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Furnishing A Vacation Rental

Image ~ ~ Naomi Pederson


Do you have an extra room, suite or even home that you are thinking about opening for a vacation rental?  At Showhome Furniture we have supplied many home with the right furniture to make a ho-hum vacation rental into a stunning retreat.  In the process of interviewing our clients before and after they have started renting, we have come up with some awesome tips on how to design the perfect vacation rental! The first thing you need to do before renting out your property to others is to clean it top to bottom.  Nobody wants to spend the night in someone else’s dirt.  Not only will you have guests who will refuse to stay at your place, you will also have guests that will leave you a terrible review-which will discourage others from renting your home. Make sure you clean out all the clutter of your house, take down random pictures and nick nacks. Nick nacks tend to make a home feel cluttered and make you spend more time cleaning and dusting them between guests.  Make sure you fix anything that is broken and clean your yard.  You want their first impressions to be the best one possible. After making sure your home is  make sure your beds are comfortable.  At Showhome we sell some of the top luxury mattresses.  We know that a good nights sleep is the most important part of keeping your vacation guests happy.  An old lumpy or stained mattress is not something that guests will be happy with.  If there is just one thing you splurge on, a new mattress is one of them.  Be sure to protect those new mattresses with good quality mattress covers to keep them beautiful for a long time.Next make sure you dress up those new mattresses with some new, good quality linen and bedding.  Everyone likes to be spoiled, and walking into a room that holds a beautiful bed just fills the happy spot in most vacation renters.  Don’t be afraid of adding a few extra decorative pillows, and a soft throw at the end of the bed.  Make sure you get good quality sheets and nice towels to let your guests use while they are with you.  You want your guests to feel special and this is one of the best ways to do it.

 Now you need to assess your furniture.  Go through your home and check each piece of furniture thoroughly.  Make sure the chairs are study and the couches look new. If something does not look new or is broken get replace it with high quality long lasting furniture that you do not have to fuss with.
If your table is badly damaged consider getting a new one.  At Showhome we have gorgeous ‘rustic’ tables that are sturdy, beautiful and hold up well to the wear and tear of vacation guests.
 If your couches are saggy, get new ones.  You guests will complain if things are old and grungy.  They will notice if your furniture does not match.  Having new furniture could be the thing that helps you become booked all year.  One trick one of our clients shared was that she replaced her old couches with two matching sofa beds.  She did that because it helped increase the number of guests who could sleep at her place (letting her charge more) and it also made it easy to get ready for guests because she would just leave the linen out for her guests and they would make up their own bed when they needed to go to bed.  Anytime you can let your guests do some of the work, you are making your business more viable.
We know that replacing furniture can be expensive.  At Showhome we have 1 year free financing available.  This can be a great option for your vacation rental because it allows you to use the new furniture for a year as you rent, letting your guest rental fee help pay for them.  The most important furniture to consider are beds, couches, table and dinning room chairs.  Bookcases, end tables, and dressers are nice too, but not as important as the other furniture we have talked about.
When picking out new furniture, look for furniture that is sturdy and easy to clean.  Leather is an excellent option.  Be sure to get the protection plan on your furniture.  You do not want to have any worries if a guest has an accident at your home.
Lastly, be sure to accessorize your rooms extremely carefully.  Accessories help pull a room together and creates a more inviting home, unfortunately though, they also cause your cleaners more work in keeping them dusted.   Get accessories that won’t break easily and add to the look you are going for.
These are some of our top suggestions on how to furnish a vacation rental.  We know these aren’t everything you need to consider when renting your home.  If you have your own suggestion please share them with us.

Amazing Bedrooms For Teens!!

Image ~ ~ Naomi Pederson ~ 1 Comment

Do you have a teen-ager in your home?  If so you are one lucky person.  Teen-agers are so fun to be around.  They are usually full of life, chatty, and kind. . .until they are not-Lol!!  In one year our Showhome Furniture Family will have four teen-age girls.  What a ride we are in for!

