot dunk at the back door) and don't eat in the bedrooms (sand ants get everywhere).
and at the end of every rented month I come home to find sand EVERYWHERE, the couch smells musty and the ant conga line leading to the bedrooms. after ruining a beautiful couch and chair plus refinishing our floors we learned our lesson the hard way, we drag the Ikea Klipan purchased for $99 on sale up from the basement and the renters can sit on that in wet bathing suits and roll out the cheapest wall to wall to catch all the sand.
personally i don't care if it doesn't suit your taste there is a 97% chance you aren't going to take care of it anyway. I take photos of the apartment in "rented condition" so there's no surprises. but most importantly isn't the point of a beach rental to spend as much time at the beach as possible? does it really matter what the decor looks like?
I once stayed in a rental house where the owners had teamed up with a high end furniture boutique to furnish the whole place. It was absolutely stunning.
But the best part was that you could actually purchase the items in the house (mostly one of a kind) from the boutique after your stay. To me it seemed like a really smart arrangement: Beautiful furniture paid for by the boutique that could be rotated out, with no doubt quite a few sales for them in return.
Unfortunately, I'm pretty much like redswisschard, and yes, I am like that since I was a rather small child. It's nothing you can turn on and off, it's just a part of the personality. I wish I wasn't that way, it would make life a lot easier.
Last year we were able to rent a mid-mod beach bungalow with beautiful furniture. Next time it's back to the "oh - okay" style, which means there is probably not one single item I would buy myself, but everything is clean and matching more or less and nothing is THAT ugly that I have to p*ke. We also put items we don't like into away and open all drapes and windows immediately, so that the view distracts from the decor. On top of that, we own a home (long term rental) near our favorite vacation spot and have some stuff stored in its attic, like our own bedding, blankets, good kitchen utensils and such. When all our belongings are scattered throughout the vacation rental, it feels pretty much okay.
Plus: coming back home from a design-challenged place feels soooo good! :)
Well i find this a 'bit offensive since everyone has its own style (and budget)...if you are looking for style go to Ritz or an upscale resort in Aspen or the greek islands but for a relaxing getway i wont be so obnoxious as to tell the owner how to decorate something they have kindly rent me.
We rent a beach house every year and most are the tacky beach themed sort. But we love them! We would never in a million years put that decor in our personal home, but for one week a year, I can get over someone else's idea of stylish and focus on what I really went for - the beach!
Everything else seems too high maintenance. If you are truly concerned about decor in a vacation rental, you can usually find something that fits your taste, but definitely plan on spending more money. For the everyday renter, who cares if you have to sit on a fish print couch for a week? I certainly don't.
I vacate to be out and about not to sit inside and play design magazine editor.
So long as the rental is clean, central to where I want to be and has a place to grill and fridge for wine and beer, I'm happy.
I don't think the post meant to be smug and condescending. It doesn't suggest that all vacation homes need to be furnished by expensive designer items and Elle Decor tastes. Just more simple and palatable to the eyes. This means no cir. 1970 floral curtains, wicker chairs with floral pattern coushion inside, dreary carpet color, etc. I've seen plenty of those on my search for a nice vacation home every year. Those are immediate turn offs for me. Although I have to agree the examples on this post aren't the ugliest. I've seen worse.
Vacation homes aren't cheap to maintain, hence their rental fees aren't cheap either! Damaged furnitures by renters? That's what the security deposits are for. I've paid a hefty $350 security deposit early this year on a place in Tahoe, for 2 nights. Did that make me more careful? Sure it did!
As different from many here, I rent a vacation homes to spend time with friends and family both inside and outside of the property. We usually go to places that are in the middle of nowhere, so there's nowhere to go after sunset. We would spend a lot of time inside. I just get more cheerful when I can appreciate the decor as well. I'm really not asking for Architectural Digest. I don't care if you buy the furnitures from Walmart. Just put a little thought to it, it would go a long way.
From a marketing standpoint, a better decorated place can attract more interests too.
Also ditto on cooking utensils. I've been disappointed too many times. Really, something basic will be more than sufficient! I would justexpect that when a owner describes a kitchen to be fully furnished, there'd be at least a basic frying pan that has a handle on it.