How To Furnish Your Florida Vacation Home
Furnishing an apartment or house as a vacation rental has unique challenges. When you are decorating your own home, you only have to consider your taste and the comfort of your family. This is not the case when furnishing a holiday home.
Most of your renters will come from booking companies such as Airbnb or HomeAway. Studies have shown that you have 8 seconds to catch the attention of prospective guests. To stand out as they skim through the listings your interior needs to be bold, bright and beautiful. Most importantly it has to fit their ideal of a Florida home.
Picking a theme from the following list of Florida styles will keep your efforts cohesive and ensure your rental is always in demand.
1. Miami Modern
South Florida Condos rock this style. White walls, sleek low profile furniture and lots of stainless steel. Add splashes of vibrant color and quirky tropical accents, voila you have the look.
To maximize your space, an ultra modern sleeper sofa from Innovation Living is perfectly on point.
This style is best suited to high rises with endless vistas of sea and sky.
2. Tropical palm Beach
Large botanical prints are perfectly juxtaposed with contemporary art.
Focus on rattan furniture and vibrant hues. Create cosy nooks for gossip and Bellinis. Orange is the color du jour, ceiling fans and flowing sheers are essential.
While this vibe screams for a pool it can also be achieved with a patio centered around a unique water feature.
Channel your inner Lilly Pulitzer, mix up the prints. There is no such thing as too many plants or pillows.
3. Coastal Chic
Coastal Chic is downplayed beachy decorating. A color pallet of blues and beige suggests the beach in a refreshingly subtle way.
Focus on small pieces as this will accentuate the space and allow light to flow through the rooms.
Abstract artwork evokes the ocean without being cliched.
Distressed wood compliments this look of sophisticated relaxation. Think beach picnics with Mojitos never Margaritas.
4. florida Mid-Century Modern
Mid-Century Modern furniture pays tribute to designs from the 1950’s. In the post-war period city dwellers moved frequently and lived in smaller houses. Furniture that was lite and easy to move was in demand. Dynamic shapes gave a sense of excitement. This was a new age. Legs and table tops did not need to be square, why not triangles and circles. It is not surprising that the word square became the name for all that was passe and dated.
For the same reasons Mid-Century Modern is hugely popular in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. To create this look focus on organic colors and materials. Add plants and tropical wall paper to give this style a Florida spin.
5. Key West Beach Style
Key West Beach Style is Coastal Chic on steroids. For this vibe feel free to inundate your living space with beach and coastal motifs. Shells and Starfish are your happy companions .
Futon Sofa Beds in wicker or distressed wood are the perfect guests beds for this playful look. Removable washable futon covers reduce the stress when the wine flows and puppies are welcome. With this easygoing and casual decorating style everybody feels at home. Expect repeat bookings as a visit to your beach pied-a-terre becomes a family tradition.
Pulling It All Together
Once you have decided on your theme it is time to choose your colors. Pick a favourite work of art, objet d’art or piece of fabric as your inspiration. Take a photograph and keep it with you. What did we do before smart phones? You never know when you are going to stumble on the perfect little shop or garage sale. Colors can be tricky to recall, with your photo to hand you will stay on track.
At The Futon Company Showroom we have hundreds of fabrics for custom pillows, duvets and throws. Our design team are always happy to spend time with you creating your Florida Style.
don’t Be Afraid To Mix & Match
There are a couple of reactions to furnishing a house or condo from scratch. One is total overwhelm, the other is the temptation to buy cheap matchy matchy pieces. If you go down the matchy matchy path the result will be bland and uninviting.
The trick to creating a Florida Dream Home is to start with high quality built-to-last beds and sofa beds. Then look for whimsical thrift shop finds for a unique lived in look. You want your guests to believe this is a beloved family getaway. Fulfill their fantasy of salty kisses and sandy toes, and you will be booked up year round.
Cubed Deluxe Futon sofa, the ultimate contemporary Space Saver!
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Bali Futon Sofa Bed with a removable, washable cover.
The Murphy Cabinet Bed Is The Ultimate Space Saver.
This compact cabinet folds out to a Queen size bed with a cool gel memory foam mattress.
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Unfurl Mid Century Modern Futon sofa from Innovation Living
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Dublexo Futon Sofa with ottoman that is also a chair from Innovation Living
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Bahama Tropical Futon Sofa with storage and removable, washable cover.
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