With teen-agers comes emotions, and idea’s.  If your child has never had a room of their own, this might be a good time to consider letting them have one.

Teen-agers are going through a lot, and the pressure to fit in can be tough.  Making sure they have a place that is truly there’s can make a big difference.  One thing that we strongly caution against is letting them have a room of their own with a phone of their own. Recent research has revealed the hazards of letting teens have too much time with phones.

When designing a room for your teen-ager involve them as much as possible.  This is a time of change and exploring for kids, so let them have as much freedom in creating their own special space.  Definitely give them guidelines and a budget.  Teen-agers can get confused with too many options, and carried away without a budget.

Next pick the location.  Think of your teens personality.  Is she the kind that push the boundaries more than others?  If so, consider situating her room closer to you and further away from the outside door!  A top bedroom is a good choice.  This is something that you don’t need to tell your child that you are doing.  Just discuss with your spouse where you both think your teen-ager would thrive the best and let them know after the decision has been made.  In parenting I have found that prevention, especially prevention that my kids don’t even know I am doing, is a million times easier and effective than trying to discipline.  Disciplining is going to happen with teens, the less you have to do the better.

Now for the fun part!!  Picking out the furniture.   I suggest you don’t let your teen-ager pick out the furniture without help that will go out of style fast.  When picking out furniture look for furniture that can adapt to different stages of your teens life.  If you are confused at all the different options, speak to our design team at Showhome Furniture.  We love to help our clients design their homes. Once you have picked out two or three different bedroom sets that work, allow your teen-ager to make the final say.

Once you have the furniture it is time to paint your walls.  Wall color is definitely something I would let our teen-ager have more freedom in choosing.  Just like dying one’s hair, paint is relatively inexpensive and can be quickly changed if it is a disaster.

Lastly finish off with curtains, bedding and accessories.  Just like you are never fully dressed without a smile, so is your room never complete without accessories.  Accessories are fun and can pull the room together in such a way that your teen will know how special they truly are to you.

Yes teen-agers can be a handful, but the more I interact with teens, the more I love this stage of life.  It really is fun working on projects with my girls and watching them grow into their own unique selves.

Falling into Fall Furniture

Image ~ ~ Naomi Pederson

Fall is upon us, and with fall comes constantly changing tree colors and a refreshing breeze!!!!

The Showhome Furniture Family LOVES the heat, and spend time each winter in Arizona just hanging out, bonding and going to trade shows.   We also love fall time and just like the leaves on the trees, we are constantly changing our stock and bringing in trendy new pieces.  There is something about change that we at Showhome Furniture finds very refreshing, just like that cool breeze after a hot summer.

With each new piece of furniture, make sure you buy a protection plan because Showhome Furniture Calgary knows that nothing is as hard on furniture as little kids coming in after their fall walk with dirt on their hands.  You do want to make sure you teach your kids to respect the furniture, but you don’t want to ever think furniture is more important than these magical fall moments.

My kids like to tease me that when fall comes, that I like to spend more time perusing the catalogs than taking in the fall walk.  The cool air conditioning, and constantly changing furniture does make working or shopping here on a fall day seem special.  That said, I know that my kids really enjoy being around me so I try to limit my time at the store and spend more time at home.  To help us manage running a store and raising 6 daughters we are always on the outlook for some delicious quick recipe to enjoy.

I had a friend who would freeze fresh blueberries in water and tell their kids that that was what popsicles were!!  I love the healthiness of that idea, but there is no way I would be able to away with that.  I do however love to blend up banana’s, pineapple, apples and oranges and then pour them into popsicle molds to freeze.  If I have some apple juice I will add it to the mixture but it isn’t necessary.

Remember that popsicles can stain clothing and furniture so it is best to get your little ones to eat them outside.  If they do drip on their clothing or spill on your furniture we have a great blog about how to get out all sorts of stains.

What are your favorite fall recipes that are quick to make and family friendly???